09 TDI Fuel Reserve

[pawel]

I do not have my manual with me today, so can someone please tell me how much reserve does 09 TDI have? My fuel light came on this morning while commuting to work (drove 15 miles since light came on), so I'm trying to calculate if I have enough fuel to get to station I frequently use.

 

[VarmintSlayer]

I put 35 miles on with the fuel light on. New years day after a night shift and most of the stations were closed. Took 52 litres too fill. Car did not like this apparently as i almost had a no start the next morning.

 

[jayson9]

I put 35 miles on with the fuel light on. New years day after a night shift and most of the stations were closed. Took 52 litres too fill. Car did not like this apparently as i almost had a no start the next morning.

I thought I read somewhere on this forum (maybe in a post about changing fuel filters) , that running a TDI out of fuel is very bad. But, that may only pertain to PD's and not CRD's....

Either way, got myself into the habit of filling up between the (high side) 1/4 and 1/2 marks on the most part. As for the reserve, isn't the same as the '06 thru '07's? Use same tank, or atleast gallons?

P.S. I know...... I do drain the "gauge" every once in awhile to get rid of the bottom fuel. Usually every 5 tanks, or right before swapping out a fuel filter.

 

[pawel]

i know that it is not good to get that low on fuel, but all stations around my work (only two) sell ULSD w/ huge price mark up. also, i'm hoping to get 600 miles and post it under jan. mileage thread.

I guess i should be able to drive 38 miles on 1.2 gal of fuel at 42 mpg....

 

[VarmintSlayer]

That huge mark up is cheap insurance. Throw 5 bucks in. I don't recommend trying.

 

[lrpavlo]

On my JSW I got to within 30 miles of empty (according to the instrument cluster) IIRC I went 40 miles or so from when it flashed: "Please refuel immediately"

 

[CMB430]

Those of you in northern states are asking for a problem when you let the tank go below 1/4. I usually stop and get fuel at the 1/3 mark. In the summer it is a different story. I treat my gasoline vehicles the same way.

 

[NMRJock]

Those of you in northern states are asking for a problem when you let the tank go below 1/4. I usually stop and get fuel at the 1/3 mark. In the summer it is a different story. I treat my gasoline vehicles the same way.

We've consistently driven our '00 Jetta 50+ miles after the light comes on tank after tank. Winter or summer. Sometimes a bit less, often more. We've done that for a lot of miles. What sort of problem do you think I'm asking for?

 

[DoctorDawg]

I hit "Ding...Please Refuel" for the first time ever last week (ordinarily I'm a big believer in never going below 1/4, just to keep my fueling options open). I immediately checked the MFD's miles-to-empty figure and it was 60 miles (for what that's worth, which isn't much).

 

[MayorDJQ]

There's no "secret" reserve tank anywhere, it's just the last 2 gallons in the bottom of the tank.

P.S. I know...... I do drain the "gauge" every once in awhile to get rid of the bottom fuel. Usually every 5 tanks, or right before swapping out a fuel filter.

Why would running it down low do anything differently than refilling at 1/3 or 1/2 tank? The fuel pickup is at the very bottom of the tank.

 

[bklynkid]

My light came on while going to work last week. I drove it to work, roughly 25 miles at ~40MPG. I filled up and totalled only 13.3 gallons before it started topping off.

So... 25 miles at 40MPG = 0.625 gallons
On a 14.5 gallon tank if I was only able to put in 13.3 gallons that mean there were 1.2 gallons remaining in the tank

So, 0.625 + 1.2 = 1.825 gallons. I probably made a judgement error somewhere (either in the miles I drove that day, the MPG I got that day or how much I filled up) but taking the closest round number, my guess would be that at 2 gallons remaining the car alerts you to fill up.

Hope that helps.

 

[jayson9]

Why would running it down low do anything differently than refilling at 1/3 or 1/2 tank? The fuel pickup is at the very bottom of the tank.

Not all "contaminants" go to the bottom of the tank. Some may float around.

 

[kcfoxie]

I HAVE A 2006 MODEL!

If the 2009 is like the 2006, you should be OK. I've gone nearly 100 miles in the "red reserve" on long trips, certainly pushed it 40+ miles into the red.

I've also run my 2006 bone dry before (770 miles); it did restart as promised in the owners manual. I was (and had been) using B100 since new then, and wasn't worried with tank contamination. Pump failure was possible, but I was both prepared to replace it out of pocket and under warranty (with little conscience).

I DO NOT advise you run out of fuel.
I DO advise you to keep 1 gallon of diesel fuel in a jerrycan in the trunk
I DO think you can make it home with what is left in the tank OK

 

[pawel]

My light came on while going to work last week. I drove it to work, roughly 25 miles at ~40MPG. I filled up and totalled only 13.3 gallons before it started topping off.

So... 25 miles at 40MPG = 0.625 gallons
On a 14.5 gallon tank if I was only able to put in 13.3 gallons that mean there were 1.2 gallons remaining in the tank

So, 0.625 + 1.2 = 1.825 gallons. I probably made a judgement error somewhere (either in the miles I drove that day, the MPG I got that day or how much I filled up) but taking the closest round number, my guess would be that at 2 gallons remaining the car alerts you to fill up.

Hope that helps.

You are correct, the reserve is 1.8 US GAL or 7 L.

 

[bklynkid]

You are correct, the reserve is 1.8 US GAL or 7 L.

Hurray for math!

 

[2004STARWARSTDI]

Reserve

You can not depend on reserve being constant for all cars. It is very bad running CR low on fuel because you will damage fuel pump in tank. Fuel pump in tank relies on fuel surronding it to keep it cool!

 

[kcfoxie]

Don't all in tank lift pumps use the surrounding fuel to keep it cooled off?

 

[durundal]

Don't all in tank lift pumps use the surrounding fuel to keep it cooled off?

If you're the engineer designing the pump that is put in the tank, would you want to really make it such that it can overheat and break in situations it can easily be assumed the car will encounter as owners drive it around and don't always have time to get to the pump before the light comes on?

 

[kcfoxie]

Short answer: yes.

Designed to fail, or planned obsolescence, is what drives the auto industry at large these days.

Long answer: I ran mine dry once and it is still kicking some 40-50k miles later.

 

[CMB430]

It is just best not to let the tank get that low when it is cold outside. Fuel issues are more likely and to me it is not worth the risk. Besides, if I waited until I hit the red each time before filling up, I would forget where the station is and how to get there!

 

[Jandu]

I think the following may be true:
The risk you're running into is the issue of condensation. With an empty tank and high humidity, the moist air volume not occupied by fuel is higher, combined that with a sudden cooling would cause the mositure to condense and deposit into the tank.

 

[hid3]

I put 35 miles on with the fuel light on. New years day after a night shift and most of the stations were closed. Took 52 litres too fill. Car did not like this apparently as i almost had a no start the next morning.

Woww!!! Stations closed for holiday/nighttime? Haven't heard of that any time before. Here all the stations are 24x7x52...

 

[dieselfueler]

I ran my PD dry/missing very bad 3 times and finally had to replace my OE lift pump at 252,000 miles. Not sure how long it was dead but it probably was at least 25,000-30,000 miles. The weird thing is the the canister itself was cracked to two.

 

[MayorDJQ]

The argument that the pump needs to be submerged to stay cool makes no sense to me. There will still be fuel moving through it. If the pump is so sensitive, you'd never be able to run below 1/3 tank. The pump failures that have happened were probably poorly designed pumps.

 

[VarmintSlayer]

Woww!!! Stations closed for holiday/nighttime? Haven't heard of that any time before. Here all the stations are 24x7x52...

It's just the stations out in the boonies, they open at 9am or so on Sundays and holidays. Normally it does not matter, because i like use the same station by my house all the time.