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3K views 36 replies 23 participants last post by  Kurlee Daddee 
#1 ·
The low fuel warning does not give you much range. I was trying to run the fuel down as far as possible, and I only went maybe 15 miles after the warning first came on. My other cars have always been at least 2 gallons after the light comes on. Lesson learned, dont push the CTS-V low fuel warning.

So I was stuck on the side of the road, about 1/4 mile from the gas station that I was on my way to ironically, until my wife came to bail me out. But it was cool, the road was next to a rail line and my son got to see about 4 commuter trains go by.

To add salt to the wound, a guy in a mustang cobra, and another in a Charger slowed down to gawk at the "broken-down" Caddy on the side of the road :helpless:
 
#2 ·
I've shared a similar fate. I actually pulled into the gas station, thought it looked a little scrubby so i pulled out of it and made it about 10 ft. Entrance back to the station had quite a dip so there was to be no pushing it. I guess i was lucky to be about 10 ft away but felt kinda silly buying a $20 gas can to fill up my car next to the curb. Long story short, the warning gives very little notice.
 
#4 ·
The low fuel warning does not give you much range. I was trying to run the fuel down as far as possible, and I only went maybe 15 miles after the warning first came on. My other cars have always been at least 2 gallons after the light comes on. Lesson learned, dont push the CTS-V low fuel warning.

So I was stuck on the side of the road, about 1/4 mile from the gas station that I was on my way to ironically, until my wife came to bail me out. But it was cool, the road was next to a rail line and my son got to see about 4 commuter trains go by.

To add salt to the wound, a guy in a mustang cobra, and another in a Charger slowed down to gawk at the "broken-down" Caddy on the side of the road :helpless:
Same exact thing happened to me. I was PISSED. I can drive 25 miles on my lexus when the fuel light comes on. The problem is there's no secondary warning system. Every other car I've owned the fuel light comes on THEN it switches over to fuel now. This things lights go on and you dont know where you stand. It doesnt give you miles to zero, it just says low fuel. Shitty system if you ask me. Hopefully they fix it on the next one.
 
#5 ·
I almost ran out of gas in my CTS, but only because I was looking at the temp gauge and thought I had half a tank. :alchi: Just felt like sharing my personal humiliation.
 
#10 ·
If you search through the other numerous threads here about people running out of gas one theme seems prevalent. If you wait until the low fuel light comes on you will get approx 15 miles before the car dies. Some made it only 10, some up to 20, but 15 is the magic number. That is the V. If you monitor the DIC computer for amount of fuel used, when it says you've burned 16 gallons you better fill up quickly. :)
 
#11 ·
We have two tools, "Fuel Used" & "Fuel Range" If you know you're getting to the 1/4 tank mark and there is no Shell in the vicinity, you should switch to one of these immediately to calc. just how much driving you got left before you must stop at one of the cheap stations.
However you can't wait until the warning comes on to switch to Fuel Range cause by then all you will see is "LOW RANGE" which at this time doesn't tell us anything we didn't know anyway!
 
#14 ·
When the warning comes on you do get around a gallon. It all depends on howyou drive to determine how far you will go before running out. I ran out once, and was lucky enough to be able to pull into a parking lot. Plus I go to the gas station all the time and they let me borrow a red can to go put gas in to come back to fill up. It sucks. You just have a snarling V8 that sucks down gas. I.E. gas guzzler tax you paid when buying the car.
 
#15 ·
Two out of gas days in the V. Wife 1 and myself 1. Wife was 1st, and I was originally mad that she let herself get in that bad situation, and had to have gas delivered on the side of the road to her. 2nd was me, had so little warning that I actually ran out as I pulled into the parking space at work. One push of On Star and 34 minutes later, Cadillac roadside assistance was there with complimentary gas to get me back on the road. (Thank you Ken Batchelor Cadillac for supporting this area when other dealers do not!):thumbsup:

I respect the 1/4 tank rule now.....and apologized to the Mrs. on the situation! :worship:
 
#18 ·
Never heard of that before, but I dont know enough to dispute you. I do know some cars' efficiency greatly drops when fuel gets below a certain level. I dont think the V is one of them though, I didnt really notice any drop in power when I was down there.

But like I said I always fill up before a 1/4 tank except when I am adding fuel injector cleaner.
 
#19 ·
Been there, done that 3 times now. Always within a mile or two of the station I'm shooting for. For those who don't drive their car below a half tank of gas, you must live at the gas station. I get an indicated reading of about 197 mile range when I fill up, and usually less than 100 miles at half a tank. Who drives less than a hundred miles before filling up (and those are commuter miles). Don't even get me started on where you are at half a tank on hard driven miles. I commute about 45 miles a day (passing no stations on the way) and trying to sqeeze in one last commute on the bottom of the tank leaves me walking. How I miss my old V-8 BMW in those situations. Always left me plenty of reserve (the range indicator on that car actually went to 0 and still gave you enough gas to stretch to a station).

I hope the next V gets about a five gallon larger gas tank to go with the new, more powerful engine.

Brian R.
 
#20 ·
Thread jack: Brian, do you still live on the River? I hope you are making out ok with all the rain we have been having.
 
#21 ·
Yeah, I'm still here. River is still in its banks, but its projected by NOAA to rise 4.5' by tomorrow, so I'm crossing my fingers that it stays that way.
On the plus side, I was able to give the V a much needed bath yesterday before the rains, but on the minus side I'm not sure if the garage will stay dry.

Brian R.
 
#22 ·
Let's see, a big ass V8, less than 1/4 tank of gas and you don't get gas because an idiot light has'nt come on yet...you're gonna be walking.
 
#24 ·
Wow you guys are great!! I had a rather trying weekend with the V (posted the thread tonite… Couple of mods...)
…I started out doing a couple mods and ended up with a couple I didn’t plan on. :(
Anyway, after reading your stories I was able to crack a smile, and well now... I feel a bit better. :eek:

Thanks for the fuel gauge lesson... I have had the light come on once, and waited until I got off work to fill up… I didn’t realize how close I was cutting it.:bigroll:

…And it would have been real bad if I ran out at work, since...

I Work at a Oil Refinery!!! :eek:
 
#26 ·
I actually ran out of gas during my "test" drive. The look on the sales persons face was priceless. We then walked back to the dealership to sign the papers. He said in 14 years this had never happened and was VERY embarrassed!
 
#32 ·
This didn't happen to you in Orland Park on 167th street did you? A few co-workers told me about a CTS (which some believed to be a V) which appeared to be broken down in front of our building (Panduit) last week. They were then able to conclude that they had only run out of gas and wasn't broken down after all. I guess they felt compelled to tell me since I'm also a V guy...
 
#35 ·
No, rt 134 in round lake, 3 blocks from the BP I was on my way to. Why is it you run out of gas when you are so close? But that is not as bad as the time I ran out of gas after pulling out of a gas station whose pumps were not working.

By the way, I dont like the mirror going down, annoying. But then I never parallel park.
 
#34 ·
"Outside Curb View Assist" as GM calls it, is only the passenger side mirror. Without electrical tape and dash parts all over your driveway, there's no way to do it with the driver side mirror.

As far as the original thread, the "low range" mode definitely sucks... I just drive it like a regular cts until I hit a fueling station... Then its :burn:
 
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