Running out of gas is something everybody hopes to avoid. You’re left stranded on the side of the road – and it’ll probably be raining – and you’ll inevitably be running late to some immensely important event. Thankfully I’ve never had to experience running out of fuel, but I can imagine the situation isn’t fun. Well, the current, sixth-generation Ford Mustang has a solution for those who like to skate by on a quarter-tank of gas. Its low fuel warning light gives multiple warnings.

I discovered this during a week’s evaluation of the 2016 Mustang EcoBoost Premium decked out with the six-speed manual transmission and Performance Package. (Full review coming soon!) Rolling down the highway, the familiar three-tone Ford chime came over the Shaker audio system and the driver information display lit up with the warning, “Fuel Level Low. 50 Miles to Empty.”

It thought it was a nice gesture for the ‘Stang to alert me of impending doom. A quick glance at the fuel gauge showed the needle hovering over the quarter-tank mark. “Man, this must have a tiny tank,” I reasoned. Pressing errands and events had me booked for the next few hours, so I pushed my luck. Each time I entered the car, the low fuel light illuminated while the almost-but-not-quite-annoying Ford chime rang over the speakers.

Silencing the warning gets you a few more uninterrupted miles of tempting fate. A second alert fills the cabin with lights and sounds at the 25-miles-to-empty mark. At this point, I made time to stop at my favorite pump-n-dump for some go-juice. I snapped the photo you see of the warning message while sitting at the pump. 18 miles separated the wife and I from the embarrassing fate of calling AAA. “Ah, plenty of time,” I though. Then it hit me. “You’ve got to be a complete idiot to run the Mustang out of fuel.”

And in reality, that’s true. The car gave multiple warnings at set mileage intervals, along with low-fuel warnings each time I reentered the car. There’s really no excuse to end up gasless in the Mustang, save for being 50 miles from the nearest gas station. Even then, the smallest amount of foresight and planning would prevent that situation.

The irony in all this, for me, is my first “wild” sighting of a sixth-generation Mustang was a few days after they hit showroom floors back in 2014. The car was sitting on the roadside, flasher ablaze, fuel door ajar, and out of gas. You can’t make this stuff up. Hit the jump for the photographic evidence.

Continue reading for more information.

Early production 2015 Mustang out of gas

Yes, I actually stopped and took a photo of this abandoned 2015 Mustang. Creepy, sure, but this was the first sixth-generation Mustang I had seen outside Ford hands. Call me a car guy. I would have helped the owner, but nobody was around and I didn't have a jerry can of gas sitting around in my press car.

Read our full review on the 2016 Ford Mustang here.