What to do if you run out of gas

As the engine starts to cut

• You usually get warning — sputtering and power loss before it stops entirely.
• Signal and use the momentum to reach the right shoulder or an exit.
• Hazard lights on immediately.
• Get as far from live lanes as the surface allows.
• Stay in the vehicle with your seatbelt on unless remaining is more dangerous than leaving.

Should you walk to a station?

Usually not. Walking along a highway shoulder is genuinely dangerous, many stations no longer sell approved fuel containers, and carrying fuel back on foot in traffic is worse again.

If you are in a parking lot with a station clearly visible a short, safe walk away and you have a proper container, that is a reasonable exception. On a highway, it is not.

Getting fuel delivered

Emergency fuel delivery brings enough fuel to reach a station under your own power. Confirm the fuel type from the label inside the fuel door before requesting — gasoline in a diesel engine, or the reverse, causes serious damage.

Give your direction of travel if you are on a highway or expressway. Shoulders are not crossable, and a driver who takes the wrong ramp has to go a long way around.

Restarting after a dry tank

Once fuel is in, the engine may need several cranks to prime the fuel system before it fires. Crank in short bursts with pauses rather than holding the key, so you do not flatten the battery and end up with a second problem.

Running a tank completely dry occasionally is not usually harmful in modern cars, but doing it repeatedly is hard on the fuel pump, which relies on fuel for cooling.