Is the 26.4 gal tank standard?

Recently got my new/used '14...with only 28K miles on it. Thrilled to have the big brother of my 2001 tacoma...it sold in a flash, and to someone in Hawaii. He had it shipped, and didn't mind any expense to do so. Apparently, there's no vehicles available over in HI.

Anyway...the Tundra's low gas warning light came on, with a little beep. I had to drive another 10 miles to find a station and was a little concerned as to how much fuel is left when that warning happens. The fill took 21 gallons, which means, if the tank is 26.4, then I had lots more miles to go before empty. Does this sound accurate?

 

yes, you have the 26 gallon tank if you put in 21 gallons and it went to full.

You should consider the last 6 gallons as unusable. Our fuel pumps are sensitive and need to stay submerged in gas to operate properly. Plus, the crap in the gas floats to the top, so if u drink the tank dry, more chance of crap getting in there and there is a potential for longer term issues, although it would be pretty rare.

 

Official welcome.

 

Accurate. No car runs out of gas when the gas light comes on (or shortly after) If you had 5 gallons left, averaging 15 mpg, that leaves you with 75 miles to drive. I would want that cushion if I was on the highway or in areas where gas stations aren't all over the place.

 

When the light comes on, you should have 50-100 miles left in the tank depending on how you're driving it. Standard highway driving should get you about 100 miles. The light is programmed to come on BEFORE you get totally desperate to find gas.

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)!

 

Yes. This is normal and you do have the 26 gal tank as the 38's weren't available til 2015 or 2016 (I cant remember which). There are several threads on this forum detailing how to "swap" or upgrade your tank to the OEM 38gal, and/or opt for an aftermarket 46gal tank by Transferflow if you find the 26 to be too light.

 

Is this info standard on 2nd gens as well? I've been wondering about this, I always assumed I had a 21 gal tank (which I thought wasn't possible) because every time I fill up it would stop at 21 gal (when on E)... but you're saying that the E light is really coming on with roughly ~5 gals left which would give me about 50 miles (with 35s)?

Also welcome from Louisiana!

 

Most cars and trucks will give you at least 50 miles of range from the time the warning light comes on. It doesn't do you much good if the warning doesn't give you time (and range) to find a gas station.

 

makes sense, I was always told it was around 20 miles but thanks for the info!

 

I'm confused . My 2020 said I had 9 miles of range remaining however the light never came on. I filled it up with 32.8 gallons. Should the light have lit? And when the dash says I have 0 miles left I still have approx 5 gallons? Thanks in advance.

 

The light should come on very close to when the Range reaches 0. At that point, you should have at least 50 miles of range left, possibly 100 miles. You apparently got great MPG's on that last tankful, to have 9 miles left with only about 5 gallons left in the tank.

 

Newer trucks may be different but my 2014 the light came on (once) when I had approximately 20 mi left.

 

The light on my 21 comes on when i get to about 30 miles on the range.

 

I'm going to run this sucker down to nothing. Curious what will happen. I've got multiple 5 gal gas cans so I'll just keep one in the bed when I get close. Will report back later on the result.

 

Might want to toss a new fuel pump in the bed while you’re at it

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/38-gal-tank-experiences.22954/

 

I only ever did that once. I was about 10mi North of Casper WY when I felt the truck stumble a couple of times. Pulled right over and dumped my 5gal can into the tank, got into town and filled up. This was almost 5yrs ago and the only time I've ever done it. I think my 'closest' to being empty since then was a fill-up that took around 24gal, but I typically refill once I'm past 50mi or so of the Range going to zero. Pretty sure Toyota is generous with the Reserve fuel for the sake of preserving the fuel pump, so running dry should otherwise be avoided.

 

Yes you have the 38 gallon tank

 

So when is the light supposed to come on? My Taco would light up with about 1/8th is a tank.

 

uhhh

 

My light doesn't come on until I get to 0 miles remaining. That happened tonight, when I just happened to pull up to the gas pump when I hit 0 miles range. I put 30.222 gallons in, meaning I had 7.788 gallons still in the tank.

 

Do you have a mileage reading on your display? I just see the green bar that indicates your real time use. Is there another mode available by using the mode switch? I'm still discovering various features since it's a new Tundra for me.

 

push the "disp" button on your steering wheel and it will cycle through some different screen. MTE, current MPG, outside temp, running time, avg speed.... and maybe one or two more that I cant think of.