1986 300E

Has this happened to you?
Fuel light just came on. Tank is low, but several gallons remain.
Take an exit ramp (long sweeping right turn).
Hit the throttle to merge onto highway, and... nothing.
Sputter, sputter.
Almost get rear-ended, 3-4 seconds pass, power kicks back in, and no problem...

Is it just me, or is this common?

Of course the fuel flows 'to the right' to get to the pump, but why would it go dry with 3+ gallons remaining?
Given enough fuel, this does not happen.
I have no other symptoms of a fuel problem, though I confess to having a cheesy "Made in Taiwan" pump.

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1986 300E 5-Speed 240k mi.

Resurrecting an old post, I know, but this has been happening to me on my 87 300E lately.

Investigations reveal that the fuel tank design was changed from 1988 on to improve the splash baffles round the output line, due precisely to this problem.

With the old tank, the only way round the problem is to keep the tank at least half full if you're planning trips uphill.

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1987 300e manual 250,000 km (sold)