That was the question culminating in a humorous yet instructive experience a friend of mine had. Stopped at a gas station to refill his car’s fuel tank, he set the automatic cutoff lever on the hose nozzle, then went about cleaning the windshield. Returning to the nozzle, he found the cutoff lever had activated. He noted 16 gallons/$65 on the pump readouts, removed the hose, and proceeded on. Shortly afterward a “Fuel Low” warning light came on, and he saw the gas gauge needle pointing at empty. Surprised, since the tank had just been filled, he drove the month-old car to a dealership for repair.
Next day, when the car was ready, he asked what the problem was. A mechanic reported that he had spent several hours troubleshooting the gas gauge system without finding a defect, so he finally tried putting in fuel to see how much more the tank would hold. The answer: 14-plus gallons.
“But what happened to my 16 gallons?” was my friend’s shocked response. Baffled, he retrieved his gas receipt from the day before and read: “1.6 gallons/$6.50.”
