Poll: Out of gas ...

Bob.

I have no need or desire to run out of fuel. In particular, in my normal driving when I know I'm within 3 or 4 miles of fuel, I refuel when the last pip starts flashing. If by some slim chance the tank runs dry before I fill up, I'll probably be close enough and speeds likely low enough to run gently on the battery. When I'm in unfamiliar territory and can't be sure where the closest pump is, I will fill up at one (non-flashing) or two pips.

In the worst-case scenario -- I run dry and I can't "EV" it without dropping the battery below 40% -- my contigency plan is the AAA card in my pocket.

I know a major motivator for you is research, but testing of the car's out-of-fuel capabilities and limitations is not an area of interest for me. Furthermore, as one with a background in emergency response and firefighting, I am uncomfortable with carrying a gasoline container in the vehicle.

 

In 33 years of driving, I can only think of ONE scenario where I transported gasoline without it spilling or smelling up the car, however slight.
If I carry a can, it'll be completely dry.

 

Bob, you can add one other option:
"I don't run out of gas! I fill up long before that would happen."

I'll vote that one.

 

In risk management terms: that would be avoiding the risk (of running out of gas).

I believe that while there may not be much damage, it does increase the risk that your battery warranty is voided. The rest of the car, however, should still be covered.

I'd coast to a stop in neutral, park in a safe spot, and then run to the nearest gas station to get some gas.

 

Unbelievably, I suppose, I've never run out of gas. Perhaps it would be easier to do in my Prius than in other cars, but if I didn't do it when I was a college kid living on $20 of food each week, I doubt it will happen today.

I've only twice taken the car to the dreaded blinking pip. In fact, I've taken to filling up after only about 300 to 350 miles. I don't know why, exactly, but that's just the way I've developed!

Oh -- If it did happen, I think I would slow down and drive on the battery (to one purple) to either a gas station or the safest place to pull off the road.

 

I second that extra option. I have been driving for 25 years and I have never come close to running out of gas and never will. I am anal about that, I just don't understand how so many people can push the situation to where you would run out unless your gas gauge breaks all of a sudden, or you just want to flirt with danger and get stuck somewhere, that is not my idea of fun....

 

What's the difference between calling AAA to come give you some gas and going to a safe place and adding your emergency gas? Does the latter scenario imply driving on the batteries? I am under the impression that one shouldn't drive a Prius without gas. Am I correct?

 

I believe a "safe place" is not in the middle of the highway with the speed limit set to 75mph. Perhaps the shoulder emergency pulloff.

Yes, you should NOT drive the Prius without gas... unless you feel like buying a new battery.

 

My answer wasn't there.
Why carry fuel in the car when there is a receptacle under the car which holds enough fuel for over 400 miles of driving and if you refill at 2 bars you almost never run out?
If you haven't got spare fuel and you have plenty of time then go ahead and run out, maybe road service will be there within an hour, maybe not. Don't run out in the bad part of town or on a winding hills road.

If you choose to keep driving on batteries even after the PSD system shuts down don't complain when the battery dies.

 

I've done it 4 times and she gets very very angry and gives me the 'Triangle of Death' warning. Fillup and she's happy.

I've actually done the 5th option each of the 4 times this has happened. The car's computer doesn't actually let you run out of gas as in bone dry. If one were to 'push the envelope' then after using about 11.5 gal the computer shuts you down to reduced power, enough to get off the road in a short distance, and get to a station and fillup or call AAA.

 

Remind me not to buy your car when you trade it in! I'm sure you're running on the battery from your description.

I only ran out of gas once, and that includes 4 years of driving a car that didn't have a working gas gauge (that's when I started tracking miles and mpg on each fillup, out of necessity). It's really not that hard to fill up when you get down to 2 bars, and I prefer doing that to sitting on the side of the road for awhile or drastically shortening the life of the battery. But I guess not all people can be swayed so easily by simple logic.:lalala:

 

Posts regarding running out of gas have appeared here numerous times and it never fails to amaze me how many folks can run out of gas. So many reasons they run out of gas with most of them escaping my understanding but to each their own. Everyone has their preferences as to when to refuel; mine being to minimize stress and refuel before running out of gas remotely becomes a possibility. If folks choose to try to run on fumes before putting gas in their tank that is their choice and are free to do so as long as the inconvenience and stress affect them and not me. LOL

 

I've run out of gas 3 times (once on purpose). Depending on the situation, I'll continue to keep to going to make it to a gas station, or just pull over and stop. Either way, when the Prius does it's first shutdown, I won't try to start it again until there's some fuel in the tank. Where people get into trouble is their desperate attempt to keep turning on the Prius to plod along another 20 ft before it shuts down again, and then the traction battery gets completely drained. This was all in the first couple months of ownership. I'm almost at 100,000km now, and I have had no problems.

 

Driving on the battery alone reduces the remaining battery life by some fraction. Probably not much, but why throw away any of it? Just fill the damn tank before the last pip starts to flash.

 

I disagree. Unless you keep forcing the car to turn on after it automatically shuts down, hurting the battery shouldn't really be an issue. I believe the Prius shuts down when the SOC goes down to 30% when it's out of gas. I've seen my SOC go down to 29% when I floor it up the Coquihalla. I started losing speed when that happened, since all the power was coming from the ICE. Should big hills be avoided since they have the potential to pull the SOC down to 'critical' levels? The Prius does what it can to protect the battery. Those that want to keep butting heads with it, end up with a depleted traction battery, or worse. If you heed the warning, and just leave the Prius off when it auto-shuts off, and not start it until there's fuel in the tank, you'll be okay.

 

Good point! I will remember to make that distinction in the future.

But as a practical matter there will very often not be a gas station before the first auto shut-off. Drivers will be tempted to re-start it to get to the next station, and that's when some harm can be done.

 

I'd rather not have the stress. With my luck I'd run out 10 miles from the nearest petrol. No thanks.
I bought a car to save time, standing on the side of the road waiting for roadside service seems somewhat counterproductive to me.

Lets work this out.
1/ 5 minutes to refuel at 2 bars on gauge, or
2/ 1 hour on the side of the road, pay roadside service top dollar for 10 litres of petrol and then drive straight to a petrol station & spend 5 minutes filling up.

I have to admit it is a tough choice.