How to run out of gas

Thanks for determining that, Bob! So, the Ev range is as on a regular Prius - can be used if the engine can't run. The difference is, we have 20-30 miles of range instead of 1 mile or so in a regular Prius.

 

Well, my argument goes something like this:

1. Never let the indicator drop below 1/4 tank.
2. Never let the fuel light come on.
3. If it does, drive directly to the nearest gas station.

I've never had the fuel light come on in my 2004 with nearly 150,000 miles on it.

 

oh, come on Lee Jay, where's your sense of adventure

 

People are so worried about a lack of a spare tire, but will think nothing of an easy alleviation of a totally preventable cause of stranding.

I've never ran out of gas in any vehicle in my life, except on purpose (i.e. when I run my snow blower dry at the end of the season). I have stopped to help several people who did, including probably saving the lives of an entire family once.

 

If commercial airline pilots can know their fuel range to within 10 minutes, I see no reason to tolerate the uncertainty of the more than two hour spread displayed by my various past vehicles. There is a substantial spread of fuel prices along my most common trip route. The fuel gauge limit necessary on one car, would have significantly increased trip costs in another by forcing expensive but needlessly premature refuelings.

 

in the 80's, i had a 50's pick up with a broken fuel gauge. ran out a few times.

 

In the late 1970s / early 80s, I had a modern (for then) car with a working fuel gauge, but it still ran dry (on my very first tank) with the needle still above E.

Later, I had a late 90s car with a gauge that ran down to 1/2 very quickly. It then fell below E with one-third of its useful fuel capacity remaining. On my common cross-state non-interstate route, it easily had the working fuel range to bypass the high priced fuel along the way and reach the more reasonably priced fuel closer to my destination -- with adequate margin (greater than many commercial airline flights). But that did require going well below 'E' in all but the best tailwind conditions. Using the refill rules expressed by numerous other drivers who never ever intentionally explore the lower levels of the tank, that trip would require at least one, sometimes two, overpriced re-toppings of the tank.

I don't subscribe to the single rule of all cars model. There has been enough variability between cars, that each car needs to checked out for its particular behavior. And that checkout must happen at a time, place, and under conditions of my choosing, not during some last moment 'emergency' driven by other circumstances.

 

Bob,
So what was the volume of the gas tank when you refilled?

 

The Prime has an advertised 640+ mile range, and so that form of range anxiety isn't...for the most part.
If the Prime is commercially successful, then I look very much forward to the 1,000 mile club postings.

800+ Mile Club | PriusChat

As far as the relationship between verifiable fuel range and access to a proper spare, that's pretty self evident.

 

As one of my teachers said (a very long time ago), it runs just as well from the top as it does from the bottom. The benefit to postponing the inevitable is what, exactly? In my RV, I start using Gas Buddy when the fuel gauge gets to the halfway mark, and when I find the best price, I fill up. My last fill up in the Prime was at over 800 miles, I was down to 1 segment. I charge at home and Costco is 3 miles away. On a trip, I will fuel at the least expensive 'top tier' gas station closest to my route. I get no pleasure out of seeing how long it will run while indicating that the tank is empty. It's a risk vs. rewards thing. For me, the risk outweighs the reward.

 

I just fill up whenever the gas gauge has dropped below half. I don't even look at the price, and stick with one brand of gas. Pump shuts off: I'm done. This only happens every three or four weeks, so not a lot of $'s riding on it, lol.

 

Bob,

did you switch to ECO mode yourself as well when the gas is low, or you drive in ECO mode all the time?

 

still havent seen the fuel light as i get a bit anxious to fill up when it's almost at zero. my bimmer would throw on the fuel light much much earlier - say a less than a 1/4 tank left.