How far you can drive “on empty,” or when the low fuel light illuminates, is typically somewhere between 25 and 108 miles, according to a chart from car repair and maintenance company YourMechanic. The chart looks at the top 50 selling vehicles in the U.S. in 2015, and for each of them, it details how much fuel is left when the gas light goes on and roughly how many miles you can drive without running totally dry.

How far your fumes will take you depends on several factors, including your driving habits, the road conditions, and what type of car you have. It’s important to note that although sometimes driving on empty is a necessity, it should not be made a habit, as it can do serious damage to your vehicle by sending debris that rest near the bottom of the tank up through the fuel pump.

I agree it is possible for the sluge to go into your oil pump and cause it plug up, but if you read on the back of the can it says if your vehicle has more than 50,000 miles on it you need to take the oil pan off and clean all the excess sluge off, this will fix your problem with puging up your oil pump, unless it just happend to do it while your flushing your engine in the five min. another thig to stop this is to put a new oil filter on before you begin to flush, because your old filter most likely cant filter enough. Once the flush is done put another oil filter on

Bad fuel or incorrect timing and/or weak spark or other component in secondary ignition system.

usually late ignition timing could cause this or an excessive amount of fuel in the exhaust system.

backfire can be caused by choke not shutting off completely, also could have a bad distributor cap, bad spark plugs, bad ignition condensor, bad plug leads, or to much fuel getting to carburetor system

Consider getting yourself a service manual as it contains many troubleshooting for your car. Comes very handy sometimes.

Can also be caused by crossed spark plug wires meaning they are not connected in the proper order

Also

Listen to the Signs of the Car talking to you,

Is the Backfire coming from the Tailpipe area or the Engine Compartment area?

Signs of backfire can be caused Vacuum Leak, in and around the Intake Manifold Base Gasket areas, and the Carb. Base or Throttle Body Base, and in any of the many different

Vacuum hoses/lines depending on your make or model, "Use Caution with what you use to seek out the Vacuum leaks, as many aresol base products contain a petroleum base

which can cause severe flash fires,

( especially on and around HOT Engine Parts & Faulty or Loose Plug wires )

in Running Conditions.

Be Safe Now / Cruise Longer

A car backfires because unburned fuel is getting to the muffler. The heat of the exhause system causes the fuel to combust, thus a backfire. I have just been told that the rubber on my exhaust has split - could this be why the car would backfire? I have heard something about air getting into the exhaust could cause a backfire? back fire can be caused by different faults. first is to much fuel because of worn carburetter, or wrong adjusments on carburetter. choke sticking will cause backfire. timing be out of adjustment will cause backfire exhaust leak can cause backfire. bad spark plugs, or plug leads , distributer cap worn of cracked will cause backfire as for fuel in muffler, if it combusted in muffler , the muffler would split open it is not that. and i dont know of any rubber on an exhaust that would take the heat aexhaust manifold gaskets could be problem but if they were rubber they would melt \ is it good or bad to have backfire It can also be done with intentional modification, such as done in ''Keeping Up Appearances'' British sitcom. A fuel line and an oxidizer line are added to the muffler with a manual rubber bulb pump added to the line as the ''backfire button.'' At a point before entering the muffler, the lines have a pair of backflow valves to prevent the flame from racing into the mixture tanks. Squeezing the bulbs dispense a mixture of pure alcohol and an oxidizer into the muffler to create a reaction. For Onslow's car in the TV programme, copier toner was squirted in the tailpipe for a heavy soot effect on the backfire command. Having a car backfire can shake off any parts that aren't bolted completely, and can cause the engine to stall because the pressure of the backfire can temporarily disrupt the exhaust release from the engine. Besides, it would spook horses, cows, or anyone not used to loud noises. So having the car backfire down a Harlem road won't have the same effect, as a car backfiring down a rural city road.

Here are more opinions and answers from other FAQ Farmers:

• If I remember right I think compression is the 3rd element to an engine running. timing belt or timing chain? You need to eliminate each one(fuel,spark or compression)first and then continue narrowing down from there. I have seen dampness cause ignition wires to fail among a multitude of others. Have a real tech troubleshoot it, other wise your gonna replace good parts guessing.

• It is one of three things. It isn't getting proper spark, proper fuel, or proper compression. Use the process of deduction and find out. If the engine turns over the starter isn't bad.

• Well it depends on the car but it could be that you don't have spark, you could have a big vacuum leak, timing might be off. But don't flood your motor if your in a hurry!

• There are several possibilities: lack of fuel, sprk or compression, these are possible Maintenence items among many other possiblities: spark plugs (worn), ignition wire (Worn), distributor cap (worn), distributor rotor (worn), fuel filter (too dirty), air filter (no air getting in) and timing belt (timing is off).

• It is worthwile to check for spark from the coil before considering the distributor, spark plug wires or sparkplugs. Assuming that lack of spark is the problem.

• Another thing it could be is that your car is flooded , requiring possibly 3 hours for plugs to dry.

• I had a problem on a 1994 ranger that turned out to be a motion switch that had been tripped when the car was bumped. It caused the electric fuel pump not to turn on.

• If the car is a Chrysler product and just cranks but won't fire, it could be the fusible link. On Ford and GM cars the car will not even crank if it is bad but on Chryslers it will just crank. I don't know about imports.

• Other possible sources of fuel related problems are a collapsed fuel line(depending on how old the car is) or plugged filter. Before you drive yourself nuts trying to locate the fuel shut off that the fellow described on the ranger.....it's been my experience that is only on ford models(you don't say anything about your make or yr)in the trunk in cars. Good luck

• Correction: It's primarily fuel, spark, and timing. Timing problem of course can lead to lack of compression. Clarification: The comment on the '94 Ranger is correct. Many Fords have what is called an "inertia switch" which will cut off the fuel pump. This is designed to benefit the occupants in the case of a severe accident. I don't believe any other domestic maker uses this, but some imports do such as Jaguar.

• A GASOLINE internal combustion engine needs 3 things to function properly: 1) fuel, preferrably delivered at the right mixture, but generally if it's there and the other two components are met, the engine will at least run. 2) ignition, often referred to as a spark or fire, ignition timing must be within a couple degrees of factory settings otherwise the engine may not run at all. Ignition spark strength must also be high enough to be adequate for the air/fuel mixture to ignite, but generally it is an all or nothing situation in the newer, electronic ignition systems. 3) compression, if the compression is up, the cylinders, valves and camshaft are functioning adequately and the timing chain/belt/gear is timed properly. If all three of the above conditions are met, the engine will start when it is cranked. To find out why it won't start, you have to find out which of the above conditions isn't being met. Rather than approach the problem in a "shotgun" manner, it's best to be methodical in your approach. First, spray some starting fluid into the air intake while a friend tries to start the engine. If the engine runs briefly while you are spraying starting fluid, you have good reason to believe that the engine is not getting fuel... item 1 on the requirements. If the starting fluid didn't give you any clues, pull a sparkplug wire from the plug (any one will do) and connect it to a spare sparkplug. Set the sparkplug on a solid metal part of the engine and have your friend crank the engine again while you watch the sparkplug. You should see a bright spark if the ignition is working properly. And finally, if the above two tests didn't give you any information, run a compression test. Since all valves and all cylinders don't generally fail at the same time, you'll only be testing the timing of the camshaft, but that's pretty important. Mark the location of each sparkplug wire. I generally use a piece of masking tape with the cylinder number, then wrap the tape around the sparkplug wire, making a little flag or tab. This part is important, since you don't want to finish the job and wonder where the wires go. Next, pull the sparkplugs and carefully observe the condition of each plug. Look for oil fouling, wet plugs, WHITE plug insulators, worn plugs and damaged plugs. If the center insulator (the part that goes INSIDE the cylinder) is too white, it's an indication that the engine is running too lean and you could be causing damage to valves or pistons. If the plug is black and oily, it indicates that the cylinder is worn and oil is leaking past the rings or valve stem seals. If the sparkplug is wet with fuel, it's an indicator that the cylinder is FLOODED, meaning that somehow there is too much fuel being delivered, and a wet sparkplug cannot properly ignite the fuel in the cylinder. If the plugs all check out ok, use a compression gauge while your friend again tries to start the engine. Since there are no plugs in the cylinders, the engine won't start, but you're measuring the pressure that is built up in the cylinders. Generally, it should be around 90 PSI, but that number may be different for different engines. Generally, the number should be withing 5 to 10 PSI for each cylinder. A variance of more than 15 PSI indicates burned valves or worn rings. If ALL cylinders are low, (below 70 PSI) it's a good indication that the camshaft is no longer timed properly. That is caused by a slipped timing belt or timing chain.

• THE 'KEY' COULD BE THE ANSWER. Well... some recent cars/vans have a immobilizer embedded. Such a car/van can only be started with an original key i.e. a key which comes with the cars and which has a electronic chip. So if you have recently cut a key from any roadside key-cutter and your car turns using this key but the engine fails to fire it could be the immobilising safety device in your car that's preventing it from starting. This is a good safety feature!

Another ting to try is removing the spark plugs (make sure you re- cord which wires go where) and pro vidind that the engine isn't flooded

spray some starting fluid(avalible at auto parts stores) in the hol where the spark plug was and put the spark plugs back in and try to start it if it begins to start but then shuts off

your problem is proboly fuel delivery, but if the engine is flooded take out the plugs and let it sitt for a while to dry out.

There is a little sprocket in your strarter looks like a cog with teeth on in, but the teeth can chip or break if the metal is cheap which in most cars now days it is. So the starter is turning but the missing teeth are not connecting to make a spark keep turning it samething happened to my Buick but i didnt gte is fixed rite away because if you keep cranking evetually the teeth will catch and ignite

a motor needs fuel/ spark / air / compression all at the correct time check sources of all from major parts to minor (id start with anything electrical) you should find the problem

- One other thing that could possibly have gone bad is the main relay, its a $50 part that gives the fuel pump power when the key is on, so bad relay, no power to pump, no gas, no start.

-you need, spark, compression and a proper fuel mixture for your car to start. Generally, the compression gives way over time, so it is the last thing you should suspect if this problem appeared overnight. First thing you should try is to turn the key to the "on" position (not the crank start position). You should hear an electronic hum coming from the fuel tank. If you don't hear the hum, check the fuel pump relay or fuse. If those are fine, the fuel pump is suspect. If you do hear the hum, your fuel pump is working fine. Check for fuel pressure in the fuel line. It should look like a valve like the one you might find on a bicycle tire. If fuel sprays out, your fuel pressure is fine, which means you can suspect the spark. The battery is not the culprit (it turned the starter remember). Check for spark as noted above. If you don't get spark, check spark from the coil. Depending on the model and technology of your car, you can then suspect the ignition control module (esp. if it was a hot day) , as well as the distributor and all its components like the rotor and distributor cap.

By the way, most, if not all new cars have an inertia trip switch. Mine is under the dash. .

There are many different opinions about what gasoline to use for a car that is a V6 and not a performance V8. Here are some of them:

• Most turbocharged or other vehicles requiring higher octane fuel will lose power and economy as part of the computer's strategy for using the low-octane fuel safely. Also note that many Nissan vehicles will turn on the check engine light when they use low octane fuel.

• I have used Chevron gasoline for many years. There is a notable difference in warm up time, idle smoothness, off the line response, performance at speed and of course passing power. I occasionally fill up with an off brand or even a name brand other than Chevron and I can always tell the difference.

• Few V-8's and even fewer 6's require premium gas.

You gain NO additional power using premium. Octane is simply a measure of the fuels resistance to knock (also known as pre-ignition).

The higher the compression of the engine, the higher octane it needs to avoid "pinging". If your engine doesn't ping under heavy acceleration on regular (87) gas, you don't need anything with higher octane.

Plus, cars made in the last 5 years adjust the timing automatically if pinging is detected....so even when the manufacturer might recommend mid or high octane, you won't hurt the car using a lower grade...you'll just lose a little bit of power.

Not a performance vehicle who cares use any.

• A high octane gas is important to put in your car about once a month though or it will hurt the car because of a water build up from the lower quality gas. also bp gas has been proven iin scientific tesing to be the best quality gas you can buy in america.

• All great facts, but to get to the point. Higher (top end) cars use premium gas because the compression ratio is higher, this helps burn more fuel at a higher flash pont (temperature gasoline ignites). Therfore, using premium gas in a V6 or V8 differs depending on the make and model of the vehicle. Oh yeah, and putting 92 octaine gas in a vehicle not recommended for will not increase power.

• Premium gas was specified in the question, so octane is not the issue. Major brand premium gasolines are virtually identical, so there is no advantage in using one brand over the others. There isn't enough data to confirm the statements about BP and Chevron.

I have a Honda Accord and it is a V6. I always go to Chevron. Do not go to a Costco, Valero, Exxon, or anything other than a Chrevron. If you don`t go to Chevron, sometimes your car might not be able to start and you will have to rev it a little bit.

• 7/23/09 I saw a ABC documentary why gasoline price changes so fast. In this documentary, a gasoline wholesaler said that since Federal Regulation dictates how gasoline is formulated, all gasolines brands are the same. He sells to Shell, Cheveron, Valero, etc. All big name tankers and small name tankers buy gasoline from him. I buy the cheapest and every two month put a can of BG product to keep fuel injectors clean. By the way, gas prices changes quickly due to wall street speculators.

Furthermore according to the documentary the only difference in gas quality is the money an individual gas company will spent to convince you of the difference. Gas is a lot like tires if you put 300$ tires on a car or $3000 tires on a car a person who knows nothing about tires will never know the feeling/ difference the quality should have made.

I saw many hundreds $$$ flying out the window.

My spirits soared when the mechanic told me ' IT IS UNDER WARRANTY'.

Picked up car and NO CHARGE it was.

It seems that emmission parts are warranted for 7 years in Canadaand I guess in US.

1-Compression test. This tests the state of the 'bottom half' of the engine and the valves and seats. All cylinders should should be within 5 psi, and near the high end of spec. If your compression gauge is old or of poor quality or the vehicle battery is suspect, look only for equality between cylinders, not comparison to spec.

2-Running compression test. Similar to above, but also identifies the presence of many valvetrain problems such as cam wear and valve lash that a regular compression test will not pick up on. The regular test is still important though because the running test is less sensitive to effects of worn rings and cylinder walls.

3-Compare oil pressure at idle to manufacturer's specification.

4-Visually look for external leaks, especially at gaskets and freeze plugs.

5-Visually look for oil in the radiator or coolant in the oil pan.

6-Use a non-contact thermometer to measure the temperature of engine block and head(s) at multiple locations after the engine has been idling for several minutes. The head(s) should have a consistent temperature, and the block should also have a consistent (not the same as heads though) temperature.

If all of the above check out okay, the engine is good.

If it sounds good and runs good, chances are it is good. Check the oil level regularly. If the engine is excessively worn, it will consume oil. Usually this is also accompanied by bluish-gray smoke from the exhaust (oil getting past worn piston rings or valve guides into the cylinders and burning along with the fuel). Also check for oil leaks. Test drive the vehicle and check oil pressure. Most cars the oil pressure gauge should read halfway or above with the engine running and at normal operating temperature. Mileage is not the main determinant of engine condition. Engines that have had regular oil changes and have been properly maintained are likely to give reliable service for many thousands of miles. Poorly maintained engines may need an overhaul very early in their lives. You may also have a compression test done at a local shop or do it yourself simple pressure guage and that will give you a good reading on engine compression lets you know if you have good compression also lets you know if you got leaks.