2012 Ford Explorer: Generous DTE Reminder

50 miles seems like a good milestone. Lots of 20-30 mile stretches in Texas and the Southeast between gas stations. That said, cars already have a gauge, most have a light as well, now a digital estimate until Hush Puppy time! Anyone who runs out of gas in a modern car should have their license revoked for negligent stupidity!

I like to fill up before it goes below 1/4 of a tank, if it's possible.

"What kind of driver needs such a generous reminder?"

.... the average American driver?

I say kudos to Ford on this one. It's generous and in this case, that's not bad.

My family has a 2006 Explorer that "pings" at 50 miles to empty. This warning covers the entire information screen but can be reset with one button. It is nice to reset it to be able to see the distance to empty, miles, and other information, BUT the gas light pings on again every two miles. It is unnecessarily intrusive. Furthermore, in our Explorer, I've determined that there are at least two gallons left in the tank when DTE reads 0 miles until empty. Cautious much?

There are places in the desert SW where it can be over 100 miles between gas stations. I have noticed that even just 20-30 miles between roadside services makes passengers from the NE US and especially from England very nervous.

IL can't even get the oil changed on their AUDI A8L at 5 k, so maybe a 50 mile warning is needed.

The Mustang also will pop at 50 miles DTE. Which is like 20% of the tank.

My 02 Passat low-fuel light came on at 1/4 tank (4 gallons left, approximately 76 miles @ 19 mpg). I thought this seemed ridiculously conservative, so I asked the dealer to adjust it; they never could.

I do. I drive 106 miles roundtrip everyday. The empty light comes on my Civic at around 10 gallons. With a 12+ gallon tank and 40 mpg on average, that comes out to 80 miles DTE before the light comes on. I definitely want to know I am empty before turning in for the night. Because inevitably, the day I go to work empty is the day, I hit the snooze button too many times.

My departed 335i would consistently remind me at 57 miles. My S4 tends to remind me at 30 or 35 if I've been driving nicely. The S4 also greatly exaggerates how many miles it'll get out of a full tank though...

"Seriously, how about this for tomorrow's rant?
The only way to like stop the DTE warning from like coming on every like 10 miles was to like put some fuel in it.
That made me like realize how much I like hate that capless fuel filler.
When the pump like clicked off, I wasn't like sure if it was like ok to like drive away.
Even SIRI couldn't like tell me.
The whole experience left me like totally sketched out."

My 2002 Explorer displays the same message when the DTE hits 50 miles.
I like it. :)

50 seems like a lot given that there's probably at least another 20 miles or so once it reads 0. This just means my wife and I would start arguing a bit earlier.

The gauge in my TL gets pretty low before the warning light comes on; I think about 15 miles or so which is fine for me.

Like many have said, in many of the areas this vehicle is sold, there are long distances between gas stations. 50 miles is fine. This thing is averaging around 20 mpg, so that's 2.5 gallons.

As for hitting the snooze button too many times to allow time to fill up, that is why I fill up on the way HOME, not on the way OUT. Everybody thinks, "nah, tomorrow a.m. I'm not going to be in a hurry to get where I'm going," but of course they always are. You're usually not in so much of a hurry to get home that you can't stop and fill up.

I have a 44 mile (one-way) commute; so my Sonata low-fuel light coming on with approximately 60 miles left is great; enough to allow me to finish my commute there or back. I tend to watch my gauges though; the fuel light coming on is rarely a shocker. My light doesn't come on at a dedicated range, it does so at a fuel level. If my MPGs are running pretty high (I'm averaging 32mpg) the light comes on with approximately 70 miles. If I'm doing worse than normal (mid 20s) it'll pop-up at the 50 miles mark or so.

2009 Sonata 3.3L V6
69,500 miles

Kelly,
You might want to go check the other Ford's you have or had in the Edmunds stable. All of them will warn you of low gas at 50 miles to empty. It's a Ford thing and not exclusive to the Explorer. They've been doing it this way for 10+ years and I think you might be the first person ever to complain about it.

My wife and I have been driving various new Fords for 15 years now and neither of us have ever complained about this. In fact, we invite it because it gets your attention and keeps you from constantly checking the gauges. It's more of a convenience if nothing else.