riverdancer9

My Q5 tank has 18.5 gallon capacity. My fuel gauge indicated nearly empty, and alerted to only 50 miles left in the tank. So I stopped fueled up, and the tank only accepted 15.00 gallons. Has anyone else had this issue? The car is brand new. Thank you

gk1

Not an issue. Audi commonly has a 2 gallon "reserve" ,if you will, for its vehicles. So when you reach 0 miles to empty there is roughly 2 gallons left in the tank. (maybe 30-40 miles on a Q5) Since you fueled up at 50 miles to empty you had roughly 3 to 4 gallons left in the tank like you saw. Believe it or not it is designed this way to prevent people from running out of fuel.

Chawski

It's 2 fold. 1 to keep you from running out of fuel, 2) the fuel pump needs to remain submerged. This almost guarantees the pump is never run dry and always has fuel around it for cooling. Worst thing you can do for any liquid pump is to run it dry. Doesn't matter if it's your cars fuel pump or you coffee maker. Do it more than once or twice and you'll fry it

riverdancer9

Thank you so much!

ribeye

Good to know. Thanks

VipinLJ

I don’t think it’s just Audi. All the cars I’ve owned worked the same way (Toyota, Honda, Land Rover, Hyundai, VAG group cars).

Weebl

I had this happen to me on my BMW where I ran out of fuel with 20 miles showing left to drive. It has the "saddlebag" tank also and the transfer pump between the two sides failed and you will never notice it unless you run the tank down. So don't rely in a bad situation that you have the full amount available to use. I was ~1+ mile from the exit I was going to get off of for fuel.
The Q5 tank is a bit flatter than this one I think.