I have a 2005 that I bought new. When you get down to the last bar (if you are getting about 50 miles to the gallon) before the last bar begins to blink you will go about 50 miles. Then you will hear a beep and a message will apear saying add fuel. You will have about 100 miles before another beep and another message will say add fuel soon and you will have about 50 miles of fuel left. I have run my car down to the last message many times with no problem. Also a coworker just bought a used 2005 and he drove the car to work with one bar left on the gauge. He asked me to give him a few pointers on the controls and when I sat in his car and turned on the instruments the last bar began to flash and the add fuel message appeared. Confirming that the messages on the mfd are on all of the gen II's (the coworkers 2005 does not have nav).
You are fortunate to have never driven in a time and place where, once the fuel gauge is that low, there is no certainty of having a gas station within the remaining fuel range. Some of us older fogies who have experience with long road stretches without stations available, or open, have a desire for more precision in fuel gauging. For me, that doesn't mean running out, but it does mean testing the bottom portion of the tank, or it isn't really there.
Yep, that's what I've been saying for some time now. I don't count on anything other than what I've tested...and because of the bladder I'm not sure of that either. Plus the scare tactics used by others about the battery are bogus. There is no need to run the battery flat if one runs out of gas. That would be analogous to saying a driver of a conventional car must use the starter/battery to move the car as close to the station as possible. The HV battery should be more than adequate for a glide to a safe spot or even into a station depending on conditions, and without dropping to zero bars on the SOC display. The primary exception would be starting a significant hill climb, when shutdown will necessarily be sooner. True, the driver can choose to do something stupid after running out of gas, but it isn't necessary.
