Accuracy of Gas Gauge in Entourage

A question for the Entourage owners out there. I ask because family
situation has changed and I need the ability to regularly transport a
handicap assist power chair. Thinking about an Entourage and taking
out the two middle seats and driving the Jazzy scooter up a small ramp
and into the van.

Is the gas gauge accurate?

Here's the problem I now have with a 2005 Subaru Forester XT.
:
When traveling on a long trip, and starting with a full tank (not
topped off) I will have traveled (for simplicity sake) 160 miles when
the gas gauge reads 1/2. Based on that, I would expect that I can
travel another 160 miles before the tank is empty.
In reality, I can only travel about 110 miles till it reads "E" It
seems that the gauge drops faster after it reaches the 1/2 way mark.
I was told by the dealer that it has something to do with the shape of
the tank, and it is normal. This is on relatively flat roads, cruise
on, over several long trips, varying roads & terrain.

Personally it drives me crazy. I think it should take the same number
of miles to make the gauge go from Full to Half Full, that it will
take to go from Half Full to Empty.

 

Unfortunately, you'll find most fuel gauges to have similar issues. I
cannot speak for the gauge in the Entourage, since I have no personal
experience. I tend to run my cars from full to empty, and every one I've
ever owned has not accurately represented anything beyond full and empty.
They've all been "reasonable approximations," but nothing ever approaching
exact. My only advice is to monitor the trip mileage and fuel tank
readings to get an idea of what different gauge readings actually indicate
in terms of amount of fuel left.

 

And just to add to what HT and Mike have provided here, as an Entourage
owner, the gauge is no different than any other current production car.
It is not accurate. However, as HT mentioned, I get almost exactly the
same amount of miles out of every tank. If you watch (and reset) your
trip odometer, you'll always have a fairly accurate way of knowing how
much distance you have left to go.

Removing the middle seats is an excellent idea for the wheelchair.
There will be some excellent tie-down locations with those seats out.
One suggestion would be to make sure that you DON'T get the DVD
entertainment system, as that would severely cut the head room in that
portion of the van. Or at the very least, make sure you or your
passenger tests it out before you buy one with the entertainment system.

Eric

 

Pretty much standard fare for most cars out there. Gas gauges aren't very
linear. It's been a long recognized pain in the butt with gas gauges, but
not many (if any) manufacturers have seen fit to do anything about it.

 

That has been my experience also, except that most of mine don't
indicate full or empty accurately! My Chevy pickup will run 100 miles
before the needle drops down to the full mark and my Sonata will run 50
miles with the needle above full. My truck is highly nonlinear. 100
miles to get down to the full mark, 270 is at 1/2 and then by 370 it is
dead along-side the road out of full. Once below 1/2 the needle drops
like a rock and when it hits E, it means it (this is one exception to
empty being inaccurate).

My minivans have been pretty accurate at full, but they will run 80+
miles after the needle hits E. I've never run one dry so I can't say
exactly. I have run my pickup dry twice as has my wife once so we know
that when it hits E it means it!

My Sonata is pretty linear throughout the range other than the very top
and very bottom. It runs about 50 miles down to E, 120-125 to 3/4, 250
to 1/2, 375 to 1/4 and 450+ at E. I've not run it long on E and never
have run it dry so I don't know how accurate empty is. When it hits E,
however, it only takes about 15.5 gallons which says it should have 2+
gallons left if the book capacity is correct.

Matt

 

Thanks for that tip, as I hadn't thought about the tie-downs.
I wasn't planning on the rear entertainment, as there are only the two
of us. Besides, they are quite pricey. We tend to keep our cars for
years and years, so desirability at resale is not an issue either.

 

I understand not needing/wanting the DVD system...we didn't either. But I
couldn't find an Entourage at the time anywhere without one. With the
benefit of hindsight though, it has turned out to be a welcome friend. It
keeps the kids occupied enough on long trips to keep the sanity level up a
bit.

Eric