How much fuel left when Reserve light comes on?

[craigv60]

Originally Posted by dcr69

I actually managed to put in 73.08 litres - definitely NOT something that I am proud of
Bear in mind the tank is officially 70 litres, plus the plumbing from the filler cap.

I once managed to get 71.5 litres into my previous V60's tank, and it was still showing 60-odd miles of range left. The rated tank capacity of 70 litres doesn't include the expansion space, etc ... some pumps will allow you to keep on pumping fuel until the neck is full.

[Robbiefen100]

Ah, brings back painful memories:

V50 2.0D 2005 model, coming home on A38 south towards Lichfield, low fuel - I'd seen Jeremy Clarkson play the fuel gamble game, and as already said above we all believe the reserve has a reserve...

I think it stated flashing, can't recall exactly but I remember thinking I'll use the throttle tenderly. Within a minute or two its warnings got serious! The engine started pulsating the power, similar to my old lawnmower with poorly set governor & clogged carb jet. Oh sh** I thought, come on baby I can almost see Tesco.. the traffic lights at the hospital turned red...then I experienced my first auto stop!

So there I was at the front of the lights with an engine that said "no" Hazards on I briskly paced to Tesco and got a loan can of diesel to slosh in whilst trying to avoid the glares of impatient commuters filing past the 'typical Volvo driver' broke down in a stupid place in the rush hour. Did she restart? Hell no! Did I try and try and try? Hell yeah! Then urgent phone calls to wife regarding collecting kids - Aggghhh

Clearly it refused to re charge the injector system, prime the pump or whatever and I concluded recovery may be needed. A local garage mechanic in his van then appeared like some angelic visitation (didn't look or smell very angelic but hey, I was still impressed). Now the story carries-on... He couldn't start it even after sloshing another 5 litres from his fuel can? I can remember him delving into the depths of the bonnet, refusing to be beaten, to manually pour or maybe inject fuel through a hose to the system. Fixed, got me going, I was most relieved needless to say.

Lesson learned, the slight incline was possibly the problem getting the fuel back to the engine? Seemed to be no long term harm done but I px'd for a v70 a year or so later. I'll never ignore those warnings again! As said above, engines and fuel systems are getting even more sensitive than ever about being run to dry - Don't do it!

Footnote - I kept his card for a while but have since forgotten the garage mechanic- PJS Autos Lichfield I'm pretty certain though.

[NigelDay]

I've told this one before, but for completeness ...
V50 DRIVe 2009. A1 south of Ferrybridge. Low fuel. Pulled into Shell. No diesel. Ah, no problem. I had a 5 litre can in the boot which (when added) would get me to the next Shell station at Ollerton. Can added. Strangely, the 'miles to empty' did not change, and (worse still) as we carried on our journey, the miles continued to go down until '--' miles left. Then "reduced engine performance" and a stuttering engine and stop. Mrs D not happy. 8pm on a dark October evening on a narrow hard shoulder is no fun. Volvo Assistance called. RAC arrived. Immediately knew the problem. 5 litres is not sufficient. Added a further 10 litres and the car very quickly restarted. It is all down to the design of the fuel tank. If I know I might be cutting it fine, I carry a 10 litre can, and will use this BEFORE the level gets too low in the main tank.

[ChrisCdotcodotuk]

Shocked to see that 5l is not sufficient to get the old girl going but I've driven 5+ miles a number of times with -- miles remaining.

I often drive to work (6miles) and see that I've got 15miles left when I leave my house. That gives me enough to go to the office, go home and nip to the garage just around the corner when it isn't busy. I often park up with 10miles showing on the dash and like magic when I go home in the evening -- miles remaining is on the dash.

I'm getting a bit bored of seeing that to be fair

I had a mondeo that showed 0 miles remaining. 6miles later it went very lumpy and needed a new fuel filter and a decent booting to clear the crud out of the system.

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by ChrisCdotcodotuk

Shocked to see that 5l is not sufficient to get the old girl going but I've driven 5+ miles a number of times with -- miles remaining.

I often drive to work (6miles) and see that I've got 15miles left when I leave my house. That gives me enough to go to the office, go home and nip to the garage just around the corner when it isn't busy. I often park up with 10miles showing on the dash and like magic when I go home in the evening -- miles remaining is on the dash.

I'm getting a bit bored of seeing that to be fair

I had a mondeo that showed 0 miles remaining. 6miles later it went very lumpy and needed a new fuel filter and a decent booting to clear the crud out of the system.

I take it you know you are supposed to keep diesel cars full of fuel all the time to avoid condensation forming in the tank during temperature changes in the weather?

[NigelDay]

Originally Posted by ChrisCdotcodotuk

Shocked to see that 5l is not sufficient to get the old girl going but I've driven 5+ miles a number of times with -- miles remaining.

I often drive to work (6miles) and see that I've got 15miles left when I leave my house. That gives me enough to go to the office, go home and nip to the garage just around the corner when it isn't busy. I often park up with 10miles showing on the dash and like magic when I go home in the evening -- miles remaining is on the dash.

I'm getting a bit bored of seeing that to be fair

I had a mondeo that showed 0 miles remaining. 6miles later it went very lumpy and needed a new fuel filter and a decent booting to clear the crud out of the system.

Certainly with the V50 this is the case. Apart from the 'breakdown incident' I tested the theory again on my drive. Typically '30 miles remaining' I would add 5 litres and see NO change in the display. Add a further 5 litres and it would shoot up to 150 miles remaining. So, on this particular car, the theory of the RAC man is absolutely correct. There is also the known issue with the XC60 D5 (subject to the recent software update) relating to the two halves of the fuel tank.
Before anyone asks, my nearest filling station is many miles away, hence I keep several cans of diesel to compensate.
To answer Roy, I have only once ever run the XC60 down to '20 miles remaining' and then (as always) I fill to capacity. Don't want to risk any fuel issues with the other potential turtles and EGRs which lurk around this forum. As I do around 2000 miles a month, fuelling is quite regular.

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by NigelDay

Certainly with the V50 this is the case. Apart from the 'breakdown incident' I tested the theory again on my drive. Typically '30 miles remaining' I would add 5 litres and see NO change in the display. Add a further 5 litres and it would shoot up to 150 miles remaining. So, on this particular car, the theory of the RAC man is absolutely correct. There is also the known issue with the XC60 D5 (subject to the recent software update) relating to the two halves of the fuel tank.
Before anyone asks, my nearest filling station is many miles away, hence I keep several cans of diesel to compensate.
To answer Roy, I have only once ever run the XC60 down to '20 miles remaining' and then (as always) I fill to capacity. Don't want to risk any fuel issues with the other potential turtles and EGRs which lurk around this forum. As I do around 2000 miles a month, fuelling is quite regular.

The XC60 fuel issue was not a physical one but a software issue with the fuel level being misread. The updated software solved it for affected cars.

[ChrisCdotcodotuk]

Originally Posted by RoyMacDonald

I take it you know you are supposed to keep diesel cars full of fuel all the time to avoid condensation forming in the tank during temperature changes in the weather?

Full is a fun task as I can't drag a fuel truck around with me all the time

I drive my car till it gets low then fill up. I live very close to a petrol station so I get fuel when I need it. Fill it up to max, drive 400 miles. Fill it up to max.

Rinse and repeat.

I don't like wasting my time visiting the fuel station just to keep my car nearly full which is why I run them low and fill them up when they want fuel.

My journeys are so bloody short when it says 50 miles remaining I can normally use that for a week to and from work.

[Rocinante]

Chris, do you not follow everything that the manual says, see extract below

"Winter driving
Check the following in particular before the
cold season:
• The engine coolant must contain at least
50% glycol. This mixture protects the
engine against frost erosion down to
approximately –35 °C. To achieve optimum
antifreeze protection, different types of glycol
must not be mixed.
• The fuel tank must be kept filled to prevent
condensation............"

[andymcp]

Life's too short to spend it in fuel stations....

Anyway, left Glasgow this morning with the red light already on, 90 mile range, for a 55 mile journey. Watched it plummet to 50 miles left in the first few miles, then recover to 75 mile range by the time I reached my destination. Pondering whether to attempt the 55 mile return journey without topping up....