Dear Tom and Ray:
I am a 76-year-old woman, recently engaged to an 80-year-old man. We are truly best friends and agree on everything, except one thing. He drives a 2004 Lincoln Town Car that we affectionately call the "Pimp Mobile." He won't fill up the gas tank until the light comes on and it pings. I tell him this is hard on the fuel pump and that I have heard you state this. Would you please clarify this? Our future wedded bliss is in jeopardy. We both enjoy your radio show and your columns. Thanks. — Annie and Jack
Tom: Gee, Annie, we have mentioned that, in our opinion, habitually driving a car on empty can shorten the life of the fuel pump.
Ray: The reason we think that is because the pump sits inside the gas tank, and so it's cooled by the gasoline it's submerged in. Or not cooled by the gasoline it's not submerged in, if you never put more than two gallons of gas into the car.
Tom: Now, by how much might it shorten the life of a fuel pump? We have no idea. It just makes sense to us that a pump that's constantly running hot will conk out sooner than a pump that is properly cooled.
Ray: But as long as he's filling the tank completely when it's empty, he's probably doing little to no damage. And at a certain age, you have to worry more about his pump failing than the Pimp Mobile's!
Tom: I'm guessing what really bothers you, Annie, is the anxiety that comes with running precariously low on fuel all the time. If you're not someone who's eager to hike five miles back to the nearest gas station if he miscalculates, this can cause a certain amount of continual, and unnecessary, stress.
Ray: So we think that in the interest of marital harmony, Jack should be less concerned with how often he has to stop for fuel, and more concerned with his future wife's peace and comfort.
Tom: That may mean altering his habits a bit, but so what? He's still a young fella. You can't tell me he's stuck in his ways at a mere 80!
Ray: Instead of making this a mechanical argument, Annie, if driving on fumes causes you stress, tell Jack that. And ask him if, for your peace of mind and comfort, he would be willing to fill up the tank when it gets to a quarter-full.
Tom: And then you can do something equally considerate for him. Like not swap his Preparation H with his Dentu-Creme when he's not looking. Have a wonderful time, you two!
(Car Talk is a nationally syndicated column by automotive experts (and brothers) Tom and Ray Magliozzi. Write to them at the Car Talk website.)
4 Comments
By toni covell on June 22, 2012 11:06 AM
my grandsfather's advice should help ANNIE AND JACK.
If you are going to drive on half a tank of gas drive on the top half
By david layton on June 23, 2012 1:44 PM
Trying to be a good dad I helped my eldest daughter buy a 2005 Ford Focus...runs great except in the summer...seriously just the summer above 70degrees. The idle fails and it simply dies...we have taken it to Ford, noticed the original buyer complained about the same thing, they replaced the idler motor rebooted the computer, to no effect. They hooked up a monitoring device but could not recreate the code failure....any ideas other than selling it in the winter?
David
By Todd on June 25, 2012 12:24 PM
I'll give you an even better reason why running your tank to empty is a bad idea: emergency preparedness.
You never know when some natural or man made situation will strike, knocking out power for a time, making it impossible to refuel.
I live in earthquake country, so I rarely let my tank get below half full. This ensures I always have at least a half a tank of gas. As it happens, several years ago we had a snow/ice storm that knocked out power for much of the region for up to 5 days. There were long lines at the few gas stations that had power. No problem for me. I had 3/4 tank when the storm hit.
By Jack on September 29, 2012 11:07 AM
Speaking specifically of using up all the fuel in the tank before you refill. ..
In particular, for Chevrolet in tank pump systems, if the fuel pump isn't being kept submerged it runs a bit warmer than it would otherwise.
This results in a higher amperage draw by the fuel pump.
This leads to a cascade failure of the connectors at the top of the "tree" that holds the fuel pump because they warm up and soften the plastic holding the connectors in place. ..
This results in a looser connection with a concurrent higher amperage load due to both the fuel needing additional amperage to run and the increased resistance across the looser connection.
This causes an even higher amperage draw, decreasing the lifespan of the mechano-electrical connector.