Duration: 00:35

Relying on your gas indicator can get you in a heap of trouble. The next time your car’s gas display indicates you will run out of gas in 20 miles, take the warning with a grain of salt. It turns out that relying on such indicators can get you in a heap of trouble. According to a AAA study, the accuracy of such systems varies widely. Drivers who rely on such warnings before filling up are taking an “unnecessary risk” that they could run out of gas on the road, AAA says. To test the systems, AAA joined with the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Automotive Research Center to use a dynamometer — described as “a treadmill for vehicle testing” — to put cars through their paces.