Low hybrid range on new 2019 Prius Prime, 9 gal full tank?

Why do you think it's not usable? It's most certainly usable, I've used it.

And on the prime, the fuel light comes on at 9 gallons.

 

Worst Case Scenario:

~44.0 MPG (ICE only) over a 675 trip in the rain.

Car & Conditions, our Prime was fully loaded to 100% capacity with people, luggage, & fuel. Then on top of that I run a non-LLR* plus two 17" wheel n tire with a 205/50-17 that weighs in at 37 lbs making it about ~10% heavier than OE. The car traveled up & down several steep mountains & was typically going up and down long rolling hills, so much more terrain was involved vs flat land. Speed was set at about ~68 mph for as much of the time as possible. The road surface was wet virtually (90%) the entire time, sometimes it was raining medium hard for hours. From a full tank down to the bingo fuel dash light was 400 miles with these conditions.

Our typical one or two hour short trips yield roughly ~49 to ~52 mpg's with our Prime lightly or medium loaded in dry conditions while traveling ~67 to 70 mph on rolling hills with some flat stretches.

IMO, once it started to rain hard MPG dropped down due to the extra drag of the wet surface.


Rob43

* Still fairly fuel efficient like a LLR

 

You are absolutely correct in how Toyota got the total range. They used EPA average mpg of 54mpg x tank capacity in spec 11.4 gal + EPA average of EV range of 25 miles. (54*11.4)+25=640.6 miles. The total range Toyota advertise is not the same thing as DTE. This is theoretical maximum total range by using available numbers to them. The DTE displayed in the car is not using the full capacity of the tank to give a driver a safety margin, I think. I have never seen on my car anywhere close to 640 miles of DTE. My most recent one is only 537 miles with a full tank of gas and full charge. This distance changes each fill-up for it is just an estimate based on average fuel consumption.

All that being said, I would not call this 640miles range "unrealistic". The range of 640 miles from a full tank and a single full charge is quite easily realized on PRIME as I have shown on my previous comment. On the other hand, total range of 1,036 miles (1,667km) based on JC08 mode (68.2km EV range and 37.2km/L fuel efficiency) is totally "unrealistic".

 

The bladder was only in the gen2, and even then it wasn't installed for all markets. The US got it because Toyota's default evaporative emission controls at the time weren't good enough to meet CARB's requirements for AT-PZEV, and without that designation, the Prius wouldn't qualify for HOV stickers nor other incentives.

The listed fuel capacity for Prii with the fuel bladder took it into account. Granted, it was with the bladder at its absolute smallest. Japanese Prii had the same tank, but no bladder, and a higher specified volume.

It is no more unrealistic than the EPA fuel economy numbers used to calculate it. It isn't very practical because the vagrancies of station pumps' shut off point make it difficult to fill the tank all the way to capacity, and people don't drive until the engine dies from fuel starvation.

 

Something on the DTE to be aware of: it does not include EV range. I checked the other day to make sure. I was showing 327 miles of HV range while driving in EV mode. Twenty miles later (still in EV) it was still showing 327 miles to empty. Next morning after a full charge, guess what the DTE said. Yup. 327 miles. That's why that stat has the icon with the gas tank (see @Salamander_King's picture in post #23 for the icon), and the EV range has the plug icon. The Prime tracks them separately.

But the advertised total range of 640 miles does include both since that is total theoretical range. It makes total sense that the warning light and the countdown to zero converge while there's still a gallon or more left in tank. If it waited till the tank was empty it would not be much of a warning. It would be more of a "You screwed up" notification like the oil pressure light.

 

Oh, I did not know that. Thank you, that's good to know. So, estimate TOTAL range is sum of DTE and EV range. Still, I have not seen anything close to 615 miles on DTE. I don't think anyone have seen above 600 miles. I wonder what is the highest on DTE shown?

On the other hand, I and many others have seen more than 25 miles on EV range estimate.

 

Right. DTE is just gas. It's super easy to confirm by watching it not count down while you're in EV mode.

I haven't really kept track of my DTE at fill up. But I don't remember ever noticing anything much over 500 miles and that (iirc) was just barely -- something like 503 or there abouts. I would not expect it to be much over that since "E" leaves so much in reserve.

 

My previous fill-up DTE was 542 mile. 5 miles longer than yesterday fill-up. I generally get low to mid 500 in summer, but during winter it plummet to mid 400. I think it does estimate from historical or average pure HV mpg which is not displayed anywhere on PRIME.

 

I'm still on my trip, the weather looks good & dry for my return of roughly ~675 miles, I'm shooting for at least 450 miles for ICE use before the dash light goes off.


Rob43

 

This DTE from early June fill-up. Bit longer than last two fill-ups at 574 miles.

 

Nice! It'll be a while before I can check mine. I probably won't need gas again till November unless we make an unplanned trip. I still have almost 3/4 tank from my last fill up in August.

 

I started carrying a small, 1 gal gas can with me when driving in the non-coastal areas of the west as gas stations can be few and far between. Never had to use it, but the piece of mind of not being stranded in the middle of nowhere was worth it.

 

Not a bad idea if you can do it safely. We got caught by surprise. Not being familiar with the area, we didn't realize that almost none of those towns on the map had gas stations. So, when we passed the last one, still having a little over 1/4 tank, we didn't know it was 134 miles up some steep moutains to the next gas station.

 

That's the thing. Many PRIME owner fill-up the tank not often enough to pay attention to DTE. I haven't checked it for most of my first year, but knew it had well over 500 miles per tank of range by driving on a long trip early on my ownership. My usual filling is once a month, but this summer, I have been doing a lot of over 500 miles trips on week ends, and my wife is routinely doing100+miles out of town drive, I have plenty of sampling to check how high it goes.

 

Is the pathfinder not used?

Does the wife prefer the Prime over the pathfinder ?

If so, I wish I could have that scenario when I’m home and the wife has around town errands .

It’d save a bit more fuel that way.

 

My wife prefers Pathfinder over PRIME any time, for any distance. It's big and roomy, high up with a good visibility and perforated leather heated/cooled seats are super supportive and comfortable. It is ultra quiet and with BOSE 13 speakers sound system is like sitting in an audio studio. BUT it is a SUV. Even though it is a hybrid, it still is a gasser. Compared to PRIME, it cost 3 times more on fuel to go the same distance. She uses just around town most of the time, but if she plans to go longer distance, then she takes PRIME. If we need more than 5 seats or hauling a big cargo, then we take Pathfinder. It is a niche vehicle for us.

 

Sounds well trained.

Our second vehicle is a hybrid SUV and the wife will NOT under any circumstance drive the Prime .

She will ride in it though.

 

Better here. Wife feels intimidated by the Prime. Will drive it if she has to, but loves her '07 Prius!! Neither of us wants a land yacht.

 

Well, before getting Pathfinder Hybrid this spring, we were one vehicle couple for over a year after my wife's beloved Sienna minivan was decommissioned. She had to drive PRIME during that time. I managed to car pool with my son to get to and from work when PRIME was not available for me. We were looking for another minivan to replace Sienna, but could not find a suitable one in affordable price range. Our Pathfinder driver seat position and side mirror position has memory function tagged to our key fobs. Nice feature, but don't really need it. We are about the same heights, and don't need any adjustment when we switch the cars.

 

A plush urban assault vehicle has its redeeming qualities.

The cooled AC seats are a great feature not available on any Prius.