[TDFDiesel]

Running out of diesel in these trucks is a bigger deal then running out of gas in your Civic. For that reason they give you a light with 6 gallons in the tank from the factory. That is normal.

As for the other issue, someone with more knowledge will chime in shortly.

 

[TDFDiesel]

My LML will use 32 of 36 galls and then "low" light comes on. Seems to be pretty accurate so far but I have yet to run out and "test" it's accuracy...

The priming method (if ran out of fuel) in manual seems pretty simple. Is that true or is there a headache procedure needed? I ran out in my ford diesel van once and it was no big deal. Just took a few miles of rough running until it was fine again.

If you run out in a civic you can pour fuel in the tank and try to start it. Eventually it'll crank and start.

A diesel requires more cranking amps to turn it over and you have to prime the fuel where you don't need to in a Civic.

 

[TDFDiesel]

My LML will use 32 of 36 galls and then "low" light comes on. Seems to be pretty accurate so far but I have yet to run out and "test" it's accuracy...

The priming method (if ran out of fuel) in manual seems pretty simple. Is that true or is there a headache procedure needed? I ran out in my ford diesel van once and it was no big deal. Just took a few miles of rough running until it was fine again.

The idea is that the average person can not prime the fuel system and doesn't want to. It's not that it's a complicated procedure, but GM knows the average consumer will file complaints and sue GM when they run out of diesel.

 

[TDFDiesel]

IDK, the "average person" is not likely to own a HD diesel truck in the first place. There is also onstar and AAA etc to come help out.

Then again, there should be some kind of "stoopid fee" or penalty for running out..... spank

I hope you don't honestly believe this.

Every Duramax owner is a mechanic?

There are a lot of people that use these trucks for work, their company buys it for them, they tow a toy box to the desert for toys, tow a camper, etc... and have ZERO idea how to prime a fuel filter, how a diesel works or interest in learning it.

I bet if GM had the low fuel light come on at 1 or 2 gallons, people would run out of fuel constantly. They would get diesel and try to start it until it will kill the batteries. Have it towed to GM saying it won't start, they'll forget to mention it ran out of fuel and GM will have an exponential increase in complaints of trucks losing prime. The techs don't know that they really ran out of fuel, added fuel, and didn't know the fuel system needed to be primed.

Everything in life has to be idiot proof, because nobody cares how it works anymore. I would guess that at least 30% of Duramax owners think they have spark plugs and 60% of Duramax owners don't know how to prime their fuel system or that it would have to be primed if they ran out of fuel.

 

[TDFDiesel]

That's quite a stretch from what I actually said......

You implied that every Duramax owner can prime their fuel system which is by no means accurate and most of them would see this as being a "mechanic".

The 6 gallons of fuel left in the tank is by design from GM to save people from running out of fuel and blaming GM for not having the light come on soon enough. GM service departments would eat A LOT of repair bills IMO if they didn't do this and obviously a GM engineer agreed with me.

 

[TDFDiesel]

No such implication was made by me, what I said was:

"IDK, the "average person" is not likely to own a HD diesel truck in the first place. There is also onstar and AAA etc to come help out."



I also never said anything such as "Duramax owner can prime their fuel system" or that any percentage of diesel owners are in any way a mechanic. Those were all embelished extrapolations you created on your own.



To me, the average motorist I was refering to drives a gasoline powered vehicle such as sedans, minivans, light duty trucks, etc. I would bet that a higher percentage of diesel owners are a lot more aware of their vehicle's operational needs than the average gas owner. Sure, there are a lot of people who buy diesels who simply use them for grocery getters or posing (compensating?) but most people who shell out the extra $10k+ for a diesel/Allison are far from the average motorist.

Further, priming a current diesel is pretty much a no-brainer for anyone who can check their own oil, tires, trans fluid, tie their own shoes, etc. (my Ford van didn't require any technique after running out of diesel other than add more diesel and crank away. Worked fine for me the 2 times I ran out in that vehicle) The method described in my LML manual appears to be about the simplest thing a person can possible do with a basic tool. It would only be easier if the method involved hitting something with a roadside rock. Additionaly, my GMC came with 2 batteries which should allow for quite a lot of cranking.

I felt that your statement that the average consumer wouldn't own a diesel truck is where you implied they could prime their own fuel system. Implying they have mechanical know how. To say they know more about the "operational needs" of their truck implies a mechanical knowledge.

I disagree with you just as much about a diesel owner being less likely to run their truck low on fuel. I know I didn't have to take an aptitude test to buy my truck, did you?

As for priming the truck, I agree it's a simple procedure, but watch how many people post threads up here because they didn't follow the procedure correctly, didn't know the procedure was necessary, or didn't know what the procedure was.

As for battery cranking, you obviously are not an engineer. You are taking this WAY to far, but to help you out. Our trucks require a lot more cranking amps to start them then a gas engine, this is one reason that they have multiple batteries. That said, gas trucks can have dual batteries as well. Either way, you can crank ALL day long and if the fuel isn't primed it'll NEVER start.

To conclude, I'm just glad you're not a GM engineer. You obviously seem at least competant enough to understand your truck requires priming if you run out of fuel, but if someone hadn't told you that along the way you wouldn't know. The GM engineers have to idiot proof these trucks, because the AVERAGE consumer doesn't know or want to know how to prime their fuel system. These trucks are designed to be operated by anybody, not just the mechanically knowledgeable. You are WAY too confident in the consumers, if all the consumers are so in tune with their trucks and no when it needs fuel, why do they need to have a low fuel light? I mean the owners look at the gauge right?

 

[TDFDiesel]

Maybe you should have. You would be enjoying your Dodge/Ford right about now.....

Because I obviously understand marketing, business, consumer needs and mechanics more than you?

I'm glad you know how to prime your fuel system because you read a manual.

 

[TDFDiesel]

I'm going to go ahead and unsubscribe from this thread as opposed to continuing to have this conversation.

The facts are...

The fuel light comes on at 20 gallons in the tank due to design. GM engineers felt this was necessary in the design for consumers.

The truck needs to be "idiot proof".

I was not saying this was for you or I, but you obviously took this very personally.