ARM YOURSELF with this information. helps you keep your cool at 1 AM on a divided highway.

I was recently in tyson's corner VA, and after a 19.5 hour drive (striaght) I managed to not be paying attention to the point that I ran out of fuel.

I had run out of gas once before 3 years ago. the cayenne has a protection mechanism that prevents the pumpe from going dry and thus will kill the engine with just enough fuel left to keep the pump immediately operational.

if you manage to roll to a safe place and can just sit with your hazard lights on, that is great. if you, like me, roll to a stop on a divided highway in a construction zone with no shoulder, and you need to restart the vehicle for just 30 feet to pull off onto a side alley, you WILL burn through that little bit of fuel left over and the car will immediately stall.

here is the important part!

if you burn through this on a restart, the vehicle will NOT always start after adding fuel. you must add at least 6 gallons to get the "please refuel" warning to go off before the computer allows the pump to run again.

I called the motorclub which brought me 3 gallons. turned the motor over 15 times letting the computer control the ignition sequence each time for the full ten second interval. nothing. I then paid the gentleman to go over to the nearest fuel station and bring me 2 more gallons. Nothing.

It wasnt until I was at the dealership on a flat bed that I had a family member meet me there with just a little more fuel on a hunch. put it in, it FIRED RIGHT UP.

remember. if you try to restart the vehicle after it shuts itself down for protection, you will have burned through the computer protected "wet pump" reserve, literally just enough to keep pressure in the lines. the computer WILL prevent the fuel pumps from running until it has adequate fuel to cancel the "please refuel" warning.

if you didnt try to restart the car after it shut down, you should be able to just put in a few gallons and go.

 

Keep your music down. It's difficult not to notice the sign and sound.

Anyways, 6 gallons to start up...wow. That's quite a bit to get the system going again. 2~3 gallons should be sufficient IMO. I will keep it in mind since I don't usually refuel until I get a warning.

 

Had filled up 3 times that day. it was a matter of my brain already checking that off on my mental list due to repeatedly performing that task.

The exclamation point comes on so early that I literally can go another 100 miles. IMO, too early.

 

sorry to hear about it. i hope you can solve it quickly

 

You say 'IMO to early' but you ran out so your 'IMO' isn't worth much. No offence.

 

6 gallons because it burns 5 everytime you start it.

 

ur20v,

I posted this to help people understand how the vehicle is designed to work in this instance.

this forum is NOT a place for you to tell people their opinions "aren't worth much." it is rude, and extremely unwelcome. people run out of fuel and make honest mistakes, and having spent significant time on this forum and spoken with many considerate and kind users of it, your kind of attitude is completely unwelcome. posts containing comments such as your have no purpose but to insult. inevitably if you have to put "no offense" behind a comment, it is clearly offensive.

Out of all the vehicles I have owned, the cayenne has the earliest low fuel warning light, by far. this is my oppinion and it is not worthless. If you took the time to read and comprehend the comment, it means that it comes on so early that you look at the needle, realize how much there is left, and sometimes cna forget about the problem. most vehicle I have had warn me on low fuel at 15-25 miles, not 60, and if you count the reserve, it's really about 100 miles you have left when the low fuel light comes on.

 

Ibredefe,

Where the post does hold worth and I agree people do make mistakes and run out of fuel you can't blame the engineers for this, people will complain which ever rational they use for the amount of fuel left when the light comes on. You put your opinion against this and i picked it up that's all.

Commenting about the fuel light coming on early then posting you ran out of fuel seems to contradict each other, no? I believe my comment although short and to the point hold worth.

This is an open forum, I looked at your thread with interest and had an opinion on the content as you have in your 'IMO'.

Your tone is rude and abrupt, learn to ignore comments if it upsets you and move on. I didn't expect that response on here?!

Thanks
Jay

 

Where did you get this information from? Was it in a technical reference or just something you observed?

 

wvicary

observation at first, however the form in which i technically explained the set up of the system was conveyed to me by a p-tech after sharing my experience with him.

 

Thanks lbredefe you saved my day... I have a Cayenne Turbo and thought when it didnt start after putting in 20L that it was knackered... nope.. just needed more... I tried at 25L no joy (Still asking to refuel).. 35L Bingo it worked... YESSSS!

 

These cars have large fuel tanks compared to my 997TT so I would expect that you have to put more fuel in to get the refuel light off.

 

I wouldn't have thought that it would take that much to prime the pump. But I guess the only way to know is to run out of gas. That's why I tell my daughter (young driver) NEVER go below 1/4 tank. There's just no reason. Especially in a densely populated area like Fairfax County. Sounds like it was an expensive lesson (tow truck, time delay and all).