Had my first fueling problem

I'm curious how it indicates if the car is ready for refuelling. Do things work differently across the pond?

Here the button just opens the metal door that covers the fuel tank cap. You then just unscrew the cap and fill the tank. I can't say I've ever noticed any lights, beeps, or messages, displayed when I press the button.

 

This is what our OM says about it. This said, I've had my Gen-4 for only two weeks, and in the couple times I've gassed up, I was out of the car before I saw the indicated message. I'm just happy to be free from the accursed bladder of the Gen-2... Does the UK manual contain similar language?

 

I'm not understanding what makes this an issue with the vehicle at all.

 

It's a bit different - that whole paragraph is removed. I can't quite read what it says on your image though...

 

Sometimes, it's just "questions," as perhaps distinct from what might rise to "issues." The OP's question led me to a page in the manual I had previously only breezed past. I knew there was some sort of valve or shutter down there. Now I'm better prepared if I ever confront unusual behavior (unwillingness to be fueled) in the future.

Professor: your post appeared while I was typing the above. The paragraph says, "The fuel filler door will open within about 10 seconds of the switch being pressed. Before refueling is possible, a message will be shown on the mulit-information display in the instrument cluster to indicate the progress of the fuel filler door opener."

Gee, I don't recall my 1969 VW Beetle having this "feature". . .

 

Ooops, those italics are "emphasis added" of course.

 

Your right, it doesn't.
I think it is entirely possible, likely maybe, that he just didn't push the button firmly enough the first time.

 

What is this?
Most vehicles have a fuel filler door/cover. But most are either just a spring loaded catch....or you pull a lever to open it from inside the vehicle, and the opening is nearly instantaneous.

I've never heard of a "Fuel Filler Door" that's progress can take up to 10 seconds to complete. If this is something new, it hardly seems like an improvement over the simple normal door.

My 2013 Prius just had a standard, pull, pops open, remove cap and fill operation.
Basically no waiting, and few more operational steps than the 2 shown in post #5 The Professors Manual Picture.

If I'm reading the OP's post right it seems like entirely either PUMP operator error. OR...a malfunctioning Pump...but nothing to do with the vehicle itself.

 

Not clear if the OP had inserted the gas nozzle on the first try. If so, some nozzles have a rubber sleeve that may have come in contact with the filler door switch and closed it, preventing fueling. (Just guessing)

 

No, there's a shutter or valve somewhere down the filler pipe. Pushing the button in the cockpit BOTH opens the fuel filler door, and causes that valve to open.

There are two other Notes in the manual about the operation of this strange "feature." First, if you open the filler, and then wait more than 30 minutes to refuel (she or he must be really interesting...), the valve will close automatically, rendering the car unable to accept fuel.

Second, much more realistically, IMO, if you nudge the filler door lock pin too hard, the car will read that as, "oh, ok, you're done refueling" and close the valve, with the same result apparently. In either event, the remedy is simply to push the button in the cockpit.

You just have to love the goofy little quirks that Toyota seems irresistably compelled to add to their hybrids, especially the Prius. At least the bladder-lined fuel tank from the Gen-2 cars is gone!

 

But why only certain markets? There must be some reason why this is added to the US market but not the UK.

 

My guess, and it's only a guess at this point, is that it might be related to differing emissions standards and the raw fuel evaporation part of that. The Gen-2 bladder was allegedly included for the same concern.

The day I got the 04, the sales guy gave me a fuel card and told me to go "fill 'er up." Ignorant of the bladder's presence, I took him at his word, and packed in as much fuel as I could. When I pulled the nozzle out, at least a gallon of fuel erupted violently from the side of the car shooting out some distance, except the part that showered me! It was like a huge, untied water balloon -- except filled with gas!!! A relatively HUGE amount of gasoline evaporated into the air that day... At least this Gen-4 feature appears to have less regurgitation potential than the Gen-2.

 

Just slightly less? Is this scenario possible:

You're pumping gas, nudge the gizmo that (erroneously) tells the car the lid over the gas cap cavity has been closed, so it closes the flap in the filler neck, and gas is regurgitating all over you and the side of the car.

 

I'm going to assume that there's some spill potential there, but probably substantially less than a Gen-2 car. In the older car, the gas geyser continued until the built up tension, stretch or whatever of the bladder relieved itself (sorry for that bad pun). It was, literally, like a balloon overfilled with water.

In the Gen-4 car, if that valve closes while gas is flowing in, there's certainly potential for a short spill as the flow quickly backs up. This should, however, be promptly checked by the automatic shutoff valve in the fuel nozzle itself, just as if the tank had filled, and gas had worked its way up to the nozzle normally. But, I could see spilling some fuel this way. By contrast, once you overfill a Gen-2 car, it WILL erupt when you remove the nozzle, spurting lots of fuel, several feet in bad cases, and there's nothing you can do to stop it, except use your hand to jam the cap over the eruption before it's done. Smoking and cell phone use not recommended. . .

 

My Ford has one. but that has no bearing here.

 

Well, just for grins I went outside and checked how this works (I've only gassed up a couple times so far, and was not paying attention before). With the car powered up, I pushed the button. Sure enough, there was a brief delay, maybe two seconds, certainly not ten, and then "Refuel Ready" appeared as a pop-up on the MFD. These sure are great cars, but I'm afraid they will win no awards for simplicity. . .

 

Here is the wiring diagram for my 2016 Prius.

 

The neck to the fuel tank is sealed so fuel fumes do not escape. Pressing the button opens the door & the neck, for fueling.

1. Some people had the nozzle hit the door latching pin and the car would think fueling was finished, closing the neck.

2. There was a tech bulletin for some cars that had a weak door spring which was replaced.

Fuel Filling Problem | PriusChat

 

I had the fueling problem he is mentioning on one of my early fill ups and it happened a couple of times in a row. The car was new and I wasn't in tune with the "Fuel Ready" message. After I read about it I always made sure it shows on the screen. I still don't know what happened to cause it, just one of those things. It isn't just the door, there is a valve in the fueling neck that was not opening and now I know about the button, it doesn't show up well on a black car.