I've ran 40 mi on 0.

..... then ran out of gas

 

I love to see how far I can go on a tank. However when pulling a trailer it is never as far as you think.

 

Glad to see Ford really fixed this issue. I would be happy with that 3 gallon reserve too.

 

I've got a 2017 F250 diesel and given that I tow a 34' trailer I'm not happy with the large reserve. Being able to find gas stations that can accommodate a big trailer and has diesel can be challenging which means fuel management is very important to me. I've always suspected an excessive reserve and measured it last month without the trailer and without my wife looking over my shoulder. After the needle was a solid E and DTE was zero I drove another 88 miles and fueled up. It took 33.874 into the 34G tank. The engine never ran out of fuel ( I did carry an extra 3 gal just in case). Given the mileage I was getting I figure a 5.4 gallon reserve. Since I'm not comfortable pulling my trailer when the DTE and needle say empty I'm not likely ( and my wife won't let me) use any of that reserve. I've complained to Ford but they say it is normal.

 

Isn't the gasser in tank fule pump cooled by gas? Seems running very low would overheat the pump..

 

 

I’m afraid the TSB doesn’t apply to me; I have a late year model.
Switching the DTE calculation didn’t change anything after DTE=0, it just stays at zero. However, I’ve never been able to determine what Ford says about the difference between Normal and Towing. At times the numbers seem almost random. I like your definition and will try it out. Did you find that definition in print somewhere?

 

 

Jim-
I'm unable to access online the 2019 QRG. What does it say about DTE?
Pete

 

 

Jim- Thanks for the information, it isn't in my 2017 QRG.

DISTANCE TO EMPTY MODES
The Distance To Empty (DTE) has two modes. To select a mode from the Settings menu, select DTE Calculation and either Normal or Towing.
• Normal mode calculates the DTE from a longer history of fuel economy.
•Towing mode calculates the DTE from the average fuel economy of the last 60 miles (70 kilometers) driven.

 

Glad to help.

The 60 miles vs 70 kilometers is curious, since 60 miles is almost 100 kilometers, and 70 kilometers is about 44 miles.


Jim / crewzer

 

DTE is always going to heir on the side of caution. From Ford's perspective they need to cover a range of contingencies and conditions. There must be enough reserve for the truck to make the DTE distance in varying conditions, therefore there is a padded reserve. Also from Ford's perspective, leaving a couple of extra gallons in the tank is far better than having the truck coast to a stop as the DTE number clicks over from 1 to 0. Which do you think would initiate more complaints? Also, running the HPFP out of fuel is not good for it and can cause the pump to fail. Ford would want to avoid expensive warranty claims from HPFP failures.

I tow regularly and try never to run mine much under 50 Miles DTE. The one time I did nearly caught me out. I regularly tow the same routes and know the best fuel stops along the way, spaced at intervals to coincide with the truck's normal range. One particular stop is across a state line (big truck stop in a state with much lower fuel prices). I always stop there and its right at the upper end of the truck's towing range. This one trip I was either going faster, or maybe the previous tank was still winter blend fuel but I was looking at the DTE and gauging the distance to the state line fuel stop. My mileage was showing a consistent 10+ mpg which was a little low and I was worried about making the fuel stop. When it looked like I would be OK and have about a 10 mile DTE cushion I relaxed but didn't think about the one long climb before the state line which cuts my fuel mileage in half. When I rolled into the station I was at something like 2 or 3 DTE and my wife had been telling me I should have stopped earlier.

 

I just found version 4 of the QRG for the 2017 F250- the wording is the same as above except they dropped the kilometers part, its only in miles.