How much fuel can your tank hold

[medview]

Hi All
I squeezed 49.95L of Tesco fuel into my 2011 5 door 1.2TSI the other day and the fuel gauge still showed two bars, no low fuel alert. The fuel quantity didn't match the average MPG.

Last time the car took 39.5L for the same fuel gauge reading and average MPG (at another petrol station). There was no spillage and no puddle under the car, and I did look!

I went and negotiated a 5L refund claiming the tank could only take 45L, as that's what is stated in the handbook.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else on the forum has had a similar experience?

My understanding is that the 7L reserve is part of the 45L, and not additional capacity. The low fuel warning should sound when only 7 litres remains.

Joe

 

[barrie_d]

I don't think the reserve is part of the 45l, my old Leon had a 55l tank and most of the time my fill ups were more than 55l

 

[R22 JGB]

A vented Ibiza tank can hold at least 58 litres!!
I regularly put 55-56 litres in my tank

 

[WeeG]

"How much fuel can your tank hold?"

Not enough...

 

[andycupra]

typically you can get 5-8 litres more than the tank capacity. i think you could have easily put in what you think.
Whats is interesting is whether the fuel gauge reading is that accurate. bars i dont like, as its often a case of only just registering 2 bars, or nto quite 3 bars..

leons have a 50litre tank i think, whereas if you run it down low 58 litres is easily done, possibly 60. and typically 55 if filled shortly after low fuel light warning.

 

[NetworkMan]

My understanding is that the 7L reserve is part of the 45L, and not additional capacity. The low fuel warning should sound when only 7 litres remains.

On my 1.2 TSI I get around 45 mpg and fill up when the low fuel warning comes on. The range is then showing about 50 miles to go implying that there are about 5 litres (1.1 gallons) left. I find that it then takes about 40 litres to fill the tank without 'venting,' stopping when the pump cutout first works.

This is then all consistent with a tank holding about 45 litres including a reserve of about 5 litres rather than 7 as stated.

With other cars in the past I've found that it makes a big difference if the car is on a slope but don't know if it affects this one much.

By the way I find that the mpg by computer agrees with my calculations within 1% - pretty impressive.

 

[Nutkin]

i cant believe you went and negociated a discount, if that was one of my staff who let you get away with that i'd have him fired!

 

[andycupra]

me to, im sure you got more fuel than you thought and basically conned the garage - not deliberately of course..

 

[J400uk]

I can rarely get in more than 45 litres, and I usually run it down to 0 miles remaining on the MFD.

 

[medview]

Hi All
Just to wrap up this thread I now know that I filled the fuel tank expansion space because the car has covered 350 miles and still shows 2/3 of a tank remaining. I'm expecting to cover 550 miles before refilling...

The manual warns against over-filling the tank so always stop filling after the first pump interrupt; unless you want amazing range of course!

My 1.2TSI is averaging 50MPG over 1000 miles, pretty impressive stuff for a car that's not running the devils fuel!

As a matter of general interest I've done some battery voltage measurements to explore the economotive regenerative braking. After first starting the car the battery voltage runs to 14.5V and stays there for the first 5 minutes of the journey. The voltage then drops to about 13.4V during cruise but when I lift off the accelerator, the voltage returns to 14.5V indicating heavy charging, it drops again when I accelerate. Given enough travel time I'd expect the regen braking to sleep as the battery becomes fully charged. Anyone got any more info on this?

Joe

 

[NetworkMan]

As a matter of general interest I've done some battery voltage measurements to explore the economotive regenerative braking. After first starting the car the battery voltage runs to 14.5V and stays there for the first 5 minutes of the journey. The voltage then drops to about 13.4V during cruise but when I lift off the accelerator, the voltage returns to 14.5V indicating heavy charging, it drops again when I accelerate. Given enough travel time I'd expect the regen braking to sleep as the battery becomes fully charged. Anyone got any more info on this?

Did you plug into the cigar lighter socket? Putting a voltmeter on it is something I was hoping to do soon but haven't got around to it yet. Your measurements are much as I'd expect. Around here it's very hilly. If the heater fan is on at around speed 2 I can hear the fan speed increase when descending hills on the overun and hear it drop when I return to the accelerator pedal!

If you can find a copy of SSP426 on the Web you can find some more descriptive stuff. Sadly I can only find a German copy. After a charge on the overun I understand that charging actually stops on the assumption that a burst of overun will occur before the battery gets too discharged. If this does not happen then I assume charging is resumed even under drive but I don't know at what rate.

There is what I suspect is a four terminal resistor attached to the battery negative terminal enabling the car to measure charge or discharge.

It's a complicated system; there is even a DC-DC converter to maintain the supply voltage when the engine is stopped and during restart

Your mpg is good; I only average about 45 but I suspect the Devon hills are having an effect even with the regeneration.