It happens to all of us — you’re driving along in your car, probably heading to some big, important appointment and worried about making it on time when you hear that telltale ding. The gas light.
And of course you can’t stop, so you push through to your destination, but then you’ve got to worry about finding a gas station on the way back home before your car completely dies on you. (Man, wouldn’t life be so much easier if we all drove on e-highways?) Sure, most cars include the distance to empty on their fancy instrument panel, but it’s not always accurate — especially if you’re driving in stop-and-go traffic.
Luckily, there’s a new chart out from YourMechanic that has your back. The chart lists the distance-to-empty range for the top fifty selling vehicles in the U.S. in 2015, as well as the amount of fuel the tank has before the light actually goes on.
The post from YourMechanic also includes other helpful information for the vehicle-uninformed. Like, for example, the fact that it isn’t actually good to be driving around on empty. Running out of gas can damage your car’s catalytic converter, while driving on fumes can damage the fuel pump. Who knew? (Mechanics, probably.)
The chart itself might not be perfect, but it at least gives an idea of how far you can push your car if you’re truly in one of those emergency, can’t-get-gas-now situations. One thing is for certain: it’s probably better to rely on the chart’s estimates than to test your car’s actual limits and end up stranded on the side of the road. Because then you really won’t get where you’re going.
