Has anyone ever ran a prime completely out of gas and then added a little to get to a station?

I seem to recall reading that if you ever allow the fuel pump to gulp air, it may require a lot of effort to re-prime it again.

 

I haven't heard of anyone doing this, personally, but it can, also, burn out that fuel pump motor which is inside the gas tank because they are liquid-cooled by the fuel so if no fuel....bad stuff and can require replacement...NOT a cheap fix.

 

It's been reported here you need to add at least 3 US gallons. Just curious, were you in that scenario, you ran out of gas? Or?

 

I haven't but have read a couple of threads about it. I know on mine, when the fuel lamp stops blinking - I still had at least a gallon of gas. I'm pretty sure 0.25-0.5 of that, was in the fuel plumbing. So when you say, "add a little bit more", I hope your referring to at least a gallon. Not only does the fuel system need to re-prime itself - it needs adequate pressure to fire the injectors properly.
If you retry starting too many times without enough fuel, the car will "lock-down" and will not allow you to start it (ready mode). At this point, you'll have to put in enough gas to light-up one fuel bar, disconnect the battery for 10-15 minutes, to release the ECU lock-out or someone with a scanner can reset it. Using a scanner will allow you to keep all your settings, otherwise you'll be reprogramming them all back into your car.

Hope this helps....

Bottom-Line, DO NOT run it dry and try it keep at least a quarter tank of gas in it at all times - easier on the fuel pump (I think the part alone is around $600), but they don't fail too often.

 

The warm part of this year I have been able to make it home without any gas on my daily commute except for an occasional day where the gas engine turns on for the last mile or two. Thus, I have been leaving my tank with about 60-80 miles left on the dash display. About once a month I will have a trip that will require about 30 - 110 miles of driving in hybrid mode. Before the trip I fill up at least the amount of miles I think it will take to get me back to 80 miles left at the end. I have been doing this to prevent the gas from going stale and to always have a little bit of fresh gas before significantly working the ICE. Do you think this practice is bad for the fuel pump? I figure there is always at least 2, maybe 3 gallons in the tank, since it is not really empty when the dash says their are zero miles left.

 

I have the same question, someone at work thought my practice of keeping 1/4 tank only would lead to condensation in FL warm temps and cause a problem. I run almost completely electric with maybe 1 or 2 trips needing ICE a month. My concern is a full tank would take forever to get used and the gas would get stale. He suggested using a gas conditioner. Thoughts?

 

I really don't think that's a valid concern for your modern car, mainly because of the modern emission control E-vap system. Pretty much a sealed system until you remove the fuel filler cap. This car was engineered and tested in Japan, also a high humidity climate. I believe the OM addresses stale gas and recommends to run the ICE once a year or 6 months. Your currently meeting OM requirements.
The worst thing that can happen is the engine runs weird. If you think its fuel related; fill the tank and see if problem clears itself in about 10 miles.

Hope this helps.....

 

You can always intentionally run in hybrid mode, say once a week. You should manage to run through most of a tank every few months, doing that. It's good for your engine too.

 

Not in my Prime but I have in my former (RIP) Energi. It was for a fuel economy challenge so I was prepared and carried an emergency gallon can for the last few miles doing a large circle around my preferred fuel station. ICE died (with appropriate warnings), I continued on battery to safe place to stop, poured in gas, restarted and continued to the station to fill up for the final tally. No drama.

 

If anyone has, Bob has

 

[WARNING] Running out of gas | PriusChat

The author of the thread linked above, intentionally ran his previous Gen1 and Gen3 Prii out of fuel more than 50 times, for a variety of engineering and curiosity tests. Ask him how much problem he had 're-priming' the fuel pumps. And how many times he had to replace failed fuel pumps.