Before you hit the gas station, you should have an understanding of how much gas your car can hold. The gas tank is the tank that will contain the gas. So, what’s the average size gas tank of a car, and where does your vehicle fall on the list?
In this article, I will discuss average fuel tank sizes by class. I will go over a few vehicles with the highest capacities and a few of the lowest. As a bonus, I’m even going to cover how you can find out how much fuel your vehicle can hold and also explain why it’s important to keep the tank full.
What Is The Average Gas Tank Size?
On average, a car’s fuel tank will hold between 12 and 16 gallons of fuel. For example, the 2022 Hyundai Elantra holds 12.4 gallons. The Mazda3 has 13.2 gallons capacity. But obviously, bigger vehicles like trucks and SUVs will hold more.
Here’s a breakdown of the average gas tank size by type of vehicle.
#1. Compact.
Compact cars have the smallest gas tank of all the vehicles I review, as I’ve mentioned; 2022 Elantra undercuts the average with 12.4 gallons.
The 2022 Honda Civic is also close to the same. If you choose one of the smallest compact vehicles like the Nissan Versa, they only have a 10.8-gallon fuel capacity.
#2. Sedan.
A full-sized sedan has a larger and bit heavier gas tank than the compact segment. One of the smaller fuel capacities among it is the 2022 Toyota Avalon with a 13.2-gallon tank.
Then you see 2022 Dodge Charger with a huge 18.5-gallon and even more impressive is the 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class with 22.1-gallon tank.
#3. SUV.
There are so many different size SUVs available today, so many of them will have smaller fuel capacities, but don’t be surprised to find some fuel tank sizes to rival the modern truck.
For example, the 2022 Nissan Kicks will only hold 10.8 gallons of fuel. Whereas on the higher end of the scale, the 2022 Chevrolet Suburban will hold 28 gallons of gas.
#4. Truck.
Similarly to the SUV size, today’s truck have many different sizes. Compact, mid-size, full-size, and heavy-duty trucks are available. It’s difficult to identify an average size when there’s so much variance.
On the smaller end of the size spectrum, is 2022 Ford Maverick with 13.8-gallon gas tank. On the opposite end of the size specturm, the 2022 Chevy Silverado 3500HD has a 36-gallon capacity.
Gas Tank Size Of Common Car Models
Here is a chart of gas tank sizes for some of the most common car models on the market, based on the most recent year of each car model produced and listed. If you see more than one gas tank size, it means there are options for those vehicles as well.
Gas tank size by car model:
- Chevrolet Suburban: 28 Gallons
- Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD: 36 Gallons
- Dodge Ram 1500: 23 Gallons
- Dodge Charger: 18.5 Gallons
- Ford F150: 23 to 26 Gallons
- Ford Fusion: 16.5 Gallons
- Ford Maverick: 13.8 Gallons
- Honda Accord: 14.8 Gallons
- Honda Civic: 12.4 Gallons
- Honda Pilot: 19.5 Gallons
- Hyundai Elantra: 12.4 Gallons
- Jeep Compass: 19.5 Gallons
- Jeep Grand Cherokee: 24.6 Gallons
- Jeep Wrangler: 17.5 to 21.5 Gallons
- Kia Soul: 14.3 Gallons
- Mazda CX-5: 14.8 to 15.3 Gallons
- Mazda 3: 13.2 Gallons
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class: 22.1 Gallons
- Nissan Altima: 16.2 Gallons
- Nissan Rogue: 14.5 to 15.9 Gallons
- Nissan Sentra: 12.4 Gallons
- Nissan Versa: 10.8 Gallons
- Subaru Outback: 18.5 Gallons
- Toyota 4Runner: 23 Gallons
- Toyota Avalon: 13.2 Gallons
- Toyota Corolla: 13.2 Gallons
- Toyota Prius: 19.5 to 11.4 Gallons
- Toyota RAV4: 14.5 Gallons
- Toyota Tundra: 22.5 Gallons
Vehicles with the Largest Fuel Tanks
You will not see many cars with the largest fuel tanks on the roads today. Most of the vehicles with the largest tanks available today are SUVs and trucks.
Some examples of vehicles with large gas tanks:
- Dodge Durango: 24.6 gallons
- Infinity QX80: 26 gallons
- Ford Expedition MAX: 27.8 gallons
- Ford F-350 Super Duty CrewMax: 48 gallons (diesel)
Some models have different fuel tank sizes depending on what trim and configuration you choose. The measurements listed above take the larger models into consideration.
Vehicles with the smallest fuel tanks
Many compact cars are moving towards smaller fuel tanks to keep the vehicle as small as possible.
Some examples of vehicles with small gas tanks:
- Hyundai Ioniq Blue: 11.9 gallons
- Nissan Versa: 10.8 gallons
- Honda Insight: 10.6 gallons
- Chevy Spark: 9 gallons
Again, some models have different fuel tank sizes depending on what trim and configuration you choose. The measurements listed above take the smaller models into consideration.
How Can I Find The Size Of My Car’s Gas Tank?
The easiest way to discover the gas tank size of your car is with the owner’s manual that came with the vehicle.
On some vehicles, the size is listed on the interior label next to the door lock, while you can also find out using a VIN decoder online.
Here’s more info on how to discover the size of your car’s gas tank:
#1. Owner’s Manual.
The best way to find out how much fuel your car holds is in the owner’s manual. These specifications for your vehicle are all in the owner’s manual.
If you cannot find the manual, you should be able to see the manual easily online. You can also check the specifications on the manufacturer’s website.
#2. Door Label.
On some cars you will also find the gas tank size on the label near the door on the driver side. The label will usually have information on the tire pressure for your car, but it will also have other information about the vehicle like the gas size.
#3. Fill Tank.
I do not condone ever running your tank empty, however this method will reveal the tank size. When you run the car just below E, you can fill back up and see how many gallons you took.
However you probably still have some fuel in the tank unless you were lucky enough to be pushing the car to the gas pump. Therefore you will never be totally precise, but you could still get pretty close.
Reasons to Keep Your Fuel Tank Full
#1. Reduces Mechanical Failure.
Your car has a fuel pump that continuously moves the gasoline. It must have fuel to keep it cool and lubricated. If you have an empty tank, air can be sucked in. This can lead to an expensive repair.
Also, there is gunk and debris that settle in the bottom of the tank; if you run the fuel down very low, this can be sucked into the pump, and potentially even move its way onto the injectors and damage them and other components.
There’s even possible more damage to doing this if it’s cold. As the temperature goes down, the chances for condensation to build up also go up and be sucked into the fuel pump. If there’s too much condensation, you might have a hard time to start and stall out on you repeatedly.
By keeping your fuel tank full, you save a lot of money from repairs and take up the less time on waiting your vehicle to be fixed.
#2. Safety.
If you are low on fuel, you will run out of fuel at some point. If you run out of fuel on the highway in the middle of nowhere, you are putting yourself and your wellbeing in danger. You do not want to be walking down an empty highway looking for fuel, especially at nighttime.
Outside that, you will create the risk of causing a crash or accident if you run out of fuel in heavy traffic. From that perspective alone, it’s worth keeping your tank fuller than it needs to be, or at least until the gauge is at where you believe is low enough to fuel again.
#3. Better Fuel Economy.
There are varying lines of thought regarding fuel economy, compared to tank capacity. Some have studied this and provided data which shows better fuel economy with the fuel tank being full rather than low.
This may relate to fuel density and the weight of the fuel. Regardless, if your fuel tank is already full, you will have to visit a fuel station less often. A full tank will take you a lot further than a half tank.
#4. Time Savings.
Having a full tank may not save you time over a long period of time, but it will help reduce the amount of time you sit in each fueling station. If you are pulling into a fueling station on E, you may be waiting there for a significant amount of time before you can even get back on the road.
If you come into a fueling station with a half full tank, you can reduce that time by at least half. When considering the dangers of pumping gas, especially in bad neighborhoods, you want to reduce the time you are outside of your vehicle.
FAQs.
How long can a full tank of gas last?
A typical average is 200-400 miles on a full tank of gas. how long a full tank lasts depends on the car model you have and your style of driving. Let off (not full throttle!) the gas pedal a bit and you can extensive how long a full tank of gas lasts.
How many gallons in a car with 4 cylinders?
4 cylinders will usually hold between 12-14 liters of fuel, total capacity depending on car model. Both big and small vehicles can use 4-cylinder car engines nowadays and therefore respect to how much it can hold depends.
How many Liters have in gas tank?
Most car’s gas tanks hold gas usually between 47-60 liters of fuel, and can hold over 100+ liters for larger vehicles if the gas tank is built that way. For your specific car it should be in the owner’s manual if you want the exact amount.
How do I know if my gas tank is empty?
If so, if your car gas tank empties entirely and the engine stops, you may get stranded in the middle of the road downhill and possibly get hurt. If your gas tank is relatively low, then you will get a fuel tank gauge warning light popping up on your dashboard. On the highway, you may also find out your gas engine starts to hiccup.
It looks like a simple topic on size of gas tank, but there are a surprising number of interesting learning and discussion topics on gas tanks and gas tank sizes. knowing about the size of a gas tank of a car that’s for sale could be a useful element in assessing whether a car model you are contemplating needs to be big enough!
I hope you liked this article and now have learned all there is to learn about gas tank sizes and how to figure out the gas tank size in your car model.