Dear Honda. Thanks for being wrong. You’re a trustworthy vehicle. I really like you, and I like you even more knowing your fuel estimates are built for moms like me, and you can drive far on empty.

Road trip tests car gas gauge accuracy

It’s a battle every time we hit the road as a family. I drive the family car on a regular basis. However, I still feel it’s the driver’s job to check the fuel gauge before we hit the road. However, that point is lost on my husband. No matter how far we are driving, he never looks until we nearly run out of gas. Luckily, Honda’s computerized fuel estimates are built for families like ours.

In the middle of my car, the dash displays my miles per gallon and the number of miles to empty. It’s a nice secondary reminder to fuel up. Typically, it’s the one that catches my husband’s eye as he rarely pays attention to the real gas gauge.

In the middle of nowhere that secondary fuel estimate display sends panic through our car. The 20 mile range catches my eye. I glance out the window and saw nothing but fields and a two lane road that stretched ahead for miles. We are smack dab in the middle of Florida nowhere near civilization or a gas station. After the initial argument and blame game between my husband and I, our mission to find gas starts.

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Gas station in the middle of nowhere after driving on fumes. Good thing the Honda fuel estimate gives you a little wiggle room.A quick Google search reveals shocking results. The closest gas station is thirty minutes away. We literally are running on fumes on a hot summer day with a baby in the back seat. Immediately I envision sitting on the side of the road with alligators roaming nearby as sweat pours down my face, and our infant screams in the back seat.

We head to the closest gas station, staring as the fuel estimate dropping dramatically. Twenty miles. Then 12. At 5 miles, we still had 20 miles to drive to the closest station. Those alligators rush back into my mind as panic sets in.

My husband is screaming. Call roadside assistance. “Where are you maa’m?” The operator asked. “Uh, I think near…” I tried to tell her as we blew by the street signs kicking up a dust cloud behind us. “I can’t help you maa’m if you don’t stop” she responded. “We’re not stopping,” my husband yelled. “Then I guess I can’t help you,” the operator responded.

More yelling as the display dropped to 1 mile, and we are still traveling down a dirt road. Nowhere near the closest gas station.

Driving on empty

Then the fuel gauge estimator hits zero. Our gas range is zero miles making us think we are on fumes. Silence sets in! Even the baby isn’t making a peep.

We wait, and wait some more. The engine is still purring as we kicked up a trail of dirt and dust.

We continue on and on and on. Still on zero. Just waiting for the car to turn off.

Finally, the Citgo sign pops out of nowhere.

A collective sigh of relief as we pull in on fumes.

I guess that’s why it’s a gas range calculator. It’s just an estimate. You have a little more wiggle room than you think.

There’s the gas range and then there’s the empty light. We all know you have some wiggle room when the light comes on, but did you know you may get an extra 100 miles even when you’re supposedly low on fuel? Your Mechanic breaks down how far you can drive on E.

I hoped this road trip would have an impact on our gas tank fill-up controversy. Nope. We recently hit the zero mile mark again. Now it’s like a badge of honor for my husband. How far can you drive on 0 miles? I hope we never find out the hard way that it’s not as far as we think.