That is definitely the opposite of my 97 Civic. I filled up today from what I consider a low tank (took 8.95 gal to top off; rated capacity of 11.9 gal) and once finished filling, I hopped in the car and put the key in the ignition and turned it to the "on" position. In the time it took me to write down my odometer mileage on the receipt and put the pen back in my glove box (apprx 15 sec) it had already completed a full sweep from just above the white "E" line to just shy of the top full line. My 97's fuel level indicator is very responsive, so yeah, if it took you 8 miles (10+ minutes??) there's a major difference they must have programmed in.

 

when my gas gauge gets down to four bars, it starts fluctuating according to how i drive. for example, i live on top of a large hill. when i go uphill to go home and start out with 4 bars, by the time i arrive at the top, the gauge reads 2 bars. The next morning, when i drive out again and go down the hill, by the bottom my gas gauge is reading 3 bars again, and when i'm on the highway after 5 minutes it goes to 4 bars again.

is it just me, or does the computer in the hch calculate the amount of gas remaining according to the instantaneous mileage you are getting when there are four bars or less of gas? it seems to me that it is trying to second guess the driver, because it magically increases the amount of gas when i'm coasting or braking, and decreases the amount of gas rapidly when i'm accelerating or going uphill for a short duration (<= 2700 rpm)

 

I get the feeling when I'm driving that it estimates fuel based on consumption. I don't know if there is anything to it.

 

This weekend, I had three bars reappear after I had no bars and the gas light came on. I didn't want to risk it, even though I had 3 bars. Well, I filled up with 11.9 gallons. I had about 15 miles left before I ran out of gas, even though I showed 3 bars. I would recommend getting gas with 3 bars or less left.

 

Sorry, I mistyped. I thought the tank held 12.2, not 13.2. An any case, those bars are messed up. You can't trust them, trust your total miles driven based on your calculated mpg.

 

Briefly commenting on jahwerx's post... this very thing happened to me with my '01 Accord V6, which had an analog gauge. So I don't think it's necessarily something 'hybrid-related' or '-designed', but I do think it's prevalent on Hondas (at least 2 late model platforms that we know of). At the time it happened, it was very disconcerting - I thought I had broken the gauge. But in a few miles, it had climbed back to the full mark.

Ok...I'm going back to bug the HAH owners now...

 

I do dealer transfers for a Honda dealership and have occasion to drive most all of the Hondas. I have found that there is something funny about the Civic gas gauges. For some reason they fluctuate at times. I put gas in a HCH and it took a couple of miles or so before the guage indicated a change, made me wonder if the pump put any gas in the car. Similar situations with the regular Civic. Must have to do with the float or whatever they use to gauge the fuel level. I am waiting for my HCH to arrive at dealer, will be reporting my experience with it soon.

 

the float explanation makes sense

i wish the gas gauge could tell you exactly how many gallons are remaining in the tank. this way would be much more accurate than trying to guess using the distance recorded on the trip odometer and the average mpg for the tank.