pushed the mileage too much, on two short trips after low fuel beep, finally in the middle of hwy, all hell broke loose, all lights turned on and blinking, limped half a mile with HV battery, Thank God it was just at the exit and a long ramp downhill, walked another 2 miles to gas station, prius alive now take:1.add gas ASAP 2.leave a 1 gallon gas can in your car, neither 76 and chevron I walked to had a gas can for sale, walked another mile to NAPA and got one strange light that never been seen before
Don't want to sound smug, but there are many threads posted about running out of fuel in the Prius. My best advice is to refuel before the last flashing pip. There are posts here on PC where folks have run out of gas before the flashing pip. As you have seen and experienced, it is NO fun when you run out of gas in a Prius. FWIW, the rule of thumb is to consider fuel at two pips, seek gas at 1 pip, and buy gas NOW at the flashing pip.
Hi CaliforniaPrius. Did your Prius start up without any issues after you had added enough fuel? Some people have reported that their prius is reluctant to start (until code is cleared) after running out of fuel. Also just wondering, how low did the SOC (bars on battery charge indicator) go before you stopped?
Do NOT do this. Bring 3 gallons of gas back to your car before trying to start it. Try harder not to run out in the first place. Ran out of fuel AND battery!! | Page 3 | PriusChat
Ive done this at least 5-6 times. im at 545,000+ miles on original battery so as far as i can tell no ill effects.
I don't see the point of running a US GenII to the ends of the tank. Ya, its cool to see how far you can go on one tank, but the bladder still keeps you from seeing just how much gas you used. I prefer the peace of mind that comes from knowing I always have some gas to spare, instead of hoping nothing comes up that would force me to drive more than 10 miles.
I agree. Your gas mileage is the same, whether you refill at half tank or at last pip. No point in trying to go on the last drop. Fuel pump running dry - not good. - Alex
This is totally Darwin Awards stuff. Hell, I fill up anytime I'm going by my brand choice and the tank is below half full.
I cannot count on my fingers and toes how many times I have gone to my regular station to get fuel, only to find they were out of regular and had to go somewhere else. Yeah, in a pinch I could add premium or mid grade. The point is, sometimes fuel is just not available when you need it the most. Refuel before you get the flashing pip and you normally should not run out of fuel.
I was lucky b/c it was a longggg downhill and I was right at the exit. I didn't want to stop on hwy such that calling for Geico was the only salvation which might take couple of hours. Now I could still refuel by myself. The battery bar was still green when I stopped in the parking lot. After I added 1 gallon of fuel, the signs were still flashing but start up was no problem. I used to drive when the fuel bar is flashing for about another 40 miles without issues. When I refuel, it was only like 10 gallons so that by calculation, 40 miles after flashing, there should be like 1.9 gallons left. This time it was only short trips in town like 1-3 miles so I didn't think it a problem until too late.
??? Do we have people dying from this? Survivors are generally denied this award, except in special circumstances involving certain mutilations.
Interesting info on the distance you traveled after the flashing pip appears. One thing that I will remind you of. Due to the bladder in the tank, you really cannot use all of the fuel. In other words, the Prius will run out of fuel before the 1.9 gallons that you thought was there could be use for additional driving purposes. I admire you for trying to get the most you can out of a tank, but bare in mind that you cannot physically use all of the 11.9 gallon capacity of the tank due to the bladder. You would be better off refueling when the last pip shows rather than waiting until the last pip starts to flash and then drive further as you are doing. Best of luck to you.
