NO fix for Prius Gas Tank Filling Up Issues

I've had a 06, 07 and an 08 Prius. The bladder is problematic only in as much as you WILL get a "burp" if you try to fill the car completely with gas. Thats easily managed. The boys (and girls) at Toyota must have thought the benefits of the bladder although cumbersome at times out weigh the good that it does the enviorn. In all three prius's the fuel guage was acturate when showing full or almost full and just as accurate when showing empty or almost empty. So, even on a long trip - stop and stretch at 300 miles- your sure to have plenty of gas remaining and it will help eleviate any DVT. Alittle tongue and cheek there - but I've just never had any real problems on a long trip or around town. I get down to one pip and have always been able to put at least 10.5 into the bladder. I know the arguments about the possible damage that can cause. It just never has in three cars over a three year period. Living in Houston I seldom experience the really cold wx that causes a sizeable reduction in the bladders ability to hold fuel. Just enjoy the car and this website - save your pennies for the next version. I'll bet someone here may have some insight as to whether it will have a bladder!!!

 

I tried to fill up my 2008 Prius for the first time today and had the same problem. I could only get 5.6 gal in the tank with one bar on the gas gage, which brought the gas gage up to seven bars. No where near full in my estimation as the gas gage read ten bars when it left the dealer. This isn't a problem for driving around town but when I go on a road trip it will be an issue. Since no one seems to have a fix for this I am a little frustrated.

 

After the original 5.86 gallon fill up I let the car sit for a couple of hours, and drove 3 miles. I was able to add another 3.40 gal to the tank for a total of 9.26 gallons. (That would be pretty bad gas milage if the tank was full the first time around.) I managed to top off the tank by pumping the gas at the slowest rate the service station pump would run. The gas gage now reads 10 bars and appears to full. It follows that since the tank holds 11.9 gal (per the manufacturer) the last bar on my gage indicates that there are between 2 and 3 gal left in the tank when it is not flashing.

I'll revisit this thread when I fill up again to see if anybody has any bright ideas. As an aside the dealer still hasn't gotten back to me.

 

I have had my prius for about 2 months now. I heard about the bladder problem before I purchased the car. I try to fill up when it gets to 2 or 3 bars left which for me is usually around 300-350 miles. I've been saving all my gas receipts and showing 47.5 MPG actual from the gas I've put in the car since I got the car. I couldn't be happier with that. My friends always tell me that It must be great being about to travel forever without putting in gas. I do tell them I have to stop just as often as before but put in half as much as before.

 

Not only is there a peculiarity of the bladder, but different nozzles at different gas stations can lead to variability. Don't worry about it! If you really want to know your typical range, drive a full tank to empty and carry some spare fuel. At that moment of Empty, calibrate the fuel guage to the EMPTY position, then fill tank as full as possible, and calibrate to FULL. You now know your empty point, your full point your typical range and your expected fuel requirement.

 

I have an 08 and I have started to have this problem too. Initially I was going over 100 miles before the first "blip" would disappear on my gas level. Now it changes much sooner. Today I was down to the last "blip" and decided to fill it before it began flashing. I had only gone 372 miles. I think I put 8.5 gal of gas in it.

I do not like the bladder tank and wish that is was a more reliable/traditional tank.

I think I might put a gal of gas in a small container in my trunk and try to run the tank dry in order to "start over." It would be nice to put something close to 10 gal of gas in the car so that I can accurately measure my total traveling distance. ANyone see a problem with this?

I know the car has the capacity to go 450-500 miles on a tank of gas-- I have an average mpg of 50-55 on each tank since I bought the car in April. Refilling at 400-450 should be conservative, shouldn't it?

Anyone routinely drive until the last blip starts flashing?

 

I don't want all '08s to take a bad rap for this gas tank issue. I have over 10,000 miles on my '08 Prius and have never had this problem. In fact, because I'm a teacher and off for the summer it seems strange to me to still have all pips on my gas gauge one week after I filled up. (I have only traveled 125 miles so far this week.)I hope I continue to be lucky in this gas tank filling up dilemma.:redface:

 

I don't see a problem with it, but I don't see any advantage either. You won't learn anything from the exercise, and you won't reset your fuel system either. The only thing you will learn is how many mile you could go on this particular tank at this particular time. Next time will be different.

Tom

 

Maybe the pumps you guys are using are not working fine. The prius has a bladder to minimize the fuel lost in evaporation. The seal with the gas pump is tight to minimize loss of fuel to evaporation. Toyota has made the fill up hole smaller to prevent the mix up of fuels. I have never had problems. Maybe that's because when the pump stops I always shake the car and try to add more. Occationaly I migh wait a minut if I am in the store or I remove the pump and reinstall it. In some casses I have been able add 1.5 ga befor the pump stops agaon.

I think Toyata has done a fonominal job with gas pump and many other things that are on the car. The factory servise manuel covers them all in great deal.

 

Congratulations, you on the prize!!! There are variations at the gas pumps at every gas station. It has been widely reported in the midwest that most pumps are out of calibration, to some degree; price versus gallons pumped. The higher the gas prices the more sheckles your likely to be paying in this variation. If the gas posted is $4.10 a gallon you might be actually be paying $4.13 per gallon versus when gas was $3.00 per gallon you might be actually paying $3.02 per gallon. The potential in paying more increases as the curve of the price per gallon of gas increases.
The other factor I have acutely discovered with my new Prius is the speed of the gas flowing varies significantly from gas station to gas station.
The Prius bladder is unforgiving with pumps that jettison the fuel versus the slower pumps. Which pumps are more accurate? Frankly, brighter minds can comment. I only know patience is a virtue at the gas pump if you want to fill up close to the full level, given this 'bladder'.
I take my time. The lever clicks, I wait, pump a little more, click, wait and pump a little more, click, wait and pump a little more...Oh my, this is sounding a little pornographic...I love my Prius but really!

 

dar:

You might want to keep a log of # pips and gallons at each fill up.

If you are on a flashing last pip and only getting 6 gallons in, I would say your bladder is performing below an acceptable level.

If (# Pips + # gallons filled) is consistently less than 8 or 9 then I would think about pursuing it further with Toyota.

I don't know if the bladder is rubber or not, but regardless, it has an acceptable range of expansion. If you're in a case that is outside of that acceptable range, then they should replace it. If they sell 100,000 bladders a year, it wouldn't surprise me if there were a few duds out there that normal QC tests wouldn't detect.

If you're frequently driving up and down the mountain ranges in Washington I can imagine why this would be of concern, just be careful.

 

The following is a question, not a suggestion. If it gives someone ideas, please DYODD. I have not read any mention of this here.

To get the maximum volume of gas into the tank, has anyone considered or attempted to inflate the bladder with compressed air through the filler tube?

What technical problems might it cause?

Thanks for all responses!

 

Yikes!

Are you thinking of using compressed air to stretch the bladder, or to pressurize the tank? Either one is a dubious idea. The tank holds enough fuel as it is. There is no reason to risk expensive and potentially dangerous damage just to squeeze a few more miles of gas into the tank.

Tom

 

I also have a problem filling the tank in m 08. Only 1,700 miles and each fillup is an adventure. This is a great car, but this is an annoying problem. Yesterday I filled up showing two bars remaining. The pumped stopped at 3 gallons - the tank showed 1/2 full. The attendant seemed to know something because after several attempts he turned the pump nozzel upside down and we were able to get another 5 gallons in. Seems to me that a fix should be possible. A great car for sure, but why a design like this?

David

 

Tom,

To stretch the bladder, of course. As with many others, a complete "fillup" for me is never more than 7.5 gallons. So far as this Prius is concerned, that's all the tank holds. The guess gauge / bladder combination is the only irritation I have with my Prius. I'd really like to find a solution, or at least an improvement. What sort of technical problems occur to you?

Paul

 

I have waited for the flashing blip since I bought my Prius in Sept. 07. I routinely get 530 to 580 miles at fillup, putting anywhere from 9 to 10.3 gallons in. I also regularly get 150 to 170 miles before the first blip disappears.

 

My general concern would be the effects of over-pressurizing the fuel system. First you would need to command all of the fuel system valves into the correct position, then apply enough pressure to stretch the bladder without damaging any of the valves, fittings, or emission system components. The bladder doesn't have much room to move, so it's hard to imagine being able to expand it enough to make much long-term difference.

It sounds like a lot of bother and risk for not much return.

Tom

 

On three separate occasions now, I have put in over 12 gallons in my '07. The last time I had 12+ was last Friday and it took 12.4 gallons(1069.6 [email protected] mpg) and I wasn't out yet. FireEngineer was saying there have been reports of people putting in more than my 12.4 gallons.

 

With this much fuel you are risking damage to the evaporation canister, or worse yet, fuel outside of the bladder, which will necessitate a replacement of the entire fuel tank assembly. It's an expensive repair, and not covered by warranty, so be careful with over filling.

Tom