1 4 tank of gas is typically considered a low fuel level when it comes to gas-consuming engines like the ones equipped in big trucks. But this is not always true for average vehicles with fuel-efficient engines, as you can get away with driving farther than expected just with a quarter tank of gas.
Determining the distance a quarter tank of gas can travel tends to depend on some critical factors that impact your vehicle.
Keep reading this article to find out how many miles you can drive with a quarter tank of gas for various vehicle models.
Contents
How Many Miles Can Your Car Travel With a Quarter Tank of Gas?
Your car can travel anywhere from 100 to 200 miles with a quarter tank of gas depending on certain factors. These factors include your vehicle’s miles per gallon, the overall volume of the gas tank, fuel pump and fuel filter performance, number of passengers or cargo size, driving style, etc.
Therefore, a few parameters must be considered and established to estimate how many miles your quarter fuel tank can travel. For instance, if your driving conditions and style remain consistent, a quarter tank of gas may travel more miles than another vehicle subjected to different driving conditions.
Aside from this, you must also consider the fuel tank size of your vehicle. Generally, automobile engines with larger fuel tanks tend to consume more gas than those with smaller fuel tanks, thus affecting how far you can travel with a quarter tank of gas. But that’s not always the case.
Check how many miles you can travel with a variety of vehicles below:
– Honda Accord
The 2022 non-hybrid Honda Accord comes with a 14.8-gallon tank, indicating that a quarter of the tank is 3.7 gallons. Many agree that the fuel tank capacity of this vehicle is more than sufficient for the economical Japanese sedan.
Under normal operating conditions, this vehicle’s gas mileage rating stands at 32 miles per gallon on average. Thus, the quarter tank of gas can cross from 120 to 150 miles before running out of fuel.
– Ford Mustang
The 2022 Ford Mustang comes equipped with just 15.5 gallons gas tank. This means that the quarter tank is slightly under 4 gallons of gas, a relatively small gas tank capacity for a large V8.
The gas mileage ratings of this sports car stand at 30 miles per gallon on the highway, 21 miles per gallon in the city, and 24 miles per gallon on average. As such, you can travel over 100 miles with a quarter-filled tank of this vehicle as long as you cautiously use the gas pedal.
– Toyota Prius
The 2022 Toyota Prius has a fuel tank capacity of 11.4 gallons, which enjoys wide acceptance as a highly fuel-efficient hybrid. This is because the estimated gas mileage rating is as follows: 58 miles per gallon in the city and 53 miles per gallon on the highway, giving 53 miles per gallon on average.
With a quarter of the tank standing at 2.85 gallons, the Prius can travel over 160 miles on gasoline alone, with an addition of over 25 miles when running on electric power. Put together, this vehicle can cross about 200 miles with just 1/4 tank of gas.
– Toyota Tundra
The new truck model now comes with a gas tank capacity of 22.5 gallons. Back then, the Tundra was referred to as the gas guzzler because of its high fuel consumption, but the V8 engine has improved in recent years.
The gas mileage rating ranks as 22 miles per gallon on average. With a whopping 5.6 gallons of fuel making a quarter tank, the Tundra can only travel 120 to 140 miles before running out of gas.
– Ford F-150
The 3.3L V6 engine of the Ford F-150 comes equipped with a 23 gallons fuel tank capacity. Therefore, 1/4 of the tank holds an estimated 5.75 gallons of fuel. This full-size truck has a gas mileage rating of 20 miles per gallon in the city, and 24 miles per gallon on the highways, thus providing an average of 23 miles per gallon when combined. So, with a quarter tank of gas, you can drive a minimum of over 130 miles to about 150 miles range before the vehicle stalls out.
In the meantime, the 5.0L V8 Ford model gives a slightly different stat. This truck uses the same 23-gallon gas tank but has lesser fuel efficiency, reaching just 21 miles per gallon drive on average. As such, you can drive only 130 miles with one-quarter of the tank gas left.
How Do You Know Your Vehicle Has 1/4 Tank of Gas Left?
You can know that your vehicle has 1/4 tank of gas left when the fuel gauge line measures close to the bottom. More descriptively, your car has a quarter tank of fuel when the gauge indicator stands between the empty bracket and the half-tank line or the middle gauge.
Usually, the last quarter of the gas tank accommodates about three to five gallons of fuel. So having a quarter tank of gas left indicates that you will need to fill up soon. When the fuel gauge line falls below the 1/4 mark, close to 1/8 of a tank, then this indicates you need to refill your fuel tank immediately.
In some vehicles, manufacturers color the 1/4 fuel gauge below differently. In comparison, other automakers only mark the 1/8 fuel gauge downwards with a distinct color to indicate a low fuel level.
How Does the Digital Fuel Gas Gauge Reading Work?
The digital fuel gas gauge reading works via fuel sensors that measure the voltage across a variable resistor component in the sensing system to detect the amount of gas in your vehicle. The information is then relayed to the driver through the fuel gas scale in the indicating system.
In some cases, automaker intentionally makes the gauge to provide less accurate fuel gauge readings when filling up or nearly emptying the tank. Some attest that this approach helps ease the minds of drivers. Likewise, it prevents potential damages to your vehicle’s fuel system, primarily due to an overworked fuel pump and reduced cooling system.
Why Is It Important To Keep a 1/4 Tank of Gas in Your Vehicle?
It is important to keep at least a 1/4 tank of gas in your vehicle to help protect your fuel pump and fuel filter. The fuel tank is a crucial part of your vehicle that hold fuel and supplies it to the engine.
When you keep running your vehicle with less than 1/4 tank of gas, this can cause a problem if the fuel pump sucks up sediments, usually the particles from the fuel tank or low-quality fuel, and feeds it to the engine. This could also clog the fuel lines, including the fuel filter, and damage the engine.
Additionally, the fuel pump in modern vehicles resides within the engine, where the fuel helps it cool. So when the gas level of your car falls below the fuel pump, the pump will start tolerating air, which generates more heat. Eventually, the resulting overheating will make the fuel pump wear out faster or, in the worse case, cause a complete fuel pump failure.
Conclusion
A quarter gas tank may get you crossing several miles before you run out of fuel. However, this depends on certain factors, such as the overall volume of the gas tank, fuel pump, fuel filter, driving style, etc.
Here’s a quick recap of the critical points we mentioned in this article:
- 1/4 tank of gas can travel anywhere from 100 to 200 miles of range.
- Generally, a quarter gas tank holds about three to five gallons of fuel.
- Your car has a quarter fuel tank when the gauge indicator stands between the empty bracket and the half-tank line.
- Always keep at least a quarter of the tank capacity in your vehicle to prevent damage to your fuel pump and fuel filter.
Above all, you can optimize your vehicle maintenance and gas expenses if you don’t let the fuel gauge fall far below 1/4 of the tank capacity.
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