I barely get 300 miles with a full tank of gas and thats mostly freeway driving. I just had the car for a week now and I have not gone faster than 80MPH. I usually cruise control it around 70MPH..... SO HOW MANY MILES DO YOU PEOPLE GET??????

I have a 5 spd 2wd and on my last tank of gas I got 360 miles on 13 gallons of gas. I know have heard that the gas mileage gets better with more miles. I have 10,000 miles on mine. Good luck hope it improves!

Getting just over 300 miles out of a tank with 2700 miles on my E.

And that's just when the light goes on...You can probably get another 100 before you run out. That's right around 25 MPG. My Chevy truck gets 8 and my Lemans gets 6 MPG. I'm SO happy.

I'm not going to push it though. When that light comes on, I'm looking for a gas station that sells gas from American oil fields. :)

The most miles i got was 334 when the light came on.

For my first tank of gas, the light came on somewhere around 250 miles and I could only put in 11.3 gallons, out of the 15 gallon tank.

I had that much gas left when the light came on - same as others have reported.

I'm not even going to keep track of my mileage until the car is broken in.

i've started keeping track of mileage at about 900 miles. i have gotten 340+ miles without seeing the gas light. the gas i put in was around 13 gals. the reason i'm saying "around" and "about" is cause right now i'm too lazy to go out to the car to retrieve my notebook. so by my assumptions that's 25+ mpg.

once i get some decent data i'll post it, along with my spreadsheet that you folks can use to calc your mileage. i'm relatively happy with it!

I just put a new tank of gas in so lets see if my car, oops i mean my truck.. or my suv? or watever it is, to see if it got any better. I commute 33 miles one way to work and i can't tolerate 18mpg... I have now 800 miles.... When will my car be fully broken in?? Considering I had a fully built turboed civic, i would know these thing but I am clueless.

At 2600 miles on my 4WD EX AT (A/C always on, ... wonder how much that affects things?), here's what I get:

(BTW, my gas light comes on around @ 250-260, so I'm pretty jealous of you '320+ on a tank' folks )

<pre>
Date Miles Gallons MPG
162 7.54 21.49
24-May 188 8.18 22.98
26-May 260 11.20 23.21
28-May 255 11.04 23.10
31-May 265 12.34 21.47
3-Jun 269.7 10.87 24.82
7-Jun 176.8 7.84 22.55
10-Jun 284.4 12.24 23.24
16-Jun 268 12.10 22.15
20-Jun 254.6 12.15 20.95
22-Jun 266.9 11.85 22.52
</pre>

Just filled up. 322 miles. 15.277 gallons of gas. Just over 21 mpg. mix highway city.

300-310 mi when the light clicks on. Almost like clockwork. And I have a 20mi freeway commute to and fro work.

7500mi, 5SPD 2WD EX

I started logging my gas consumption. As of June 26 i got 21.11 MPG.. Getting better.. =)

Mine's dropping from high 21's/low 22's down into the 20's, but it's gotten very VERY hot out here lately. :shock:

If I drive 'normally', i.e. not creeping off the line at each stop, I'm lucky to get 19 mph mixed driving. When I drive almost exclusively freeway (like to my sailboat at the coast about 80 miles away) I get up to 26 mph! Not too happy about the 19, but I got tired of driving so slow all the time just to reach the 21 it's supposed to get. My old 1993 v6 Caravan got better mileage in the city! But it couldn't touch the 26 mph freeway, so I guess I can live with it.

My wife's E was getting 22 mpg on an average...since I disconnected the AC from de DEF it's improved to 27 mpg...now that's an improvement...

:lol:

[quote:a5c693193a="HEK"]My wife's E was getting 22 mpg on an average...since I disconnected the AC from de DEF it's improved to 27 mpg...now that's an improvement...

:lol:[/quote:a5c693193a]

Obviously you were joking here.

Engineering studies predict A/C on average costs between 2% and 3% loss of fuel economy at highway speeds- or approximately 1/2 MPG on a Honda Element. (That's assuming that all windows are rolled up. If you turn off the A/C compressor and roll DOWN the windows fuel economy actually declines due to wind drag.)

If your wife used defrost continuously engineering would predict an increase of mileage from 22 to 22.5 mpg on average by disconnecting it.

If she only uses the defroster 10% of the time annually, (and that would probably be a pretty generous estimate year-round) she would experience an increase from 22 to 22.05 MPG or approximately 1/20th MPG on an annual basis.

The actual real-world change would typically be in the vicinity of 1/4 MPG in the winter (if she used the defrost setting half the time) and ZERO increase during the 7-9 months of the year when the defroster is not in use at all- such as now.

Just wanted to set the record straight lest anyone misconstrue your joke and think they could actually get a 20+% increase in mileage by disconnecting the A/C function in defrost-mode! :lol:

Needless to say, in a world where "Corporate Average Fuel Economy" translates into billions of dollars across a fleet, Honda and every other manufacturer on the planet would have long-ago disconnected the A/C operation in defrost mode if it represented a 20%-25% increase in fuel economy.

The reason it's left operative is that on average it costs in the neighborhood of .05 MPG annually and substantially incrases vehicle safety by removing condensation on the windows when outside ambient air temps are low- thus substantially increasing vehicle visibility/safety. Those numbers work out to approximately $2 per year for a vehicle that averages 24 MPG, is driven 15,000 miles annually and when gas is $1.50 per gallon- cheap insurance indeed for the added safety of increased visibility in the winter!

Steve

[quote:2dcf46bd50="eleMentalCase"][quote:2dcf46bd50="HEK"]My wife's E was getting 22 mpg on an average...since I disconnected the AC from de DEF it's improved to 27 mpg...now that's an improvement...

:lol:[/quote:2dcf46bd50]

Obviously you were joking here.

Engineering studies predict A/C on average costs between 2% and 3% loss of fuel economy at highway speeds- or approximately 1/2 MPG on a Honda Element. (That's assuming that all windows are rolled up. If you turn off the A/C compressor and roll DOWN the windows fuel economy actually declines due to wind drag.)

If your wife used defrost continuously engineering would predict an increase of mileage from 22 to 22.5 mpg on average by disconnecting it.

If she only uses the defroster 10% of the time annually, (and that would probably be a pretty generous estimate year-round) she would experience an increase from 22 to 22.05 MPG or approximately 1/20th MPG on an annual basis.

The actual real-world change would typically be in the vicinity of 1/4 MPG in the winter (if she used the defrost setting half the time) and ZERO increase during the 7-9 months of the year when the defroster is not in use at all- such as now.

Just wanted to set the record straight lest anyone misconstrue your joke and think they could actually get a 20+% increase in mileage by disconnecting the A/C function in defrost-mode! :lol:

Needless to say, in a world where "Corporate Average Fuel Economy" translates into billions of dollars across a fleet, Honda and every other manufacturer on the planet would have long-ago disconnected the A/C operation in defrost mode if it represented a 20%-25% increase in fuel economy.

The reason it's left operative is that on average it costs in the neighborhood of .05 MPG annually and substantially incrases vehicle safety by removing condensation on the windows when outside ambient air temps are low- thus substantially increasing vehicle visibility/safety. Those numbers work out to approximately $2 per year for a vehicle that averages 24 MPG, is driven 15,000 miles annually and when gas is $1.50 per gallon- cheap insurance indeed for the added safety of increased visibility in the winter!

Steve[/quote:2dcf46bd50]

I pump the gas on both vehicles.....i take an odometer reading when I get my receipt....divide the amount of miles into the gallons used and i get a number.....I don't go by how many miles each tank takes me...so no joke just the facts....and just like you doubt my words.....why not doubt those who tell you that having the AC on only decreases the mpg by .5 miles....try it yourself and then answer the thread....I don't have anything to gain by telling you my findings.....

Just like if I tell you that a CAI increases gas milage...well I won't make any more statements....maybe we just like to believe studies.....and also believe that studies show that smoking moderately wouldn't cause cancer....who does those studies??....those paid by RJRenolds ??.... and which engineering group??....the AC manufacturers??.... :roll:

HEK,

Well... much to my shock you obviously weren't joking. If you actually believe that disconnecting the A/C on defrost (which isn't used this time of the year of course so is 100% irrelevant to both our discussion and your measurements until next November or December anyway) has increased your mileage by 20%-25%... and if you actually believe that you've somehow made a secret discovery that has escaped the notice of automotive engineers and manufacturers who spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually- searching for every last 1/100 of mpg increase in fuel economy... then there's nothing I can say: You've left me speechless.

I'd suggest there are 100's of other contributing factors that are accounting for your change in mileage including engine break in, oil viscosity, warmer seasonal weather conditions, less engine warm-up, seasonal traffic conditions, warmer vehicle operating temperature, tire inflation, your wife's driving technique, prevailing winds, differing routes and cargo loads, number of passengers, etc., etc., etc. The list is almost endless.

The only thing I can say for absolute certain that has absolutely NO bearing on the change in your mpg is disconnecting the A/C on the defrost setting since the defrost setting is not being used at this time of year- probably hasn't been used in at least 60-90 days.

Either way... I'm glad your wife has suddenly found the key to exceeding EPA estimated mileage- whatever that key may be. That's a good thing. On that we can both agree. 27 mpg is 27 mpg- regardless of how she's getting it.

Steve

HEK did you disconnect the a/c altogether, or just from the defrost function? Maybe you have stumbled onto something. While I would agree with some of Junior's statements in theory, unlike him, I am open to new possibilities. Many of us have been wowed by how great the a/c works. I said, in another thread, that it's the best car a/c I have ever had, out of about 7 or 8 new cars I've purchased over the years. I know it's supposed to have some special filtering system (which seems to be true, judging how quickly it eliminates outside odors when I push the recirculate button). Now, you've got me wondering if Honda isn't sacrificing mileage via their 'super a/c' system. Something has got to be sucking up the mileage it's supposed to get. I have always been able to exceed the advertised mileage before this! Anyway, thanks for the info. I never thot you were joking.

[quote:903003aacf="E-Rich"]HEK did you disconnect the a/c altogether, or just from the defrost function? Maybe you have stumbled onto something. While I would agree with some of Junior's statements in theory, unlike him, I am open to new possibilities. Many of us have been wowed by how great the a/c works. I said, in another thread, that it's the best car a/c I have ever had, out of about 7 or 8 new cars I've purchased over the years. I know it's supposed to have some special filtering system (which seems to be true, judging how quickly it eliminates outside odors when I push the recirculate button). Now, you've got me wondering if Honda isn't sacrificing mileage via their 'super a/c' system. Something has got to be sucking up the mileage it's supposed to get. I have always been able to exceed the advertised mileage before this! Anyway, thanks for the info. I never thot you were joking.[/quote:903003aacf]

I posted this a while back...

http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2647

Someone from a RSX forum posted this....I tried it on the E and found similar results....increase in mpg ...just my 2 cents...apparently is a code used on all Hondas...but why isn't Honda giving it on the manual ??.... :roll:...maybe because THEY'RE still doing "STUDIES" .... :lol: :lol:

Thanks, I'll try it. Can't hurt.

I have a EX 4wd with about 1000 miles. So far, I have gotten only 220-260 miles on a 11.5-12.5 gallon tank. I hope it's still breaking in. My gas gage has been on empty or pretty damn close but I have not seen the gas light come on. If I have 15 gallons, them I should still have about 2-3 gallons left?

[quote:14ea906136="EforMe"]I have a EX 4wd with about 1000 miles. So far, I have gotten only 220-260 miles on a 11.5-12.5 gallon tank. I hope it's still breaking in. My gas gage has been on empty or pretty damn close but I have not seen the gas light come on. If I have 15 gallons, them I should still have about 2-3 gallons left?[/quote:14ea906136]


Date Odometer Miles Gall. Used Price Average
6-26-2003 1057 279 13.211 $23.24 21.11
7-01-2003 1336 279 12.273 $21.34 22.80


Those are the gas mileage i got in the past 2 fillups. As you can see i gained about 1.7mpg. my first few fillups i only got like 16-18 mpg but it increased alot I guess since the motor is still being broken in...

Thats funny about the gas light.. WHen I first got the car the light came on with about 4 gallons left... But since that it comes on later.... I dont' know what the deal is... Last time the light came on at 250 miles... This time the light didn't come on at all at 279 miles.... But then I guess as the gas mleage increases the light will come on later........

On the same subject "gas"...today for example I pumped 9.798 gallons @ $1.589 and drove 341.9 miles on my RSX-S....that = 34.894 mpg.....and if my memory doesn't fail me...the average mpg on the sticker when I bought the vehicle was 27on the highway.........explanation...maybe is the CAI on the vehicle...more cool air and no AC on defrost??....maybe..just maybe...but don't matter does it....?..I can't wait to get the intake for the E...then I will say...how 'bout them apples...!! :lol:

8) I GOT 246 MILES ON A FULL TANK, WITH 13,348 MILES ON MY "E". 2003 BLACK 4WD EX, SIDE STEPS, BUG/ROCK DEFLECTOR, CHROME EXHAUST TIP, FOG LIGHTS. WINDOW TRIM, REAR SPOILER, TINTED DRIVER AND PASSENGER WINDOWS, ALL SEASON FLOOR MATS, ALL SEASON SEAT COVERS, BUNGEE CORDS, BATMAN FLOORMATS, REAR BUMPER STEP GRIP, ROOF RACK WITH SURFBOARD ATACHMENT, MUD GUARDS AND THE PREISTIEGE ALARM SYSTEM WITH AUTOMATIC STARTER. INSTALLED AT CURCUIT CITY. IM SELLING MY KEYLESS ENTRY, NEVER INSTALLED. IM IN MARYLAND FOR NOW. IF ANYONE WANTS TO LINK UP AND ORGANIZE A CRUISE NIGHT, LET ME NO... DMALTIO@AOL.COM ITS GREAT TO HAVE ALL U FOLKS TO RELATE WITH!

I put gas in my E for the first time last night (picked it up Friday evening). Checked the mileage: 23.6 mpg. Pretty good for mostly city driving on a new engine.

160 :?

I live in Los Angeles, so this is all stop and go city driving.

Date Odometer Miles Gall. Used Price Average
6-26-2003 1057 279 13.211 $23.24 21.11
7-01-2003 1336 279 12.273 $21.34 22.80
7-04-2003 1584 248 11.952 $20.78 20.75
7-07-2003 1834 249 12.186 $21.19 20.43

My average is going down... I guess it is due to the recent hot weather and I been using the AC. Im still little disappointed...

550 km for a tank 32$ can to fill it. Surprisingly this is competing with waht I used to put in my Civic.

Light on the pedal save the metal

I get about 230-270 before the gas light goes on. On long trips the light doesn't go on until 280 or more. The highest I've gotten is 326 miles and I could only fill it up 13.5 gallons.

Despite what they say, I find it hard to believe that Elements have a 15.9 gallon tank but I'm not about to run my Element dry to find out.

The best I have got is just over 400 on a long trip but that is corking the tank and going to the low light. The worst is in headwinds and just under 300.

I get about 230-270 before the gas light goes on. On long trips the light doesn't go on until 280 or more. The highest I've gotten is 326 miles and I could only fill it up 13.5 gallons.

Despite what they say, I find it hard to believe that Elements have a 15.9 gallon tank but I'm not about to run my Element dry to find out.The Element absolutely does have a 60 litre (15.8 gallon) fuel tank. I've driven my Element 403.2 miles on one tank of gas, and I put 52 litres of gas (I was driving through Canada) in the car to fill it back up.

Just this weekend, I drove 380 miles on one tank and put 14.5 gallons into the E. I was really sweating bullets, though, because the needle on the gas gauge was literally below E, and the low fuel light had come on near London, Ontario, and there was a big lineup of traffic stuck at the border in Sarnia. But, I made it from Port Huron, Michigan to Toronto and back to Port Huron on one tank of gas.

With my 140 mile roundtrip daily commute, I fill up every 2 days so I have plenty of experience with the gas gauge in just the first 7 months of ownership with my E. I fill up at 280-300 miles per tank, the needle is then right above the E and the light has been on for some 30 miles (the same daily route lets me really fine tune this).

The light does come on early IMO but I don't mind. I figure better to come on earlier with 4 gallons left...especially if you were driving with lots of weight and headwinds, etc, which could severely drop your remaining available distance.

Also, while it made me sweat plenty, I discovered the needle will fall below the Empty mark with about a gallon remaining. Keep in mind, this is for my specific vehicle...these gauges are far from exact.

My top tank was 375 miles to E on the highway, no AC back in March...blew me away actually...got close to 30 mpg loaded with luggage.

For those looking at mpg, remember not to confuse mpg with mpt (miles per tank). The mpt is far from exact in how to measure mileage/performance.

my mpt is 220 for reg ,230-260 prem,in town. 350 highway.

I haven't seen more than 250miles on a tank from my E, but I drive 16mi round trip daily and sometimes a couple/few times a day. Also, Vegas driving sucks and I can rack up 150-200 miles during a weekend if we go to Mt Charleston or Redrock...

Just came back from a trip from San Jose to San Diego. I was able to drive from Gilroy (filled up at Costco) and get to San Diego in one tank. I got 432 miles and I think I still had a little left in her!

I filled up and put in about 16 gallons when I got there. The E is a very nice freeway cruiser and did very well in the hills in the grapevine.

Just came back from a trip from San Jose to San Diego. I was able to drive from Gilroy (filled up at Costco) and get to San Diego in one tank. I got 432 miles and I think I still had a little left in her!

I filled up and put in about 16 gallons when I got there. The E is a very nice freeway cruiser and did very well in the hills in the grapevine.Interesting, since the Element only has a 60-litre (15.8 gallon) fuel tank...

the filler neck probably holds another gallon!!! Just because it says 15.8 in the book does not mean its 15.8 My G20 touring says 15.9 gallons and I ve gotten over 17 gallons of fuel into it.

Its ok to experiment a little xequar!



Interesting, since the Element only has a 60-litre (15.8 gallon) fuel tank...

the filler neck probably holds another gallon!!! Just because it says 15.8 in the book does not mean its 15.8 My G20 touring says 15.9 gallons and I ve gotten over 17 gallons of fuel into it.

Its ok to experiment a little xequar!Actually, no it's not. Modern cars have elaborate systems to capture gasoline vapors to keep those vapors from getting into the atmosphere. Too much gas means those systems will draw gas into the system instead of vapors, causing expensive damage.

http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/cartalk/posts/list/1105010.page

I have never had a problem with filling my E or any other car I have had. I have heard of some people talk about the evap can filling up and so on, but I have never heard from any mechanic I ve known to have to replace it on any car they have worked on.

In my E, I think I have put 16.5 gallons in it at the most, with no fas fill up issues after that. In my Infiniti G20, have for sure put 17 gallons of gas in it before and have had no issues with it after that!

So I speak from experience, what real life experiences have you had besides reading from an article or a book xequar?

I have never had a problem with filling my E or any other car I have had. I have heard of some people talk about the evap can filling up and so on, but I have never heard from any mechanic I ve known to have to replace it on any car they have worked on.

In my E, I think I have put 16.5 gallons in it at the most, with no fas fill up issues after that. In my Infiniti G20, have for sure put 17 gallons of gas in it before and have had no issues with it after that!

So I speak from experience, what real life experiences have you had besides reading from an article or a book xequar?Experience is anecdotal evidence, not fact. In fact, that has been evidenced on these boards by the few people who have had major issues with their Elements. Their experience says Elements are crappy vehicles, but actual data show that Elements are quite reliable and have good resale value.

But, just for ****s and grins, overfill a '96 Grand Am once and see what happens. IF you manage to get it started, you'll genuinely enjoy that Service Engine Soon light that comes on. As a college student at the time, I was also positively DELIGHTED to have to take my mother's car in for service since I had borrowed it for a week so I could get back to college while my car was in the shop with a computer ailment.

So basically you have no real life experience with an E with regards to the fuel fill up thing but with an old pontiac, besides what you have read of course.

Its all good man, I just threw it out there about being OK to experiment with it and you said it wasn't.

Doods...it's a trick question. "How many miles to you get with a full tank?"

None...you just filled it up. :lol:

So basically you have no real life experience with an E with regards to the fuel fill up thing but with an old pontiac, besides what you have read of course.

Its all good man, I just threw it out there about being OK to experiment with it and you said it wasn't.In all fairness, the Grand Am was OBDII, which is still the standard now, and it wasn't old at the time (I've been out of college awhile now). Generally, though, I trust facts before experiences, and advocating something that's been demonstrated to, even if in just isolated cases, cause damage requiring repair is inappropriate IMO.

But like you said, it's all good, and I'm glad you haven't had any apparant issues.

I got about 330 miles on the top half twice...

I am glad to read this....
we just took our E on it's first trip with us this past weekend.
It has @ 2000 miles on it. we drove from Norman, Ok to Springtown, Tx. to pick up some cab parts for our '66 Chevy truck that we are in the process of doing a frame off restoration.
just over 400 miles round trip, plus some sight seeing so probably closer to 450.

Coming back the fuel light came on north of DFW on I-35, well I kinda freaked out a little, the gauge was just above E and it was several miles to a station.
sweating bullets we arrived at the gas station. Filled her up, and guess what...it only held 10.6 gallons:confused:
here we were thinking that we were getting terrible mileage.....

so 260 miles divided by 10.6 gallons equals 24.5MPG:D
not bad, but I couldn't figure out why the light comes on so soon.
the other weird thing about the gauge, when we first got the E, the needle on the fuel gauge wouldn't go to F when the tank was full, like an 1/8th below full, now after several fill-ups it is just touching the full mark, kinda crazy

Coming in to the E from a 2000 Golf TDi 5spd, I know I will never see 60mpg again...or 40 for that matter and I'm fine with that...when I'm done taking care of a few maintenance things on the E I will post up my mileage/overfill stories, but for now I just enjoy the automatic 4wd joy of a cavernous ride...

I've got 97,xxx miles on mine now and the MPG has never changed from day one. My normally mix of highway and suburb driving yields 260 miles before the light comes on, and when I fill it up it's always between 11 and 12 gallons.

I was getting 320 but now I get 220 with the 24s

I bought my E in Jan and it has about 16,000 miles on it. I do mostly a mix of country and small down driving with it. I "read the directions" when I first got it and I stop filling it as soon as the pump clicks off - no trying to squeeze that last little bit in, or making the dollar amount come out "even". I always fill up the tank when I get gas, and usually run it pretty low. I can't tell you how many mile I have gotten on a full tank (app. 320 at the most), but I can tell you that I have gotten an avg of 25 mpg consistently from day 1. Perhaps a little more on longer, more consistent trips, never less. I always put my trip counter back to zero, and keep a running gas average in my head. That way I can be alert to any problems as the might start.

i get about 235miles before the gas light comes on. and then i only fill up 11gallons.

I'm still breaking in my Element. I bought it with 2 miles on the odometer.

I ran the tank down to one tick mark before the red line and was disappointed that I was only able to get 270 miles. Then I filled up and only added 11 gallons. So I'm guessing 24.5 miles per gallon?

I've tried to keep my RPMs below 2500, no higher than 3000. I idle from 900-1200.

Someone mentioned here that their car didn't get the most efficient gas mileage until 3,200 miles. Should I hold off on the first oil change to synthetic at 5,000 miles?

Welcome, TenKen714.

Calculate your fuel economy using miles driven and gallons to fill. Using the gas gauge to "calculate" mileage is useless.

As for break-in, follow the recommendations in your owner's manual.

I found keeping a log of fill up gallons and miles driven between is the most acurate way to measure. I also have the Scan gauge II, it give instant mpg and many other gauges like air and water temps, a good purchase.

At 315n the light turned on.

i use to get over 340+ per tank but now its barely 260... not sure why...

I am glad to read this....
the other weird thing about the gauge, when we first got the E, the needle on the fuel gauge wouldn't go to F when the tank was full, like an 1/8th below full, now after several fill-ups it is just touching the full mark, kinda crazy

The gauge on mine has taken to hovering when it gets to half empty, then dropping quickly after 8-10 gallons are used up.

My gauge goes down more quickly on the first half than it does on the second. I've owned my Element for a little over 2 weeks and I've been trying to figure out how many miles I get out of a tank but my wife keeps resetting the damn odometer randomly. Also it's still hot here so I've been running the AC a lot as well. I'd say I'm around ~320 mi per tank though, at 45k miles on the E. A lot of that is city miles, too. I don't drive fast (2 yr old on board most of the time), so that might have something to do with it.

Remember that your gas light will come on when there's still 3 gallons left in the tank, and there's a little reserve (according to my owner's manual) after that, even.

Just remember, relying on your gas gauge equals this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v665/xequar/vangasgauge.jpg

AMOUNT OF FUEL divided by DISTANCE (Liters/100 km) or DISTANCE divided by AMOUNT OF FUEL (miles per gallon) is the only useful measurement of a car's usage of fuel. Gas gauges are a representation, but are useless for tracking fuel usage accurately.