Re: Fuel Tank Capacity

[Bunmar@aol.com]

On November 28, 1997, Larry wrote

"I have had my GLX for two months now and am filling the fuel tank every
three days.  The fuel gage reads empty and when I fill the tank it takes
about twelve gallons.  At this point I have driven about three hundred
miles at an average of 23.5 miles per gallon.  My question is how many
miles can I drive before I am near an empty tank?  Why is this tank sooo
small?"

Well, here's some interesting info.  My deceased '90 Corrado had a gas tank
that said it held approximately 15 gallons.  I had been keeping track of my
MPG (22 city, 27 highway) and knew that I never filled up with more than
12.5 gallons.  With this info, I new I had been driving in stop and go
traffic
for most of the tank.  I figured with getting 20 MPG (conservative), I should
be able to get about 300 miles (20 MPG X 15 gallon capacity) out of that tank
of gas.  Well at about 285, I was pulling away from a restaurant and my car
started to sputter (the first time I've ever come that close to running out
of gas).
Knowing that I wouldn't make it home that way, I pulled a U-turn and
sputtered
back down the road about 300 feet to the gas station (it was pure luck that
the
gas station was there.)  Anyway, I said to myself that this has got to be the
closest you could come to filling the tank.  Well, to my surprise, I was only
able to put 13 gallons into the tank.  What I don't understand is that if VW
is
making a claim that you can put about 15 gallons into these tanks, where's
the
proof?  Especially if I just proved that on an empty sputtering car, 13
gallons is
the capacity?

Anyway, I figured I'll share my story with you.  By the way, the Corrado
didn't
have a low fuel warning light.  Also, on my fiance's 97 Golf Trek, when the
low
fuel warning light comes on, the Air Bag light comes on as well and both go 
off when more fuel is added to the tank.

Whenever I have low fuel, I'll never let it go too far, because the tank
doesn't hold
what VW says it does and I don't want to be stuck nor do I think that running
out of gas is a healthy thing for an engine.

I welcome anyone's comments.

Chuck
'98 GLX
Black with Black Leather
Bose
Cold Weather Package