2004 prius question

you'll be fine, no worries.

 

The North American Second Generation Prius has a bladder inside the gas tank that has a 'random' size and shape.
In the summer in MS, I could get over 11 gallons in mine, I hear rumors of 6 gallons in MN in winter. The shape being random makes it extremely difficult to know when you are out of gas. I had it run dry only 7 miles after the last Pip started blinking once, yet drove it over 30 miles before that, while blinking.

I caution you not to get too near empty too often, you will wind up out of gas. (Pull over if you run out, you will need to add at least 3 gallons, THEN try to start it)

I would be panicky at one pip, and pulling into ANY gas station if it is blinking.

If indeed you bought a Prius to visit gas stations less, you were indeed mislead, none of them have large gas tanks, as gas weighs a lot. They really excel at using very little gas. 400 miles per tank is a good guess once you start filling the tank yourself.

(Btw, I have had the first PIP wait 160 miles to disappear, or go away in as little as 40 miles. Plan on getting gas at 2 pips, and never worry about how to restart a Prius you have run out of gas)

((For some number of owners, it was very difficult to pump gas without repeated shutoffs, I suggest you undo the cap, then begin the paying process, then pump gas. Having the cap off for awhile really seems to help))

 

You will have to console yourself with $30 visits, instead of $70 visits.

I recommend fuelly.com to help you track your real mileage.

 

The way to tell if a car dealer is lying, are his lips moving? They can't help themselves, I think they grow up to be politicians.

If you get 46 MPG and your fill ups average just over 8 gallons, it will be 400 miles. More in summer, less in winter.

 

A good chunk of getting good mileage in a Prius is how you drive it. I get about 60MPG in my 2005, partially because my commute is all under 40MPH, mainly because I know how to drive it. The average mileage for a 2005 on Fuelly is about 45-46MPG, I'm sure I could average 55MPG in most conditions because of the way I drive (and I don't drive like a slug, either). This article is a good place to start getting mileage tips for the Prius.

 

You are worried about cruising range but keep in mind you have one of the worlds cleanest cars. Part of that means small gas tank. You easily can get up 450 miles per tank in summer but it depends on the style of driving you are doing, also at 90F temps the bladder seems to allow 10-gallons in summer. Right now I am showing 51 MPG but it looks like I will only get 350-370 miles, because the last fill-up the pump stopped at 6 gal so I do not really have so much gaso in there this fill-up. We call it the "guess" tank on a Gen2, it is ultra clean becuase no emissions come out the flexible tank like they would out of fixed tank. We have a cool summer here so less up to 10-gal fill-ups. We will know global warming is upon us when Fuelly shows all Gen2 Prii start getting 10-gal fill-ups.

Undoubtedly you may not have had a really full tank from the dealer.

 

Yes, due to the 'random' shape and size issue, the gas guage will NOT behave consistently, the Pips go away at odd intervals, as it folds and unfolds in there.

It really does help it pollute less, but as you may notice, was not well loved by the owners. I still have trouble letting my new Prius v get to zero pips.

 

How many miles on your Prius?

I've had my 2006 Prius since April 2009 and there are a few things I learned with regards to the MPGs. It took me several weeks to learn how to effectively drive a Prius. What with learning about coasting and keeping a light foot on the accelerator, etc.

Plus there are a few things I did to help improve my MPGs:

• Watch the tire pressure
• Make sure the alignment is correct
• Make sure the air filters are clean. Replace if necessary
• Have the throttle body checked. A clean throttle body will give better gas mileage
• Have the coolant in the Inverter replaced
• You may want to think about a tune up if you are close to 100,00 miles.

I have an 11 gallon gas tank and your tanks is probably the same capacity. I get around 45mpg in a suburban setting and about 48 on the highway. On a few occasions I've gotten as much as 56mpgs. The weather was moderately warm at the time and it was all highway driving. I may be wrong, but I believe that the outside temperature has an effect on the mpgs. I live in Florida.

Hope this helps a little bit.

 

I bought my 04 used with 119,000 miles on it. I changed the plugs, PCV, oil and trans fluid. I average 47 in the winter and 54 in the summer. Yes the tank varies wildly. You'll get used to that. I have to fill up weekly as well, but it only cost me 12 to 18 bucks depending on gas prices.

 

i started with an '04, great year!

 

it could be that the prius gas tank is very small, i get 47.4 mpg but im not sure about how many miles to the tank full.pluss it only costs les than 20 dollars to fill it up. prices today were 1.98 gal. it cost me 17 dollars to fill up, just because your not getting the same miles as your other vehicle is the size of the gas tank... but beasured that you are getting 43- 45 to 46 mpg.....MR FIXXER

 

The prius will actually tell you on the middle display when you have 50 miles of fuel left, and the tanks are fuel cells meaning they have a rubber bladder, this contracts in the winter and wont let as much fuel in, my prius display screen is always optimistic by 2 mpg, always full fill and divide miles driven by gallons to fill back up

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