Gasoline Capacity

[SniperDroid]

If we had a system that we could take it down to 1/2 gallon all the time, we would. And, we would all be replacing the fuel pumps because of overheating them, and we would complain about ****** fuel pumps being no good. If the fuel pump is not submerged it will lead to premature failure. Sure, Ram is making us believe we have something that we don't, but so does the government. But that is fodder for another discussion.

Yeah, I had that happen on a Caravan I used as a service vehicle, at 170k. Mechanic taught me not to let a Chrysler product get below 1/4 tank. I just want the Guage to be "ACCURATE ".

 

[18CrewDually]

If we had a system that we could take it down to 1/2 gallon all the time, we would. And, we would all be replacing the fuel pumps because of overheating them, and we would complain about ****** fuel pumps being no good. If the fuel pump is not submerged it will lead to premature failure. Sure, Ram is making us believe we have something that we don't, but so does the government. But that is fodder for another discussion.

Not saying to run it empty on every tank. Plus the pump IS always submerged until the tank is actually empty. The in-tank fuel pumps sit in a reservoir that always has fuel in it. The reservoir is constantly refilled by the return line.
If you ever get to swap out pumps you will see the return umbilical hose and the reservoir will be full of fuel.

 

[JCE]

I've had over thirty different vehicles in my life, and my 2500 is the first one that still has 5 gallons in the tank when the Guage is just beyond E.

Strange. Literally the last 12 of mine had 2-5 gallons in reserve once the "gas light" came on or the needle hit E. And that includes 5 MOPARs, 4 Fords, and three Toyotas. It's pretty common I promise you.

 

[GTyankee]

My old 2009 Dodge Ram SLT Quad Cab 5.7L had a factory 32 gallon tank
That gave me around 360 Miles
I needed more, so i installed a 30 gallon Transfer Flow tank/tool box

IT had an electric pump for fuel transfer & then i also had three 6 gallon Boat fuel tanks, that gave me 80 gallons of gas

 

[SniperDroid]

Strange. Literally the last 12 of mine had 2-5 gallons in reserve once the "gas light" came on or the needle hit E. And that includes 5 MOPARs, 4 Fords, and three Toyotas. It's pretty common I promise you.

Didn't say the gas light came on, that 's usually at abut 4 gallons if the guage is accurate. Said the needle was past the E.

 

[KoboldTaco]

This is a RAM "thing". I noticed the same on mine. I used Alpha OBD app and recalibrated the gauge. The stock settings had the wrong amount of Liters listed in the module. Now E really means Empty.

Not a ram thing only. When I was a tree hugger prius driver, they show low fuel with 3 to 4 gallons left. I could always count on another 100 miles before really needing to get gas.

 

[18CrewDually]

Not a ram thing only. When I was a tree hugger prius driver, they show low fuel with 3 to 4 gallons left. I could always count on another 100 miles before really needing to get gas.

So you're saying the Prius was also mis calibrated by having the incorrect capacity in the programming? Because that's what I'm saying. Before I had put the correct capacities into the program, it would be on a HARD E on on the gauge yet only take 26 gallons on a 32 g tank. The LOW fuel Light would come on and say 50 mi til empty when in actuality I had 90 miles til empty. RAM numbers are way off and I'm clearly not the only one that pays enough attention to it to notice.

 

[KoboldTaco]

So you're saying the Prius was also mis calibrated by having the incorrect capacity in the programming? Because that's what I'm saying. Before I had put the correct capacities into the program, it would be on a HARD E on on the gauge yet only take 26 gallons on a 32 g tank. The LOW fuel Light would come on and say 50 mi til empty when in actuality I had 90 miles til empty. RAM numbers are way off and I'm clearly not the only one that pays enough attention to it to notice.

Yes, I am saying exactly that… I could only fill 8.9 gallons when showing E and it was an 11.9 gallon tank. The only way I could place more gas in the tank was to drive it on E, gauge not even showing fuel yet I was driving For 100+ miles on E.

I asked my cousin who works for Toyota why. She said especially for Hybrid cars, the DOT required that programming because they anticipated people trying to stretch their mileage so cars were not running out of gas everywhere. I’ve never been able to prove in writing what she said.

But, with that mindset for every other manufacturer, the logic makes sense to ensure people are not pushing it every time the tank shows E.

I used to ride motorbikes and they have a stated reserve accessible by moving the petcock or in modern bikes, reserve is simply accessible by the fuel pump. Funny that for a motorbikes it’s in the open - here is your reserve yet for cars it’s smoke and mirrors.

 

[nlambert182]

Yes, I am saying exactly that… I could only fill 8.9 gallons when showing E and it was an 11.9 gallon tank. The only way I could place more gas in the tank was to drive it on E, gauge not even showing fuel yet I was driving For 100+ miles on E.

I asked my cousin who works for Toyota why. She said especially for Hybrid cars, the DOT required that programming because they anticipated people trying to stretch their mileage so cars were not running out of gas everywhere. I’ve never been able to prove in writing what she said.

But, with that mindset for every other manufacturer, the logic makes sense to ensure people are not pushing it every time the tank shows E.

I used to ride motorbikes and they have a stated reserve accessible by moving the petcock or in modern bikes, reserve is simply accessible by the fuel pump. Funny that for a motorbikes it’s in the open - here is your reserve yet for cars it’s smoke and mirrors.

I had a similar issue with my old F250. The Ford engineer that I spoke with told me the exact same thing.

They are programmed to be inaccurate at E because they know that people will try to squeeze every ounce out of a tank before a refill, so by telling you that you need gas before you do, most people will fill up and not risk being stranded on the side of the road. For the diesel trucks it helps to keep air out of the fuel lines (did this once, took almost 6 hrs to purge the air from the fuel rail on a 6.4 Powerstroke).

My wife is one of those people. She will run her car down until the display shows 5 miles to empty every time. Drives me nuts. But... she's never been stranded, so there's that.

 

[Namerifsaxet1]

FWIW, just reviving this thread, my 2022 PW also is rather inaccurate regarding the gauge. Sadly, AlphaOBD only lets me set Empty (2%) and LFW (8%) and the tank volume, which was correct. No option to set the Full value.
There are some options regarding level voltages, but they're all set to zero.

Found the same on my 22 limited 2500. Build says 31 gallon tank but with 5 miles in range, allows just shy of 26 gallons. Looking forward to a remedy.

 

[SniperDroid]

Found the same on my 22 limited 2500. Build says 31 gallon tank but with 5 miles in range, allows just shy of 26 gallons. Looking forward to a remedy.

Had my 2019 Bighorn to the dealer last week. Same thing, settings all correct... I don't know what to check k next.

 

[turkeybird56]

Had my 2019 Bighorn to the dealer last week. Same thing, settings all correct... I don't know what to check k next.

Well, I just never pay a lot of attention. In town, I keep tank full. On a trip, I never go below 1/4 usually, but once I hit "E" in the Green Mountains in NC, and had to go off highway to get fuel. I have 26 gallon tank, and I put in total of 24.5, most I ever put in and the "E" was dinging me and saying 5 miles left, lol.

 

[SniperDroid]

Well, I just never pay a lot of attention. In town, I keep tank full. On a trip, I never go below 1/4 usually, but once I hit "E" in the Green Mountains in NC, and had to go off highway to get fuel. I have 26 gallon tank, and I put in total of 24.5, most I ever put in and the "E" was dinging me and saying 5 miles left, lol.

I have a 31 gallon tank, no visible damage, electronics programmed correctly, and when the Guage shows dead empty, no miles left, I can squeeze, really hard, and almost get 28 gallons in it... I guess accuracy may be going by the wayside, hope quality isn't next.

 

[18CrewDually]

Well, I just never pay a lot of attention. In town, I keep tank full. On a trip, I never go below 1/4 usually, but once I hit "E" in the Green Mountains in NC, and had to go off highway to get fuel. I have 26 gallon tank, and I put in total of 24.5, most I ever put in and the "E" was dinging me and saying 5 miles left, lol.

You have the small tank so it will be closer to accurate. The issue is with the bigger tank but the same factory tank settings as yours it is inaccurate.
Don't know if you guys saw earlier in this post but I adjusted mine and now for every 1/4 mark on the gauge is worth 8 gallons. And Empty means it! Though I don't run it that low intentional but now I know if I fill off my 92 gallon reserve tank at 1/4 tank reading on the gauge I know I'm using 24 gallons of my reserve. This is why it was important to me to read accurate. I travel/haul so I need it accurate for fuel stop figures and such.

 

[GTyankee]

I start looking for a gas station when my tank goes below 1/2 tank, when i am traveling where there are no cities & very few towns.
If you are driving east of Abilene Texas on I-20, there are one or two small towns with more than one gas stations, then a bit further east, the towns may have a gas station, but it is Closed or completely boarded up

 

[nlambert182]

Seems like an easy fix... just refuel at 1/4 tank. I've always done that and never really worried about whether or not I could get the number of gallons in it that I should be able to. This isn't just a Ram problem. I've never owned a vehicle that had a 100% accurate gas needle and I imagine it's because of what many have mentioned on here. They're designed that way.