Im only getting 500-550 miles on a full tank of gas!

What was the MPG displayed? Calculated? Miles? Gallons?

In other words, we need more info.

Also, what about your roof rack?

 

Without charging your battery on a full tank a Gen 4 prius should get anywhere from 500-575 miles before running on empty. I can get 550 miles without much effort but usually fill up in the 525-530 range unless I know where I am going and where a fuel station is. Unless you want to keep a gallon of fuel in your car, which I think you should do at least once in your Prius life. That really is the only way to tell your true range for fuel. I have never filled my tank with 10 gallons or more of fuel. The most fuel I have seen on the gas pump is from 9.6-9.8 gallons. The manual and others here have said the fuel tank in gen 4 prius is 11.3 gallons. I think the tank is closer to 10 gallons.

 

I had problems filling to max on my 2012 PIP; it would click, indicating that the tank was full. Usually I learned to keep pumping (not recommended), which would yield as much as 100-150 miles more range. Since I've filled so rarely with the Prime, I've not yet figured out the characteristics of this car's gas filling process.

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That is a mostly meaningless measurement.......because each "tankful" will likely be a different amount.
If you want to test and compare, track miles driven and gallons used.

 

you made the rookie mistake of not running it dry.

 

May I suggest a thread for max miles before running on fumes? Rules of such a thread requires a photo of miles driven on a tank and fuel level. All based on the honor system. The only requirement. A 1 gallon fuel can must be on board as well as photographed. Seasonal driving records for spring/summer vs. fall.winter driving (more ethanol in gas) with separate categories.

 

You didn't drive it slow enough. Try 25 mph throughout. The car is so energy efficient that the gas keeps overflowing out of the tank. The longer you drive, the more gas it generates!

 

I think your post may have a bit of gas in it, if I'm not mistaken, perhaps some hot air maybe??!!

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My personal best is 580 miles on a Prius 2 tank. On a prime add 23-40 miles for a fully charged prime to that number. I didn't have a gallon of fuel in the back to push it further. I lost my nerve @ 580 miles. I think on a standard Prius or a Prime with no charge you shouldn't have to start looking for a station until 550 miles.

 

<AHEM!>

Bob Wilson

 

To "low gas" warning light, this is correct. However, I've measured ~1 gallon of gas still in the tank when the warning light comes on: Prius Prime Plus in my hands | PriusChat

BEST PRACTICE: when "low gas" light comes on, put the car in CHARGE mode and start looking for fuel. What you are doing is putting 25-30 miles of electric energy into the battery so when the gas is finally gone, the car will convert to EV mode and you must now decided where to park to get gas.

WORST CASE: run the tank dry with no charge on the battery. It will set a flag that either can be reset by doing a 12V, power-on reset (aka., disconnect the 12V ground and reconnect AFTER adding some gas) or towing to Toyota who will do something similar and charge you several hundreds of dollars.

Bob Wilson

 

after 7 years of gen 2 ownership (4 different cars) I still don't trust any of the guess gauges .. some time I get 140 miles before it moves off full, some times 85 miles.. I always fill the same way at the same station.. so I just refill at 300 miles... id love to push it my with my luck id burn up the fuel pump and kill the battery..

 

Actually I somewhat agree. I've found tripmeter and MPG to be the best way to calculate how much out of the tank has been burned. The bladder tanks had some variability not seen since the Gen-3 and later.

Bob Wilson

 

I'm pretty sure that 600 number includes a full charge of EV distance.

 

600 without and (confusingly) 640 with.

Regardless, it depends on your mileage. I got 74.8 yesterday. That's 845 miles on gas (assuming 11.3 gallons) plus 30 or so on Ev.

 

I measured about 1.5 gallons. So, yes.