[WARNING] Running out of gas (Gen III)

Bob,
If I remember correctly there are other clues, like the bar being to the right of the center of the HSI display while the consumption display is still pegged at 100. I knew it was out of fuel because it didn't "feel" right, I could tell the ICE wasn't on when it should have been. I was impressed with the fact that the car apparently did not continue to try to start the ICE once the fuel supply was exhausted and by the fact that once the fuel was re-filled, operation was completely normal, no priming and or difficult to start issues. I assume the computer monitors fuel pressure and will not try to start the ICE if there is no fuel pressure?
Why in the world do you people think running a car out of fuel will "ruin" it? If you don't do it, then how do you know what difficulties will be encountered if it does happen? Turns out it is a complete non event, much less drama than is encountered with a "normal" car, and all has to be done to correct it is to add fuel, no priming, no difficult to start issues etc. unlike some Diesels for example.

 

I was actually looking for an executive summary on the "gas study" since I assume, no matter what fuel you have just run out of... the Prius would react in a similar manner.

 

Bob... is there an alarm for low gas? I never heard it and got to the blinking light twice, once went to 0 miles to empty, once to about 14. Can't find anything in the manual about it but Joe says he heard it.

And why did "B" mode work when "D" didn't?

 

Re: [WARNING] Running out of gas

The origional EV.

I have done similar with My MGA to get it out of the garage.
. Put in Reverse
. Push the starter

But I did Pulse and Glide
. Put in Reverse
. Push the starter
. Push in the clutch when releasing the starter.

Enjoy,
Dan

 

Appearently there is. My wife just drove our Blue II down to near empty because she wanted to see if the last pip blinked. She reported Friday, when she fill it, that it "beeped once" when the last pip started blinking.

 

That is a more useful summary - thanks. This is probably why my dealer said to fill up as soon as the light starts flashing to avoid draining the battery. (nice to know that the computer is smart enough to prevent draining the battery completely)

That said, some king of warning light would seem appropriate, even though you're already getting one (the flashing fuel indicator). Maybe Toyota thinks if you ignore the first warning, you'll probably ignore the next one too.

 

You have the fuel gauge showing empty and you have the warning light lit up and flashing to draw your attention to the gauge if you had missed that earlier. How many more warnings does it take?

The car has real problems (like brake issues) and even some less critical problems like the bad stereo quality and squeaks and rattles and then even minor shortcomings like lack of auto on headlights that should be addressed before worrying about this adding another warning light for drivers who ignore the other warnings.

 

I bought a new Prius a few days later.

 

heh, we don't have the problem here in Australia. We don't have 'left on red' instead we have a slip left turn lane at intersections for people turning left at lights, and a pedestrian has a zebra crossing to walk accross that lane. Not surprised that usa has a lesser intelligent way of doing it - they don't even have roundabouts.

 

Well, mine has none of those issues, AND my prius does have auto-on headlights, as well as auto-on wipers!

 

I can't believe how long this thread has been going on. Even more unbelievable is that I am going to chime in. If I were to design the running out of gas experience for Prius with safety in mind, here is the sequence of events I would design:

1. At 2.1 gallon, the last pip starts to flash.
2. At 1.0 gallon (40-50 miles later), the car start to beep with increasing frequency with the pip display red and miles to empty as the only display option for trips. (Get rid of back up beep and use it for this purpose.)
3. At 0.5 gallon (20-25 miles later), the car starts to slow and can only drive < 25 miles (effectively in EV mode) with ICE only come on to charge the battery. The emergency flash will comes on by default to signal the slow moving vehicle.
4. When gas run out (20-25 miles later), the car will slow to a complete stop. And shift will stay in neutral. Charges in the battery will be for charging electronics in the car. Just in case you running out of battery in your cell phone.
5. When battery is running low, the car will shutdown completely to protect the battery.

This will be almost "idiot" proof. If you still run out of gas and get into an accident because of it, maybe it is what meant to be - natural selection.

hmmm....maybe Toyota should pay me to design their next generation.

 

I have a better idea.

I want an illuminated fuel tank, and a camera in there so I can see how much is left! The when it gets down to critical level, the navigation should autop kick in and start directing you to nearest petrol station!

 

So for 100 km (60 miles for old fashioned people) while travelling on a freeway you want it to annoyingly beep. Yeah, that sounds like fun!

 

Well, if you purchase the technology package, you can customize it to any nagging voice you would like.