Running out of gas while driving is every car owner’s worst nightmare.
Although cars have an indicator to show that they are almost out of gas, they can also travel pretty far on a supposedly empty tank. A recent piece in Reader’s Digest notes that, while it’s not particularly good for your engine, it’s possible to drive a substantial distance after your car says it’s empty, equal to “about 20 to 30 miles in a smaller vehicle or up to 50 miles in a larger vehicle.”
This might give some people the false belief that they can travel further on empty than they really should—and so, they end up stuck on the side of the road with an empty tank.
In situations like these, drivers can be saved by someone carrying one of the classic red gasoline containers. However, as one TIkTok user recently noted, using these canisters might not always go as planned.
She ran out of gas—then things got worse
In a video with over 956,000 views, TikTok user Breanna (@brelynn000) explains that she ran out of gas for the “first time in 22 years of driving.”
Eventually, she was picked up by a police officer, who took her to a gas station to buy and fill one of the aforementioned red gasoline canisters.
Upon returning to her vehicle, however, she discovered a problem.
“Get it to the car, it will not go in,” she explains. “The funnel on those is not deep enough to go in…a capless gas tank.”
How to refill from a canister with a capless gas tank
As Breanna learned at that moment, the transition from gas tanks with caps to capless gas tanks has made it difficult to refill vehicles using a gas canister.
If one attempts to refill with a canister anyway, they may face issues.
“Every time you pour the gas in, it just fills this little chamber up, and then runs all over your car,” she explains.
Thankfully, manufacturers have thought of a solution for this issue: a specially-designed funnel located within your car.
“Every car that does not have a cap, there’s a funnel built in somewhere in your car,” Breanna states. “So figure out where it’s at in case you need it.”
While Breanna is correct that most cars with capless gas tanks come with a funnel, the location of the device can vary based on the manufacturer. Many report that the funnel can be found in the area where the spare tire is supposed to be, but in general, one should consult their manual in order to find the specific placement of their gas tank funnel.
@brelynn000 Bad day, dont drive on E! #workingmom #badday #thingsyoudidntknow ♬ original sound – Breanna
Commenters share their views
In the comments section, users shared their own experiences finding and using this funnel.
“FYI for those that do not know…The funnel should be in where the spare tire is,” suggested a commenter. “If it isn’t there should be a little side piece that clips off in the trunk (somewhere on the sides) and it should hold the funnel.”
“Your video literally helped us this morning,” added another. “We don’t have gas where we are right now so we had to use the red bucket and i told my husband about ur video and it worked. Thank you so much!”
“You can buy the funnel off amazon,” noted a further user. “I bought used car and couldn’t find it so I quit looking and just bought new one. Put in plastic bag with couple of paper towels for future wiping my hands.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Breanna via TikTok DM and comment.
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