this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2025
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To be fair, "no information" is a terrible message for when the fuel is too low to read. I'd rather have a sensor that malfunctions and says that my fuel is dangerously low all the time, than a sensor that says it doesn't know when the fuel is dangerously low.
I don't think the sensor malfunctioned. When I run down to E, my car will change the "Est. Range" display to - - - instead of a mileage.
The customer saw the display, well, stop displaying and said "huh. Better keep driving instead of getting gas."
You misread the OP. They said that the message should be more clear even if it would be a failure - which it isn't which makes it even worse.
Your display shouldn't say "..." it should say ZERO MILES or something more clear.
When a sensor breaks the message should be "get fuel, bro, cause I have no idea" and not "no idea what's going on".
And as in this case the sensor didn't even break...It's just bad design to have it say "sensor has no data".
Now the question if we want someone driving who is dependent on good design in this context is a different question all together.
There is the fuel gauge that shows empty and a warning light on the dash. The display shouldn't even factor into this. And I'm almost certain if it said "Your tank is empty, get gas!" it probably wouldn't fully prevent those occurrences.
Make it idiot proof, and the world will build a better idiot.