[drbobbybones]

Last night, I was stuck in traffic in LA for over an hour and half. I had a low fuel warning, but thought that I had enough gas to make it to the fuel station. Ran out of gas about 100 feet or so from the gas station. I was able to get a small container of gas and fill up to make it to the gas station after that. Here are the lessons that I learned about the QV last night:

1. The gas tank is very small. 15.3 gallons is tiny, especially when I'm averaging about 16 miles a gallon. I feel like I am always filling up the tank. In comparison, my GT-R was getting about 14 miles a gallon but the tank was 19.5 gallons, so I went to the gas station a lot less.
2. The warning light comes on with about 2 gallons left in the tank. There is no "reserve" tank to speak of, so when the last fuel light blip disappears, you have less than 1 gallon of gas to get to a gas station.
3. I was so close to the gas station that I wanted to push it to the pump (thank goodness for the lightness of carbon fiber). However, there is no appreciable way to take the car out of PARK when this happens. I tried what was suggested in the manual by holding the Start/Stop button for 3 seconds and that didn't seem to work. This is one of the downsides of an electrically gated transmission--you can't get into neutral if you need to. Super frustrating.
4. When you do restart your engine after getting gas, every "Check Engine" light in the world will come on. The car goes into limp mode and it tells you to "Service Engine". The OBD II codes that popped up for me were P0003 and P008a, both of which have to do with the fuel system. I cleared both of them with my Waylens Horizon camera's OBD II connection, but the "Service Engine" display and limp mode persisted for about 20 miles and numerous restarts over the next 24 hours. I actually set up a service appointment with the Alfa dealer, but cancelled after everything magically returned back to normal this afternoon.
5. Limp mode sucks. I was getting passed by Priuses on the freeway left and right. I think the 0-60 in limp mode is around 15 seconds or so.

The car drives fine now. But I sure will listen to the gas tank when it tells me to fill up, even if I have to do it every 225 miles or so :frown2:

 

[ALFATECH]

You can put them in neutral but finding the appropriate bolt, crawling under the car (good luck), and threading it into the neutral actuator threaded hole. Try it, it’s fun.

 

[lost1750GTV]

the forum had been requesting a guinea pig to do this for an accurate measurement.
your efforts will be appreciated.

 

[Eagle7]

When you see yourself stuck in a situation like that and you're low or close to low on gas, turn the DNA switch to A mode. That can help a small amount, which in your case was 100 feet and might have made the difference. Running out of gas is not good for this car. It can damage the catalytic convertors and fuel system. I recommend you take it to your dealer and tell them what happened, and have them check it out anyways, just to be safe.

Let us know what they say Sir Guinea of Pig.

 

[chrisngrod]

Geez I got worried when I first got this car about being low on fuel. This vehicle might be my own vehicle where the range disappears a bit before empty.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[drbobbybones]

You can put them in neutral but finding the appropriate bolt, crawling under the car (good luck), and threading it into the neutral actuator threaded hole. Try it, it’s fun.

Your idea of fun is quite different than mine. That's why you work on Alfas, and I work on people (orthopedic surgeon)

When you see yourself stuck in a situation like that and you're low or close to low on gas, turn the DNA switch to A mode. That can help a small amount, which in your case was 100 feet and might have made the difference. Running out of gas is not good for this car. It can damage the catalytic convertors and fuel system. I recommend you take it to your dealer and tell them what happened, and have them check it out anyways, just to be safe.

Let us know what they say Sir Guinea of Pig.

I thought about that and was in A mode already. Still didn't get there. The biggest problem is that I was in slow moving traffic the whole way, without real starts and stops. Thus, the start-stop system that I usually hate didn't really activate much when I wanted it to.


I'm gonna be a guinea pig the other way--I don't plan on going into the dealer unless it otherwise seems like the car is behaving abnormally. And the catalytic converter damage idea is a myth: https://www.cartalk.com/content/i-really-enjoy-reading-your-col-umn-and-thank-you

the forum had been requesting a guinea pig to do this for an accurate measurement.
your efforts will be appreciated.

Ha! I really thought that I had enough gas. If it wasn't for the slow moving traffic, I would have been fine. Now we all know, and knowing is half the battle /GIJoe

 

[Eagle7]

...I'm gonna be a guinea pig the other way--I don't plan on going into the dealer unless it otherwise seems like the car is behaving abnormally. And the catalytic converter damage idea is a myth: https://www.cartalk.com/content/i-really-enjoy-reading-your-col-umn-and-thank-you

Well that article was from 1993. Times, technology and emissions systems have changed significantly since then. Did you know that the fuel pressure in the Giulia is 2700 psi? Alfa themselves warn against running out of fuel and they mention damaging the catalytic convertor. I'd recommend you go in anyways and have them check it out to show 'good faith' on your part, in case something turns up later. That way they can't blame you; you took it in.

 

[Alfaholico]

I hear you re: fuel tank capacity and with the length of your commute, I get that that sucks....I've always tended to fill up my cars at 1/4 of a tank....was told by my dad "there's a lot of garbage at the bottom of that tank...you don't want it getting sucked into the engine"....may have been true of our 1969 Bonneville...not sure if that really applies to today's cars but I guess I still hear his voice in my head...(like I do with a lot of things)....but quite frankly, I love taking my Quad to the gas station....just to SHOW IT OFF !!!! Especially if there's a "BIMMER" there....I actually put it into RACE MODE to approach the pumps !!! :surprise:

 

[Martyn]

2700psi!! that seems incredibly high to me. I am an engineer but in electronics so perhaps I'm really out of touch with modern car mechanics. Older cars (like a Camaro I had in 1980) had carbs and almost no pressure in the fuel line. Those were the days when one could fix a car without too many problems.

 

[BostonDMD]

I hear you re: fuel tank capacity and with the length of your commute, I get that that sucks....I've always tended to fill up my cars at 1/4 of a tank....was told by my dad "there's a lot of garbage at the bottom of that tank...you don't want it getting sucked into the engine"....may have been true of our 1969 Bonneville...not sure if that really applies to today's cars but I guess I still hear his voice in my head...(like I do with a lot of things)....but quite frankly, I love taking my Quad to the gas station....just to SHOW IT OFF !!!! Especially if there's a "BIMMER" there....I actually put it into RACE MODE to approach the pumps !!! :surprise:

Yes Dino, don't forget to do a burnout on the way out of the gas station, in from of the German.......>

Moral of the story........ pay attention to all the gauges.......:smile2:

 

[Tyresian]

Never thought of showing off my car at a gas station but it is a valid point, I too can't stomach going under a quarter tank. I think I've only once complimented someone on their car and it was a Dodge Stealth R/T Turbo.

 

[Alfaholico]

The twin of the Mitsubishi 3000 GT !!!

 

[JohnnyTheBeast]

But I sure will listen to the gas tank when it tells me to fill up, even if I have to do it every 225 miles or so :frown2:

Lucky Guy... I barely get 150 miles out of a full tank in my 2.0T

am I doing something wrong?
no lie, best I've ever gotten on a single trip was 17.5 mpg in a mode w zero traffic. somebody help lol

 

[lost1750GTV]

maybe 2700 at the nozzle, but no way 2700 in the fuel line from the tank.
that would be instant fireball if there was a fuel line leak.

 

[Chipshot]

I hear you re: fuel tank capacity and with the length of your commute, I get that that sucks....I've always tended to fill up my cars at 1/4 of a tank....was told by my dad "there's a lot of garbage at the bottom of that tank...you don't want it getting sucked into the engine"....may have been true of our 1969 Bonneville...not sure if that really applies to today's cars but I guess I still hear his voice in my head...(like I do with a lot of things)....but quite frankly, I love taking my Quad to the gas station....just to SHOW IT OFF !!!! Especially if there's a "BIMMER" there....I actually put it into RACE MODE to approach the pumps !!! :surprise:

My dad said condensation could become a problem, especially in cold weather, if the tank dropped below ¼.

Lucky Guy... I barely get 150 miles out of a full tank in my 2.0T

am I doing something wrong?
no lie, best I've ever gotten on a single trip was 17.5 mpg in a mode w zero traffic. somebody help lol

Dare I ask what your tire pressure is?

 

[Alfaholico]

Lucky Guy... I barely get 150 miles out of a full tank in my 2.0T

am I doing something wrong?
no lie, best I've ever gotten on a single trip was 17.5 mpg in a mode w zero traffic. somebody help lol

Maybe you have a Quad and they just forgot some of the "trim" pieces ?

 

[larrysing]

I've been close - I put in 15.2 gallons once and 15.1 gallons more than once. I'll be more careful, thanks !!

 

[ALFATECH]

2700psi!! that seems incredibly high to me. I am an engineer but in electronics so perhaps I'm really out of touch with modern car mechanics. Older cars (like a Camaro I had in 1980) had carbs and almost no pressure in the fuel line. Those were the days when one could fix a car without too many problems.

Anything with direct injection runs very high pressure. Diesel Rams can reach 30,000psi.

 

[JerryNY]

My dad said condensation could become a problem, especially in cold weather, if the tank dropped below ¼.

Dare I ask what your tire pressure is?

Well with the advent of super duper awesome ETOH blended gas it’s very unlikely any free water will hang around in the tank. The hydrophilic alcohol will end taking available water right through your engine for even less power:grin2:

 

[AlfaCrisis]

the forum had been requesting a guinea pig to do this for an accurate measurement.
your efforts will be appreciated.

Yep...so, how many gallons did you get in when you filled up?

http://www.giuliaforums.com/forum/8...irst-cut-fuel-level-indications-quantity.html