Nevada Drive Academy 

 

How to Read The Gas Gauge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lines on the gas gauge are increments of 1/4 representing your gas tanks fuel level. Anything between 2 lines would be an eight. If the needle were between 1/2 and 3/4, this would mean you have 5/8 of gasoline in your tank.

 

The line lowest to the bottom would mean you have 1/4 of a tank of gas and you should probably fill up soon, below 1/4 would be close to 1/8 of a tank which means get gas now. Newer vehicles have a low fuel light that illuminates and often come equipped with technology that informs you on how many miles you can proceed before running out of gas.

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Further explanation:

If the gas tank on a car holds 20 gallons of gas, and the gauge read "1/2", you have 10 gallons of gas. If your car gets 30 miles to the gallon, this means you can drive about 300 miles on a half tank of gas. Warning: Driving your vehicle on low fuel or an empty tank can damage your ride or even lead to a crash.

Now the fuel gauge in your car or truck is actually lying to you. Automobile manufacturers build in about a gallon (3.8 liters) of reserve fuel beyond the "empty" line. They also warn about low fuel long before a vehicle runs out, since they know that people procrastinate.

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But those manufacturers are looking out for drivers: Running out of fuel can leave you stranded or cause a crash on the road, and can also damage expensive auto parts.