Range Anxiety

[KevinRS]

Another aspect of opting for the ER battery is that it offers spontaneity. Say you want to go off course of your daily routine and check out something new or different. Like exploring new communities, restaurants, parks and golf courses, or even a different supermarket in a neighboring town. Drive by the old house you sold 10 years ago and see how they’re maintaining the lawn. Sometimes you just need to break out from the same old routine. Now a 30 mile round trip just to explore something new is now possible without any pre planning.

... that 30 mile round trip shouldn't be an issue for most, unless they are just keeping the battery low.

My day to day commute is only about 15 miles round trip. Once a week about 40, occasionally 60.
I could even on a 60 mile day do it twice without recharging. A few times a year I'll go about 130 miles one way, that trip will take a bit of planning, will charge at the other end, and probably need a few minutes of charging on the way there, and under 20 on the way back. I'd probably plan to just stop for a meal halfway and end up charged up to 80% or more.

If there is a small enough difference between the batteries, sure, I'd go for extended, but I don't NEED it enough to pay 4-5k

 

[sodamo]

I can take the aches and pains of getting old, but "this is the last time" stuff really hits hard. Yeah, Slate may be my last too!

I said that with my Tundra. Yet here I am…

 

[Daemoch]

The problem with this idea is that most newer cars, for several decades, have put the fuel pump in the gas tank, and it is cooled by the gasoline. Run under about 1/4 tank, and the pump is above the fuel level, and not getting cooled. Do that too much and you've got to replace the pump. People who drive on the bottom 1/4 all the time, like drive until the light comes on and then put 5 gallons in, and repeat really have pump issues often.

I understand the thought process, and I'd agree normally - the advice seems solid, but my personal experience has taught me thats just an old wives tale. Even when I was a mechanic working 40+ a week in a garage I never saw that happen, like EVER. Not one time. At one point I was averaging over a thousand miles a week per year in cars (not truck or long haul or anything, just regular cars) and I never had a pump fail.

The only pump I ever had fail was in a Porsche 636, and it had dual pumps and they both burned up at the exact same time. Incidentally shortly after I filled the tank, but I dont think that matters here. I was told it was an electrical failure and was going to require the controlling logic board to be replaced, too, or it would burn out the next ones as well. I sold it to the shop instead. It was a fun car, but not worth it to me to have fixed. I had a half dozen other fun cars at the time to drive and was better off with one less anyways.

I think I bought a VW (Cabrio?) with a burned out pump once too, but it came that way. That car was just rough though in general. IIRC, the plastic in the pump had gotten brittle over time and crumbled (20+ years will do that). I drove it a bit and then parted it out.

I replaced a pump in a 2000 s10 but it turned out that wasnt the issue; that pump was fine and is still in a box on a shelf in my garage.

I'd also point out that if pumps were likely to keep failing under lean conditions, we would have a near epidemic of pump failures in some areas and seasons (think month before Christmas, Phoenix in the summer, super poor neighborhoods, etc) and I'd expect to hear about gas tank fires..... even if its just BS to get a news cycle hype going. And then we would see some bonehead legislation to regulate for external pumps only requirements or some crap.

 

[KevinRS]

I understand the thought process, and I'd agree normally - the advice seems solid, but my personal experience has taught me thats just an old wives tale. Even when I was a mechanic working 40+ a week in a garage I never saw that happen, like EVER. Not one time. At one point I was averaging over a thousand miles a week per year in cars (not truck or long haul or anything, just regular cars) and I never had a pump fail.

The only pump I ever had fail was in a Porsche 636, and it had dual pumps and they both burned up at the exact same time. Incidentally shortly after I filled the tank, but I dont think that matters here. I was told it was an electrical failure and was going to require the controlling logic board to be replaced, too, or it would burn out the next ones as well. I sold it to the shop instead. It was a fun car, but not worth it to me to have fixed. I had a half dozen other fun cars at the time to drive and was better off with one less anyways.

I think I bought a VW (Cabrio?) with a burned out pump once too, but it came that way. That car was just rough though in general. IIRC, the plastic in the pump had gotten brittle over time and crumbled (20+ years will do that). I drove it a bit and then parted it out.

I replaced a pump in a 2000 s10 but it turned out that wasnt the issue; that pump was fine and is still in a box on a shelf in my garage.

I'd also point out that if pumps were likely to keep failing under lean conditions, we would have a near epidemic of pump failures in some areas and seasons (think month before Christmas, Phoenix in the summer, super poor neighborhoods, etc) and I'd expect to hear about gas tank fires..... even if its just BS to get a news cycle hype going. And then we would see some bonehead legislation to regulate for external pumps only requirements or some crap.

It is built up wear over time. I've had family members go through multiple fuel pumps. Probably not much of an issue if you fill up and run down near empty regularly, but those who go gown to nearly out of gas and go put a quarter tank or less in, and do that all the time are really the ones who are likely to have problems.

 

[Daemoch]

Id look closer at the specific models of cars/pumps or where they buy gas if its always the same people with the issue. Or maybe they do dumb things like constantly run additives (those Ive absolutely seen cause issues - looking at you Slick50). My Dad was the type to run on empty and fill the tank with spare change; poor as dirt. Still never had a pump die though. But tbh, half his cars were also old enough they probably had external (or mechanical) pumps.

Im not really trying to argue that "its fine" or "doesnt matter (at all)". Id agree its asking for issues. But I dont think its actually as big of an issue as some people think.