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Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 1:52 pm
by damiansaint
This is a very odd problem

When the fuel is getting to about 85 miles left in tank showing and the warning light comes on, which by the way is so bloody loud the 85 miles does not show
From what I can see I thought it should go down to 0,
What actually happens is it goes down to a minimum of 85 miles left and then never gives a reading.. I mean whats the point in that. And after watching top gear on sunday it would appear that most cars go down to 0 and usually have loads left in there.

Anyone else get this.

Re: Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 2:18 pm
by A13XDT
I like it going blank when it reaches about 80 odd. Simply so i know i should get to petrol station pretty pronto, but i can travel to get diesel at the cheapest local price.
Also, the trip computers arent 100% accurate, so Renault can cover their backs and get you fill up slightly earlier. I'm sure its harmful to the engine, driving through the very last drops of fuel too.
That's how i feel about it anyway.
Alex

Re: Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 2:49 pm
by rjacko
can get ours to about 65 before comp blanks and it beeps. got another 30 on clock once just to see if it would die, know it would be ok as my dads old land rover discovery tdi got about 40 on reserve once before he ran out of juice. thankfully old diesels are easier to get going than their modern counterparts. its a pain once you get air in the fuel lines, not sure how you sort it tbh any one know?

Re: Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:14 pm
by pw981
There is a hand operated fuel primer pump on the drivers side of the engine bay on the 1.9dCi, under all the plastic covering, near the coolant reservoir.

My low fuel light comes on at approx 50-60 miles. Changes into dashes not long after!

Re: Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 4:31 pm
by rjacko
handy info about primer, good to know cheers

Re: Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 6:36 pm
by Toosh
I'm with Damian on this, i find it annoying when i get a beep at 50-60 miles left. My previous car, a 406, went down to zero i found this more useful than guessing what i've got left.

Re: Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 7:19 am
by andywills
you could always try looking at the guage and think...hmmm....i better stop and fill up

Re: Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 8:13 am
by nickbell69
andywills wrote:you could always try looking at the guage and think...hmmm....i better stop and fill up


You could Andy but is the whole point of having a fuel computer so you know how many miles you have left? Pretty useless feature if its not that accurate and goes blank when 60miles are left. If anyone watched the race to Blackpool on last weeks top gear it was interesting how many more miles they got out of the cars after computers went to zero. Can't remember the figures but i think jeremy in the jag got over a hundred more!!!

Re: Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 1:22 pm
by damiansaint
of course it would be stupid to let it run down but thats my whole point

Mine caps at 80. what the point in having the trip computer if its shuts down then. My point was that even if they could go to 0 I bet there would still be at least 40 miles in the tank I'd say.

Its obviously the same for everyone but all my previous cars went down. you know how it is you get ti 80 it cuts out and you've had a long day and cant be arsed to go to the petrol station and think...hmm I suppose I have a couple of days left but OH No the computer is not going to say......

Re: Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 4:41 pm
by rjacko
So basically comp is a waste of time as at 80 miles left it goes blank (hold that figure of 80 in your head now)

Now set the scene:Driving around in your Megane your tank light comes on as usual at 80 miles left. I now immediately trundle to a petrol station to go fill up the tank to the max. Hopping in the car after filling and fire it up and see 500 miles to go on the comp. Thinking to yourself "great, how economical the megane is", but is it........?

Oops, we forgot about the comp tripping out at about 80 miles left so you can immediately drop your range to 420 miles. Not quite as economical as you think, is it ;-)

Neat little trick by Renault or not, you decide.

Re: Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 10:37 pm
by 72uoba
Er, no!

You've still got that 80 miles' worth, you've simply decided not to use it before filling up on this occasion.

Re: Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 8:33 am
by rjacko
72uoba wrote:Er, no!

You've still got that 80 miles' worth, you've simply decided not to use it before filling up on this occasion.


Ok not having a go but lets give you benefit of the doubt. Zero your trip computer next time it drops offline at 80miles and see if you to get 75 miles out of it. You technically have 5 miles of juice left to spare tho, so you'll be ok :wink:

I know i wouldn't try it and I honestly don't think the car would do it.

Re: Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 10:25 am
by andywills
72uoba wrote:Er, no!

You've still got that 80 miles' worth, you've simply decided not to use it before filling up on this occasion.


i was refraining from saying that becasue he might take offense, but what the hell....i agree, he's talking rubbish.

Re: Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 1:15 pm
by Gav
It is annoying that the trip computer goes blank around 80 miles left, but IMHO there's no reason not to then drive those 80 miles and the fill up. The fuel tank is 60l in size (13.2 gallons), and I've never managed to put in more than ~56l when filling up. The computer tells you how much fuel has been used in gallons, so at 13.0 I'd want to fill up again.

Personally I end up filling up when its convenient (ie I'll be passing a Shell garage) rather than when I absolutely have to. Round here it's not unusual to have a queue at peak times, so waiting 700+ miles is preferable...

Re: Trip computer how many mile left to go

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 3:13 pm
by pw981
This is just a personal thought/theory:

Remember that the 60-80 miles left to go when the light comes on is based on the average fuel consumption displaying on the trip - now if Renault for some unknown reason can't have the instantaneous fuel consumption for our imperial (mpg) trip computers but can for the metric (l/100 km) trip computers, I then assume renault cannot program the trip computer to act fast enough and realise that the car will not be always be travelling at the same average MPG as stated on the trip and therefore not be able to adjust the miles to empty when the figure gets below 80 miles to be accurate enough? Maybe thats why it just changes to dashes.

Personally I don't mind the the tip changing into dashes below 60 miles (in my case). My trip computer is currently showing about 42mpg average. I also work out manually my mpg when I fill up, and it has been ranging from 41-43mpg for the past few weeks.

If my fuel light comes on, according to my trip I have 60 miles left to drive at 42mpg. Since I've driven my car for 92k miles now and for almost 4 years, I have a slight idea about what sorts of mpg I will get in town driving and motorway driving. I will predict accordingly if I cannot fuel up straight away - which is rare I usually fill up just before the fuel light comes on anyway!