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Fuel Gauge Inaccuracy and Filling Up

Discussion in 'Prius c Fuel Economy' started by SRM2012, Aug 19, 2012.

  1. SRM2012

    SRM2012 New Member

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    2012 Prius c
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    Three
    So a couple of threads have discussed how the fuel bars seems to move at a rather slow pace for the first half tank and then start depleting rather quickly after that. My new PC only has 140mi on it, but the first bar only went away after 106mi (54 MPG according to MID). The thing that worries me is the thought of running out of fuel when there are still 2-3 bars left in the gauge (I hear this happened to a few people while driving, and well, there's nothing worse you can do to this car than running out of gas).
    I usually fill up every 1.5-2 weeks with my Camry, but I would really like to squeeze as much out of the PC as safely possible before heading to the pump.

    Is there any reserve in this car? If so, at how many bars is this limit?
    Has anybody else come close to empty when the gauge/range still showed them that they had some miles left?

    Sorry for so many questions. I'm a new PC driver (still trying to get used to the ridiculous MPGs) and would rather know now than be sorry I hadn't asked. Thanks in advance!
     
    #1 SRM2012, Aug 19, 2012
  2. ufourya

    ufourya We the People

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    #2 ufourya, Aug 19, 2012
    SRM2012 likes this.
  3. ricks06

    ricks06 New Member

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    I have a 2012 Prius C and I have ran mine down to the last dash, Then drove another 25 miles to the gas station with no problem, I believe that there is another gallon in the tank after the idiot light flashes and the last dash is showing.
     
    #3 ricks06, Aug 19, 2012
  4. RocMills

    RocMills Active Member

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    (previously posted this in the wrong thread)

    My first tank started blinking when I was down to one bar, and I immediately pulled into a Shell and filled it up. Took 8.54 gallons. My second tank, I filled up when I still had two bars, but again was able to put in 8.5 gallons, so I'm a little puzzled about the accuracy of the fuel gauge as well. I will probably always fill at 1 or 2 bars, but it would be nice to know, in a pinch, what to expect.
     
    #4 RocMills, Aug 22, 2012
  5. james cook

    james cook Member

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    can you run past the last dash? I'm on my first tank still with 4 bars and 300 miles traveled since leaving the dealership at 46.7 MPG. I want to push this to the limit:D
     
    #5 james cook, Sep 9, 2012
  6. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    On the regular Prius, the last dash starts blinking, but never goes out not matter how deep you drain the tank. I haven't heard about the 'c' being different.
    If you are going all the way to the limit, i.e. truly out of gas and stalled from fuel starvation, please report back with the symptoms and final behavior, distance past last warning, refill quantity, and any problems that you have getting it running again. For an example of a very useful report from another model, see Bob Wilson's [WARNING] Running out of gas (Gen III).

    If you want to stay just short of that limit, I suggest not trying it with the first tank. Get some feel for what the several next-to-lowest bars mean before pushing below them.

    And be careful about picking a safe and not too inconvenient situation, to prevent any accidents and injuries and serious inconvenience from possibly running out of fuel at the wrong time.
     
    #6 fuzzy1, Sep 10, 2012
  7. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    I've seen one report of someone running out of gas with two bars. The cause was diagnosed as a bad sending unit in the fuel tank.
     
    #7 JimN, Sep 10, 2012
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