Bad to drive on almost empty fuel tank?

[yjansen]

Just want to bust the myth on whether it is bad to drive on very low fuel level on our Xs. Is this true?

I've read or heard from somewhere that it is bad to do so, as the "dirty" residue of the fuel is drawn into the engine.

Came up to me as I was driving with the yellow dreaded low-fuel-warning-light on last night, and I was waiting for cheap petrol day to top up . Oh I have a diesel X by the way, but I would suppose the theory would be the same with petrol anyway.

[lanbrown]

If the tanks at the station were not filled that day, the bottom would have sediment and the top may have some stuff that floats. When you fill up, the fuel is being drawn from the bottom of the tank and the sediment should be pretty much be at rest. If you did get some sediment in your tank, that’s what the fuel filter is for. Unless the station was trying to run their tanks dry and possibly run out of fuel, you should get anything that would float. What is bad about running your tank low is the fuel provides lubrication for the fuel pump.

[Wagner]

It's bad to drive on nearly zero fuel in any vehicle and especially those requiring premium fuels. Your fuel tank develops condensation throughout the day which mixes with the fuel. When you have very little gasoline and larger quantities of condensation you can create build up in your fuel system. Repetition of this can have ill effects on any internal combustion motor.