Distance to empty.

[Geppetto]

I apologize if I have missed the answer to this in threads. I reset trip 1 and trip 2, yet distance to empty doesn't change. If I'm going 60 MPH I'll get over 32 mpg, if I'm going 80 I'll get about 24mpg, yet distance to empty doesn't change. What am I missing?

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[Ozarkbeard]

The Distance To Empty applies to both of the trip odometers for the current tank of gas, regardless of total miles shown. Think about it; it's just an approximation of when you're probably going to run out of gas if you don't buy more.

If you're wanting to keep a record of total miles per every tankful of gas, you'll have to record that manually.

If you drive 80 long enough, your DTE calculation will eventually update.

 

[The Real Maverick]

I apologize if I have missed the answer to this in threads. I reset trip 1 and trip 2, yet distance to empty doesn't change. If I'm going 60 MPH I'll get over 32 mpg, if I'm going 80 I'll get about 24mpg, yet distance to empty doesn't change. What am I missing?

It keeps your running average of about 250 miles of fuel economy. You can't erase this yourself. Due to this rolling average, your MTE will adjust, but slowly.

This is helpful 99% of the time.
Otherwise, your numbers would be erratically bouncing all over the place. Most people would not want that.

 

[topgun/goose]

If you change something that has a major effect on MPG like tire size and you want to get a new baseline distance to empty then you need to do a KAM reset. I don't know if Forscan has that function or not since I don't have one yet. KAM is Keep Alive Memory and is where the PCM stores for fuel trim and other important engine and tranny things that it learns as it is driven.

 

[Howard]

If you have the 6.5" screen, one of the optional displays is "Fuel Economy" which shows an MPG figure that slowly changes over time. I assume that is the 250 mile (or whatever) average that was mentioned and I'd expect that's what the miles to empty is based on.

I'm curious to see how miles to empty would react to a sudden change in operation like towing a large trailer dropping your actual mpg from 25 to the teens. I'd expect to see it dropping faster that the actual number of miles driven as you use more fuel per mile than it is expecting. I've noticed the opposie when hitting the highway after filling up, the miles to empty drops slowly or doesn't drop at all for a while.

 

[Paulyz]

I apologize if I have missed the answer to this in threads. I reset trip 1 and trip 2, yet distance to empty doesn't change. If I'm going 60 MPH I'll get over 32 mpg, if I'm going 80 I'll get about 24mpg, yet distance to empty doesn't change. What am I missing?

It also depends on driving conditions like idling, cold weather etc. 50 miles could be less if your idling. You get another warning at 25 miles to empty, I don't usually let gas tank get that low but was just checking.

 

[Geppetto]

Thanks for all the responses. The one that makes the most sense to me is that DTE is not based on the trip odometers but is a third measurement that averages the last ~250 miles. It's too bad that cannot be easily accessed to reset to a more current driving method.

 

[Prickly Pear]

OI had thought mine ha been changing ever so slightly but since I only have about 70 miles on the truck it certainly can't be the 250 buffer. I'll keep an eye on it and see if it stays static till I hit 250.

 

[The Real Maverick]

OI had thought mine ha been changing ever so slightly but since I only have about 70 miles on the truck it certainly can't be the 250 buffer. I'll keep an eye on it and see if it stays static till I hit 250.

It's not static.

 

[paneubert]

Thanks for all the responses. The one that makes the most sense to me is that DTE is not based on the trip odometers but is a third measurement that averages the last ~250 miles. It's too bad that cannot be easily accessed to reset to a more current driving method.

Well, consider that the average tank is going to last you about 250 miles, if not more. So it DOES catch up to your most recent driving style by the time you really need an accurate "miles to empty". It should be fairly accurate as long as you are not drastically changing your driving style in the last 10-20% of the tank. It will be accurate when the tank is getting low, but possibly less accurate when you have an almost full tank.

 

[The Real Maverick]

If you have the 6.5" screen, one of the optional displays is "Fuel Economy" which shows an MPG figure that slowly changes over time. I assume that is the 250 mile (or whatever) average that was mentioned and I'd expect that's what the miles to empty is based on.

I'm curious to see how miles to empty would react to a sudden change in operation like towing a large trailer dropping your actual mpg from 25 to the teens. I'd expect to see it dropping faster that the actual number of miles driven as you use more fuel per mile than it is expecting. I've noticed the opposie when hitting the highway after filling up, the miles to empty drops slowly or doesn't drop at all for a while.

When I hook up a big trailer, MTE drops pretty quick in the first 100 miles, then is about realistic after 250 miles.

Same in reverse.
Drop the trailer and MTE goes up a lot in the first 100 miles, and settles into a actual value at about 250 miles.

Never an exact science. But a "good estimate" after 250 miles.

A so-so estimate after 100 miles.

A poor estimate after 10 miles.

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