# When do you fuel up?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [July 25, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577 "2023-07-25T19:53:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/1 "2023-07-25T19:53:01Z")
That’s all - when do you fill your vehicle?
_Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/1))_
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/2 "2023-07-25T20:02:22Z")
Though I drive so much less now that I often fill up closer to a half tank as I know a convenient and inexpensive gas station is coming up now.
I used to put on over 20,000 miles a year and bought a Prius so I would go from filling up 3 times every 2 weeks to only 2 times every 3 weeks.
About 80 times a year vs. 35 times a year.
Last year I think I drove \<2000 miles. I probably filled up 12 times all year if that.
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### Author:  [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/3 "2023-07-25T20:08:09Z")
I fill back up when I’m around a half tank (actually between 3/4s and 1/2.
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### Author:  [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/4 "2023-07-25T20:17:59Z")
When at home and just commuting about the city I usually refuel at my usual servoafter the alert comes.
Whilst [on this trip](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diary-of-a-wandering-thule/985453), I refuel when about half tank.
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/5 "2023-07-25T20:23:56Z")
None of the options in this poll apply to me (just like they didn’t to the last poll, which might have been in the MPSIMS omnibus poll thread). It very much depends on what part of the pricing cycle my city or state is in (usually the entire state raises prices all at once, Florida before my move, Ohio after), and if prices (oil to begin with) are rising or falling overall.
I topped off Sunday evening knowing that a price jerk (as I like to call them) was imminent (usually on a Monday or Tuesday), which it indeed was, to the tune of 27 cents/gallon, 40 cents for the station I have learned has the cheapest premium locally (a Kroger’s 4 miles from my place). Afterwards I’ll wait until I sense the next jerk is coming (oil has been up massively over the past 2 weeks), only buying enough to get me around for the following 2-3 days (whenever I go shopping next natch). If the increases are coming quick and fast like they did after Putin’s invasion I’ll be topping off pretty frequently.
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### Author:  [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/6 "2023-07-25T20:38:53Z")
I fill up whenever I’m at Costco regardless of where the tank level is at although in the winter I’m more conscious of using “not much less than half a tank” as a guide in the winter.
I have a GMC Acadia that’s relatively decent on gas plus about 90+ litre tank so I commonly get 2 weeks or more out of a fill.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/7 "2023-07-25T20:41:09Z")
I used to be a 1/4 tank guy, but Mrs Cheesesteak was taught from a young age to never let the gas tank get below 1/2, and I don’t need to be the cause of her fuel tank anxiety, so it’s 1/2 from now on.
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### Author:  [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/8 "2023-07-25T20:43:23Z")
Usually on the highway when I’m traveling to visit my parents, as it’s much cheaper that way than in my city & surrounding suburbs. I visit my parents every couple of months and don’t do much driving otherwise, so usually I have somewhere between a quarter and half tank left whenever I get to the gas station.
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### Author:  [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/9 "2023-07-25T20:52:19Z")
Repeatedly letting your gas tank run close to empty is bad for your car. The fuel pump on most modern vehicles is in the gas tank. It is kept cool by the gas sloshing around in there. If you are a person that lets the gas tank get almost empty before refueling you may be causing unnecessary wear on your fuel pump, an expensive repair.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/10 "2023-07-25T21:02:43Z")
When the warning lights get too annoying.
I’ve been driving for 60 years and have never had a fuel pump issue, even on the cheap junk I drove when young. I’ve never run out of gas either. The warning lights do a good job of keeping me even from running on dregs. My current car tells me the approximate mileage I will get before emptying, and gets annoying at about 50 miles, which seems to be plenty of cushion.
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/11 "2023-07-25T21:06:53Z")
When the “miles remaining” indicator says 30, we start looking. Most of our driving is here in fairly densely-populated eastern MA, so it’s not much of a problem.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/12 "2023-07-25T21:14:02Z")
I don’t like it to get much below half. Probably stems from the time in 1959 when my stepfather let us run out of gas in the middle of nowhere on the Alaska Highway.
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### Author:  [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/13 "2023-07-25T21:14:11Z")
Two reasons for not letting one’s gas tank run until you’re on fumes include:
1. over time gunk sinks to the bottom of the tank. That stuff gets into the engine when the fuel level gets near the bottom.
2. The other reason is if one lives in a cold weather climate, having a low fuel level makes it easier to get gas line freeze.
Or so I’ve been told.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/14 "2023-07-25T21:18:45Z")
My answer is “other”.
I fill up based on price. I know the gas stations in my area that have lower prices and when I’m near one of them, I fill my tank.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/15 "2023-07-25T21:22:54Z")
I voted 1/4 tank, but I also fill up the day before a big trip. I like starting out with a full tank.
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/16 "2023-07-25T21:25:31Z")
None of the options are exactly right for me. I checked “at a quarter tank or so” but it’s usually significantly less than that, but “when the fuel light goes on” is wrong, too, because I almost never let it get to that point.
The problem with the “half-tank” approach is that you’ve effectively cut your tank capacity in half, making almost twice as many trips to the gas station as necessary.
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### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/17 "2023-07-25T21:28:17Z")
I answered at 1/4-ish tank. I have run out of gas in the distant past. No point in it and it’s an incredible nuisance.
[Aside: there’s the type of learning that no matter how many times a given event happens, you **never** seem to learn. This is common in everyday life. And there’s the type of learning that you acquire at once from a single event. Running out of gas is in the latter category. Falling and breaking my ankle when walking too fast in platform, backless shoes, likewise. Those are two things I learned at once and will never do again.]
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### Author:  [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/18 "2023-07-25T21:32:18Z")
I get twitchy when it starts approaching a half tank.
Costco. 6 am on a weekday. See you there.
mmm
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### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/19 "2023-07-25T21:33:13Z")
My car has a 12 gallon tank and the digital gauge has 12 ticks, so for everyday driving I’ll take it all the way down to under 1 gallon. On a road trip I’ll stop at the next gas station when I’m down to 2-3 gallons.
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### Author:  [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2023, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-fuel-up/987577/20 "2023-07-25T21:44:12Z")
> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> None of the options are exactly right for me. I checked “at a quarter tank or so” but it’s usually significantly less than that, but “when the fuel light goes on” is wrong, too, because I almost never let it get to that point.
Same here, but I voted “at a quarter tank” because that is closer to my usual fueling up, particularly when driving with my wife, who suffers from mild fuel anxiety by half tank. No point in having a twitchy passenger.
Had there been the option “when your spouse tells me to” I would have gone with that.
The option “I never fuel up my taxi” would have been good too.
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