1.3 Gallon Reserve

[Prospero]

I've seen the smart listed as having a 8.3 gallon gas tank, including a 1.7 gallon reserve.

Is there some feature I'm missing, or is this just a fancy way of saying that you have 1.7 gallons left when the tank shows empty?

[dcrooks]

It is confusing to me as well. Is it a 10 gallon tank or is it a 8.3 gallon tank? Then the reserve would come out of that total...

[hampyoung]

Its 8.7 gal INCLUDING the 'reserve', which really isn't a reserve at all.
See page 304 of the manual.
When the tank symbol flashes, it counts down the last gallon in tenths.
I think of each marker as 1.1 gallons so the 8 markers would be 8.8 - close enough.

[Karl Roth]

Looking at the smart web site the tank is listed as 8.7 gal cap. including a 1.3 gal reserve // reserve set something aside for future use or some specific purpose... what is so confusing about this concept. You don't want to run out of gas, old motorclcles would run out and then allow you to switch to a lower level on the tank so you could still make it to the station to buy more. simple if you don't over think it.
karl

[donnyonee]

remember the early bugs had the lever to turn on the front firewall? i think it was 1.5 gal?

[Karl Roth]

Originally Posted by donnyonee

remember the early bugs had the lever to turn on the front firewall? i think it was 1.5 gal?

it was no big deal to hear a carb car sputter. you don't want to run out of gas in a fuel injected car you are better off geting fuel at half a tank if it takes two weeks to empty the 8 gal. Most of us have fuel that has ethonol added to it and its has an affinity for the water in the air like the stuff that gets drawn in as you draw down the tank. Look at the gage don't let it go empty..................
karl

[ifishcat]

my example today pulling up to the pump for a fill was as follows:

353.5 - miles on the trip-o-meter (started from the last fillup)
0.8 - tenths (of a gallon) showing on the car gauge as remaining in tank before fillup

8.343 - Gallons poured in

(353.5 / 8.343 = 42.37 mpg)

fair to say there is atleast a 1-2 +/- tenth of accuracy on the car gauge?

(although there were many filling stations along the way, I just had to hold out, til I got to my favorite gasoline filling station... next time i will make sure to visit said station, before the day trip, while there is still quarter tank or better left)

-j

[rawlus®]

Originally Posted by hampyoung

Its 8.7 gal INCLUDING the 'reserve', which really isn't a reserve at all.
See page 304 of the manual.
When the tank symbol flashes, it counts down the last gallon in tenths.
I think of each marker as 1.1 gallons so the 8 markers would be 8.8 - close enough.

agreed. there is no "reserve"

[ritchaso]

I agree. There is no reserve. I filled up today and put 7 gallons in. The fuel indicator was at 2/8.

[snowy]

This has been a very confusing issue. The dealership told me that the tank has a capacity of 8.7 gal, which includes the 1.3 reserve. When the tank goes down to 1.0 - 0 then you've run out of gas.

However, on 2 occasions I put in about 9.4 gallons of gas - I did not top up the tank.

I think the tank is 8.7 + 1.3 for a total of 10 gallons. Anyone else have similar experiences?