My 99 works just like the OP described. I have run the gas so low that
it stalls going around corners, never seen the low gas light in the 2.5
years I've had the car. When that needle gets on the E mark, I need to
be close to a station.

I'll be damned if I'm going to spend good money for a light to tell me
that that gauge is reading low. I can see the gauge just fine. :-)

-John O

My Forester takes maybe 5 minutes to register full when I fill the
tank from 1/4. The gage is dampened to prevent sloshing fuel to move
the needle around.

"Rebecca B." wrote:
Hi,

There's a cheap and dirty "old timer's trick" to finding out WHEN the
light will go in, IF it will (as in blown bulb, fuse, etc.): get a small
gas can (one or two gallons, depending on how far from a station you
might get during this exercise), and simply run the tank down until
either the light comes on or you run out of gas. Then either drive
directly to the station, or add your gallon or two and then drive there,
and see what it takes to fill it up. (Don't forget to factor in any fuel
you added, for example, if you added 1 gallon, and it takes 14 more to
fill the tank, you're looking at about a 15 gal fill, so you had a shade
less than 2 gal left in your 16.9 gal tank.)

Personally, I use the trip meter on any of my cars that have 'em, or
just the odometer referenced against the fuel purchase book in the glove
box. Gas gauges are notorious for being inaccurate in my experience...

Rick

My Forester S fuel light comes on when the needle is about "one"
needle width below" the empty line. Like Carl said get a small gas can
and go for it. My light come on at ~ 340 miles for my suburb type
driving. Ed

Is it possible that the lug nuts are bottoming out on the stud BEFORE
the wheel is fully tight?