So I have a 98 M3 and completely ran out of gas the other day got 366miles to the tank, right before the car stalled out the CEL came on, i never had the chance to get it scanned b/c 2 days after it happened, the CEL has disapeared. So im asking is there a CEL that just says "low gas", or should i be concerned about some real damage?

Thanks

The fault code should still be present in the DME, even though the light has gone out. The fault is probably directly related to running the car out of gas, but you'd have to have the codes read to be sure.

So should I still be concerned even though the CEL went out by itself?

Since we only suspect that the fault is related to lack of fuel, it would be prudent to have the codes read and the stored faults cleared.

More than likely the fault code was for running lean. After x cycles of that problem not reappearing the code will clear itself.

I'd say its more likely due to lean misfire...at any rate, a misfire fault will not relight the CEL after a restart and there is no further missing.

if the light goes out it is stored as a "history code" if the problem dosent re apper within X number of cycles(engine starting reaching temp and repeatd) it should get erased by the ecu. running out of gas will cause a code.

Thanks alot for your help, I do suspect it was a misfire and now that it has gas, it cleared itself.

dont post answers like you are certain if you dont know for sure.

to the OP. you get a CEL for 'fuel level too low to read'. you should not have any misfire codes.