Tank on EmptyTank on Empty
 

Empty Means Empty

December 15, 2007 about MINI Cooper

I have run out of gas three times in my Cooper. It has a "MILES TO EMPTY" READ OUT and when it said I had "30 MILES" before empty, I believed it -- and then ran out of gas two miles later -- with the gauge reading "28 MILES" to Empty. This has happened 3 times. I was used to my RAV4 that took me 30 miles past empty. So just be warned: when the cooper gas pointer points to the E - it's EMPTY!

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Story replies

January 10, 2008 by Sarah

I have had my Cooper read as low as "1" mile to empty before filling up. Sounds like you have a computer glitch?

April 16, 2008 by Phil

I have a Cooper S and that is exactly what happens to me. I have had runouts at 28 and 30 mpg. I wonder if Sarah has a Cooper and maybe that car doesn't have the same issue? They are very different cars and the site doesn't differentiate between the two.

June 29, 2008 by Megen

I have had my Mini Cooper say "0" miles to empty and I have still been driving. Maybe the Cooper S is a little different and runs out of gas quicker than the regular cooper.

July 5, 2008 by Jay

I have a 2003 Mini Cooper S. We have run it down to 1 , 0, and yes even ---. I can tell you from my experience that our car is very close to accurate. Once you hit 0 , you have at most 3-4 miles and that is only if you don't hit any major hills.

March 19, 2010 by Nicole

I have a 2008 Mini Cooper S & I have gotten it down to 0 miles left & have driven a little ways to a gas station. I'm not trying to test it, but it just happens that way. It's pretty close to zero though when I fill up my tank. But I have never run out.

November 28, 2014 by Pete

I just took a mini cooper S 3 miles past empty. fyi

May 24, 2015 by Your all wrong

When the range clock goes to 0 it then goes to " --" Even when the clock reads "--" you're on a reserve tank and have atleast another 20+ miles left .

June 22, 2015 by Shelley

I have done up to 10 miles on -- that is below zero. I've do e it loads of times and not ran out yet!

July 5, 2016 by Brook

Mine said I had 80 miles left I drove 10 miles bland now apparently I only have 17 miles to empty. 2012 clubman bought new and has done it since the day I purchased it.

October 4, 2017 by Vic Wolf

The safest way to know is run your Mini close to empty, then fill it with fuel. See how much it takes, check your manual under specifications, and find how many gallons it holds, for example, if your tank is 11.3 and you just put in 10.4 gallons, you have .9 gallons left or approx 24 to 30 miles on a Mini.

May 7, 2018 by Sean Samblanet

I have a 2010 mini cooper JCW (same tank as a cooper S) and at 0 miles to go still have 2 gallons in the tank. I've driven some 20-30 miles after empty. (Your milage may vary)

December 13, 2019 by You're Wrong

I've driven well over 15-20 miles in my mini Cooper S at ---. Sometimes when it's empty and I only put a few dollars in, one bar will light up on the gas gauge, but on the display screen it just still says --- even after a few days it hasn't changed...

February 1, 2020 by Karly

2006 Cooper S. I was in panic mode but drove about 10 miles past 1.