New Prius V - out of gas - need clarification please

The technology available now Toyota should have set a system up in the car which sounds spoken alarm when there is 3 litres usable in the tank, "very low fuel level, refill now or you will be in grave danger", a piercing alarm that is loud enough to almost crack the windows when fuel level drops below 2 litres usable, then shut the car down at 1 litre usable, then electrocute the driver if he tries to drive the car more than 100 metres after restarting. May as well put the 200 volts to a good use.

Would that meet the needs of drivers too stupid to read a fuel gauge while talking on a phone while driving?

 

I did see that and the initial fill was close to 2 gals, as my 2.5 gallon can was mostly full but not all the way full. I can't remember about the low fuel indicator. In any case, it wasn't enough and I put about 2 more gals into it, having filled the can mostly full again at the station. I know I ended up putting at least 3 gallons to get it going, possibly as much as 4 gallons. As for the OP, it sounded like she got 2 gallons from highway assistance but it wasn't enough, either.

The 3 gallon threshold I mentioned was from something someone else said about the previous generation. I have no idea if that applies here.

 

No. Running out of a gas, like car accidents, happen.

And just as cars are designed for car accidents, they should be designed to run out of gas also.

The solution for running out of gas should be: add more gas, start the car and drive away.

Requiring a tow and dealer action is totally poor design.

 

I think the design is excellent. Have had almost 30,000 miles and 3 years of very trouble free driving. Other than minor ergo issues its a pretty well thought out car. But you can't fix stupid.

Does America require a special software package that puts up helpful hints when you run it out of gas? Is that a big problem in this country? Maybe a GPS package that will taunt you by showing you how many gas stations you passed in the last hour. All super imposed on a picture of a person talking on a cell phone oblivious to everything except there own little world in there car.

Please don't Toyota we really are not that stupid. At least 62% of us according to Bob's PC poll.

I have alot of empathy and patience for someone who has experienced unusual problems with there Prius. And I always try to help.....

But running out of gas is stupid. I'm trying to think the last time someone I know ran out of gas. Can't think of anyone. Can you?
hardly ever see people walking down the road with a red gas can.
Only see them here.

Which is ok it happens but the op came on here blaming Toyota and saying I have to sell this car....I'm going back to GM....cause I never ran out of gas in a GM car. And ripping in to the dealer to boot. And it was no ones fault but the driver.

You run this car out of gas and drive the hell out of it to find gas it will get very unhappy. It will throw any code it can when the traction battery overheats and gets low and it commands the ICE to run to charge it and there's no ICE.

The big mistake Toyota made was in the American version the car should just die when it runs out of gas. No battery no nothing.
You know...just like any other car. Maybe every other car made can put up on the MFD...you ran out of gas stupid.

But I didin't call her names. I didn't say anything rude. I said that's a unaware and dangerous driver. Those unawares will carry over to any car she owns. I stand by that. How can you drive 400+ miles and never look at the gas gauge? Its inches below your vision line. It beeps at you real loud when its low too.

I would more than empathize with her if she said she ran out of gas oooops and now its throwing these codes and hey what did I do?
Don't believe me search my old posts.
We have seen alot of those and everyone usually helps...

But thats not how it was posted.

And the part about being on the side of the road and trucks whizzing by and shaking the car. I'm afraid of ending up on the side of the road too. Aren't you? Thats why I never run out of gas. Fear.

But, like another poster said go on a GM or god forbid Ford Forum and say I must go back to a Prius as I ran out of gas in a GM and it never happened before in my Prius. Oh boy you want to see rude.....

 

No. But it would be nice if the engineers who designed a $25,000 car with a gas tank were clever enough to make it start up when the AAA guy puts a gallon of gas into it.

Nope. Because in the age of cellphones, they call their family, friends, AAA or DOT. Then those people put their lives on the line, hoping not to be hit by a passing car. Police and tow truck drivers are often injured responding to vehicles on the side of the road, which as Bob mentioned earlier, are often cars that ran out of gas. Does Toyota have to make a smart design to get these people out of harms way faster? Nope. But they could, pretty easily. Maybe some will cheer on Toyota for helping Darwin along. Fair enough. Hopefully it never happens to anyone close to you, because maybe they will be a responder and not the person who ran out of gas.

Read the original post. She admitted it was her fault. In the very first line. She was asking for input on why she needed a tow and a pricey service visit for something as simple as an empty tank. Yeah, maybe that bit about going back to GM made you angry enough to rant. Fortunately, other people managed to get over it and offer some constructive input regarding the questions that were asked.

I agree. I also know that not everyone is like you. Some people make mistakes. Even very smart people. Now, anyone who is smart enough to know they [or their 16 year old kid or 90 year old parent] might make a mistake like that someday may have second thoughts about the Prius. At least if they are smart enough to find this thread on a Google search for a term or keywords like 2010 Toyota Prius Safety Concern Empty Gas Tank Flaw Problem May Require Tow And Dealer Service.

I've seen rude in the usenet auto groups. I think this thread has proven that some Prius owners are no different when it comes to making a friendly reception for new members seeking responses to valid questions.

 

Why should running out of gas happen? when there are gas stations all over the place. there are no external factors (like another driver or weather) that would cause you to run out of gas, only stupidity/negelgence.

No amount of engineering will amount to a little bit of common sense. That means she never looked at her gauges (which are located so that you don't need to take you eyes off the road), I wonder how much attention she was paying to the road. Simply hang up the phone and drive if you can't keep track of what's you gauges are doing.

Sure it would be nice if the ICE would just kick back on, but she damaged the Traction battery. That battery starts the car, so once it's out of juice the car doesn't turn on. I truly hope the dealer takes note of this person's vin and keeps it because I have a feeling in a year or two she will be complaining that her traction battery is dead and needs replacing. IMHO they should void her warranty,

 

I tested running our 2010 out of gas three times last summer. Each time, the one gallon spare can was enough to get the car rolling again. I was not interested in turning off the "low fuel indication" but just getting down the road another 30-40 miles to refuel.

Bob Wilson

 

So, to be clear, 1 gallon of gas should be enough to allow the car to start and run ? (Assuming no bizarre inclines). In a 12 gallon tank, people talking about 3 or 4 gallons needed, is really 25% or 33% full. It does seem seriously wrong to expect a person to fill up their tank to that level to restart the car.

Since running out of gas does occur, and it is reasonable for a car maker to assume it will happen, it should not be catostrophic.

It can also be said the gas gauge on the Prius (a least Gen II) is called a GUESS Gauge, it is not always human stupidity that causes running out of gas. Making decisions based on faulty data the car presents us is possible. Not every one drives in their neighborhood where they know there is a gas station every three feet. Some folks drive in places where there might not be stations nearby. I have used nav systems to find gas stations which have turned out to have been closed for years.

Like the runaway prius, it is important to understand how the car works, so if I run out of gas, for whatever reason, I can safely react and recover from that. This thread does nothing to make clear that procedure, other than I would be a moron for having it happen.

 

Yup, it should, because that's what you usually get from roadside assitance. Based on other claims on this thread, the Prius takes anywhere from 1 gallon to 3 gallons or more.

Given that Bob got started with a gallon, his earlier comment about the lack of a return line to reduce air entrapment sounds like the more likely cause of issues in some cases.

 

Also assuming some fool hasn't run the traction battery down to a level where there is not enough power in it to spin the engine over.
I think this was the OPs problem, the traction battery was flat.

 

Tom, I would present the argument that the situation you describe is only applicable to those who like to run on the raged edge of responsibility. Those of us who never run out of gas are not just lucky that our "guess gauge" didn't lead us astray, we are just more cautious and fill up our tanks before the warning light comes on. I did this in all my Fords and GMs and I continue to do this in my Prius. The general rule of thumb is to fill up at a 1/4 tank or 2 bars in the Prius gauge. If you are the type who likes to wait till the fuel light to come on before filling up then you should know that you are taking chances and should therefore not whine about running out of fuel because your calculations didn't pan out.

 

Like I said

The sense of entitlement and the lack of any personal responsibility is amazing. Some people really are overgrown babies that not only need to be taken care in every circumstance, they demand it.

 

Re: Like I said

+1. Or condone lengthy phone calls while driving, not paying attention to displays because of screaming kids or youth or some other lame excuse. Polarized sunglasses make it difficult to see?!!??! I had mine on this weekend and there was no problems. And it's a flashing light people!!! It's either on or off, not a color change or a faint orange indicator in some obscure location.

However, I do agree that Toyota should make it easier to simply add a gallon of gas and allow easy restart.

 

Re: Like I said

Equally amazing is the child-like outrage and even hostility to a new member for making a common mistake. The original poster admitted the error in their very first comment, clearly claiming personal responsibility.

Is she entitled to a vehicle with foolproof warnings or one that is easy to start after running out of gas? Of course not. Is she entitled to a compassionate, helpful response to her questions without being repeatedly bashed over and over on the issue for which she already admitted fault? Also, no. Could Toyota and PriusChat have easily done these things without even a miniscule cost to society? Yes, without the slightest doubt.

In any case, the ongoing amazement over how someone could possibly run out of gas has one clear benefit for those whom the topic upsets. It seems quite likely the original poster won't be returning to PriusChat in the future.

 

I agree, you guys were to harsh on her. As for not paying attention for the fuel meter, happens to the best of us. You can be listening to music and not notice the indicator beep or whatever, or talkin in the phone like she was. and dont start with the, "you shouldnt be talking on the phone while driving" crap, because im pretty sure you all do it, hands on, or hands free.

Instead of waisting everyones time bashing at her, telling her to go buy a gm instead, why not help her figure out with her doubt of WHY does the prius wouldnt start after running out of gas, even when you add gas to it. To me, it doesnt make any sense that it shouldnt start, heck, even GM (or any other car) STARTS if you add fuel to it.

 

For all those who are saying Toyota could have designed it better.. please enlighten us on the technical details of how you would prevent air getting into a fuel line when the operator requests the car to run without fuel.

 

If it is impossible for Toyota to figure out a way, then that's a drawback. Is this true of all hybrids? Of all Toyotas? Of all cars? Yes, please enlighten. Maybe roadside assistance has a tough time with every other car like they did with the OP's car.

 

1. Revert to the control laws of the NHW20 and NHW11 that raise the "check engine light" and a host of others when the car runs out of gas. Alternatively, "check engine light" and an all-bars 'dancing' or flashing fuel level indicator.
2. Instead of 'blocking' restarts after so many retries when out of gas: give every removal and installation of the gas cap, a retry or; give a 5 minuted 'timeout' on subsequent retries or; require a 10 second 'forced start' push on power button . . .

Bob Wilson

 

that sounds good, bob.

 

Re: Like I said

It's simply not that this woman ran out of gas, she depleted the traction battery (ran out of gas and continued to drive). If she ran out of gas and simply stopped. A 1-2 gallons would have restarted the ICE. Once the Traction battery is depleted there is nothing to restart the ICE. Sadly AAA or other tow services also don't have enough electrical energy to recharge the traction battery.

Modern ICE also don't just restart either. Damages to the fuel injectors, fuel lines, pistons, fuel tanks etc. I've seen people run out of gas and struggle to restart it. Piston timing and a host of other problems can arise from running out of gas.