Ran out of fuel AND battery!!

I'm one of those seniors mentioned in this thread. I'm 67 and in better physical and mental condition than many people half my age because I work at it. Who knows if I will be at 80 but if not, hopefully, I will still be mentally alert enough to make adjustments in my driving habits. As far as running out of gas it's just common sense that isn't too common. Use the brain the Creator gave you. I fill up at a half tank and have 300 miles to go before needing to again. What's complicated about looking at the gauge and it doesn't take but a few minutes to fill up! There's an old saying that "God takes care of drunks and fools" but I think he expects a little effort on our part.

 

You don't get any 'I ran out of fuel' threads on the UK forums. Fuel is so expensive you know exactly how much of it you have.

It's not hard to look at the gauge and think "oh, 2 bars. I must stop and get some petrol soon. Oh yes, the remaining range shows 67 miles. I'd really better get some next time I pass a station". Rather than "I ran out, it's everyone elses fault and the car. It really should have made ME realise".

 

I read zymr88's posting last night, some responses popped into my head, including a lot of the words I see above, like "no sympathy", and "Darwinism". Then I thought: meh, keep quiet. But I'm glad someone spoke up.

 

It is bad for cars made with fuel injection to run out of gas. It is bad for cars with traction batteries to run out of gas, the computers balance your power sources based on demand, once the engine can't run all those checks and balances are defeated. (Aside from Bob Wilson, who is not unintentionally running out of gas, but running out of gas as an engineering exercise) Drivers who allow their car made in the last 25 years to run out of gas are damaging their investment.

I have not driven every Prius model, but my Gen 2 blinked the last pip when it was time to get gas NOW. My v turns on an orange light when I am 10 miles from Drive To Empty. There are trip meters in the dash. Read you gas gauge. Find a way to not run out of gas.

Gimli Glider - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia It is always bad to run out of fuel!

 

My parents '58 VW had a stick for a gas gauge, kid you not: no gauge, my dad plunked this stick in behind the gas tank, would take off the cap and check it periodically. As far as I know, they never ran it out of gas.

 

I must note that airline pilots are not dealing with gauges that have over 120 minutes of uncertainty or ambiguity built in.

 

aircraft commercial/military have program called BINGO fuel, which is the minimal fuel remaining to get to the destination or RTB (return to base), when hit the bingo level you will get a aural "BINGO FUEL" as well as a warning light.

 

Love this thread. The dash has a gas gauge, a fuel range left (which is an estimate, since the computer cant see into the future and know how you are going to drive; the computer only knows the past, how you drove the last 300 miles or so, flashing light or flashing bar). The manual specifically states not to run below a certain level or the gas engine may not start and the dealership will have to reset the system. Doesn't people actually read their owner's manual anymore. I have had my 2015 Prius C for 2 weeks (today) and I have read half the manual if not more. The section on the entune display I am not really interested in knowing every bell and whistle-I have set the audio levels to what I want, configured the Bluetooth for my cell phone connection and that is all. The speedo display has multiple different displays but only one I am interested in is the odo, outside temp, approx. miles range left in tank. I also read the manual to learn how to reset the trip meters. I am not interested in the historical mpg, the historical battery consumption, etc... When I bought the car, the only two things I was interested in was cruise control and AC-anything else is just gravy and really not interested in the other bells and whistles. If I ever need to know more, I will open the manual.

Back on topic, I know how to read a gas gauge-I have been driving for 40+ years and never, every, ran out of gas-I either read the gas gauge and when low buy more or if the gas gauge doesn't operate normally (old 1973 ford courier pickup which the gauge would never go below half full-bought it used) I check the odo when I fill up and buy gas when certain miles are obtained-it really isn't rocket science.

 

Been on this site for about 9 years. So many people join so they can post about how mad they are they ran out of gas.
Almost as many people who joined to inquire about there dead 12 volt battery.

Don't run out of gas in this car its a real hassle. And If your 12 volt battery goes dead and u have to jump it make it a priority to get it replaced ASAP.

Should be a placard on the dash.

 

I always refuel around half tank, it is something I've done in the 40+ years of driving (oh gawd thats forever) and have never run out of gas

 

I total agree with you but somebody is going to reply with the placard should be flashing and beeping. I read all kinds of excuse's on why they ran out of gas and how they always run it down to fumes before they can be bothered to stop and get gas. As far as the battery goes most of them have to buy Battery minders to charge their battery's every night. Ether to stupid or can't afford to buy gas or new battery when they need it.

 

The battery you risk when running out of gas and continuing to drive is the HV Battery, not the (relatively cheap) 12 volt battery.

 

We were talking about people running out of gas and letting 12 volt battery go to long without replacement.

 

I'm sorry but it isn't brain science or rocket surgery to put gasoline in the car. When you get down to 1/4 tank find a station and fill the tank. It's not like we're driving a 40mpg vehicle with a 2.5 gallon tank so you have to stop every hour on the hour.

Seriously, anyone habitually pushing for the last pint of fuel before filling should really find an analyst and start therapy. There's something wrong in there.

 

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I'm sorry but it isn't brain science or rocket surgery to put gasoline in the car. When you get down to 1/4 tank find a station and fill the tank. It's not like we're driving a 40mpg vehicle with a 2.5 gallon tank so you have to stop every hour on the hour.

Seriously, anyone habitually pushing for the last pint of fuel before filling should really find an analyst and start therapy. There's something wrong in there.

I totally agree !!!

 

Case in point.

 

LOL! Now that I think about it, those people who run out of gas even semi-regularly would probably be terrible candidates for a sub-100 mile (EPA range) pure BEV. The 40 mpg vehicle w/2.5 gallon tank has a range of 100 miles.

EPA-rated range of '13 to '15 Leaf w/full charge is only 84 miles, on a new battery.

At a 2011 meeting where the Leaf's Chief Vehicle Engineer was present + Mark Perry of Nissan (formerly the voice for Nissan about the Leaf to the press) + some Nissan execs and engineers, I said to him that Edmunds long ago, when they tested the MiniE (EV test car), they equated its range to be running on empty the whole time. I said that to Mark Perry and he rolled his eyes at me.

 

So would people who tend to panic and refill as soon as they're down to 250 or so actual miles from empty in a Prius, as some posters here apparently do.

 

No. Just look to refil when you're down to 1/4 of a tank, or just below 100 miles. Then when you get to 50 miles remaining you should really fill up. If you know you have only small runs to do then you'll be fine, but set off on a 100 mile run with 50 miles remaining and make no allowance to fill up is questionable.

But to ignore the warnings and drive the car to 0 miles, use the 1 gallon hidden reserve, and then cry foul when you run out says more about you than any problem with the car.