Wondering how many miles your car can go after the gas light comes on?

Follow these three simple steps below to find out how far!

Crunch the numbers yourself, or just enter your info after steps 2 & 3 and we'll calculate it for you!

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Start by filling up a full tank of gas, and then RESET your trip meter.

This can usually be done by holding down the little peg next to the display.

Check your car's owner's manual for more information on resetting the trip meter.





When your gas light comes on, stop at the next gas station ASAP and completely fill up your tank again.

Divide the # of miles driven since resetting the trip meter by the # of gallons you just filled up (found on the receipt).

This will give you your car's miles per gallon (MPG) since you last filled up your tank. Example below:

Miles Since Last Fill-Up: (miles)
Gallons Filled at Station: (gal)
Answer: Miles Per Gallon (mpg)
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Lastly, locate your car's fuel tank capacity. This can be found in your owner's manual, which is usually kept in the glove box.

Multiply the MPG found in step #2 times the difference in your tank capacity and the number of gallons you just filled up:

So in this example, once the gas light comes on there are about 66.8 miles remaining until the tank is empty!

MPG from step #2: (miles/gal)
Tank Capacity: (gal)
Gallons Filled at Station: (gal)
Answer: Miles After Gas Light!
Want to use Metic Units instead?  

If you'd like, you can click here to submit your results to us!



Note NOTE: This calculation is a best-estimate at your remaining milage once your gas light has come on. Continually driving on too low of fuel can damage your fuel pump and should be avoided.