A car expert is going viral on TikTok after warning viewers about the dangers of driving with a near-empty tank of gas.
Alex (@alexthecardoctor), who calls himself “the car doctor,” lives in Morrow, Georgia. In a recent video, he said that viewers risk damaging their cars when they drive around on empty tanks.
“Here’s another episode of ‘y’all got to stop,’” he said. “We have to stop riding around on E. Here’s why.” As of Monday, Alex’s explainer video had amassed more than 211,000 views.
What does the Car Doctor say?
To demonstrate how driving on E affects your car, Alex showed viewers a fuel pump assembly, which fits in the vehicle’s fuel tanks.
“When you ride around on E, this little electric motor is no longer submerged in fuel,” Alex explained. “This leaves a lot of empty space around the fuel pump.”
Leaving space around the fuel pump, Alex said, can cause it to overheat. He said that when your gas tank is completely filled, “it will actually work as coolant and keep this fuel pump cool.” But an empty tank, he said, risks “burning” up.
In addition, Alex warned that drivers with empty fuel tanks are “probably sucking in more trash and debris.”
“Yes,” he said. “There’s trash and debris stored in the gas pumps.”
Without listing specific brands or manufacturers, Alex said that there are some exceptions to this rule, as some cars will do just fine with a near-empty gas tank. “But on other cars,” he said, “it would definitely pose an issue.” Alex said he sees a lot of General Motors (GM) cars in his shop that have burnt-up fuel pumps due to careless drivers.
“How do I know? Because I survey all of my customers, and… they tell me they’ve been riding around on E,” Alex said. Then he asked viewers to fess up: How many people, he asked, are guilty of riding around with near-empty tanks? (More on that later.)
@alexthecardoctor It’s Not A Good Idea To Ride Your Car On Empty ⛽️
♬ original sound – Alex The Car Doctor
Other experts agree
According to Lamb’s Tire & Automotive, an auto mechanic shop, driving on E really means that your fuel tank reached “reserve” levels—around 10-15% capacity. One reason the auto shop warned against driving on E is because the meter predicting how many miles you have left on your tank isn’t always totally accurate. But, like Alex, it said this also risks harming your car’s fuel pump.
The fuel pump, it said, transports gas from the tank to the engine, and the presence of gasoline prevents the pump from overheating. “Running on a low gas tank can cause overheating of the fuel pump and premature failure,” it warned. “Replacing your fuel pump is a costly and preventable repair.”
This is true. One website quoted this as costing between $1,000 and 1,200. While the pump itself runs about $300-$500, the labor to replace it is more expensive.
Lamb’s Tire & Automotive agreed with Alex on his second point, too—that running on empty could clog your fuel filter. As Alex said, fuel tanks collect sediment and dirt over time. Usually, this isn’t cause for concern. But with low gas levels, there’s an increased chance that your fuel pump will suck up sediment and send it through the fuel system. This debris can then clog your fuel filter and slow or block the flow of gas to your car’s engine.
But the biggest risk of driving on E is that you don’t know when your car will really run out of gas. “Not only is getting stranded embarrassing, but it can also be dangerous,” it warned. “So while it may be tempting to wait until a more convenient time when your fuel light comes on, you should do your car a favor and fill up as soon as possible.”
Viewers admit to driving with empty gas tanks
In the comments section of Alex’s video, several drivers admitted to letting their car coast while it’s nearly out of gas. For some people, being low on money caused them to drive on E.
“The problem is, my bank account reaches E right before my gas tank does,” one woman admitted.
“Well we must have dollars to put in the gas tank rights????” another asked.
Others, however, said that even if you can’t afford to fill your tank all the way—you should still aim to get it to the halfway point.
“Fill up your tank once and once its hallways empty just keep filling it up,” one commenter wrote. “Treat your halfway mark as your new E.”
“Half a tank is as far as i let it go down, unless I’m on a long road trip,” another viewer shared. “Then I start looking for a good station when I hit the ½ tank.”
“My Daddy always told us to fill up at the half way mark,” a third user wrote.
Then there were the viewers who admitted that they simply didn’t care for Alex’s advice.
“Ive run mine on E for 33 years not one fuel pump yet installed,” one commenter admitted.
“E stands for Enough,” another joked.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Alex via TikTok comment.
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