LA TImes covers fuel tank bladder issue

Don't get me wrong, I don't really like the bladder thing, but it is really not all that big of a problem for me. I can get enough fuel in the tank without going through a bunch of gyrations to get me 450 miles or so. Believe me, I'm ready to take a break & don't mind filling up again.

I don't worry about how many gallons the book says it holds, I don't worry about how many gallons I get in, I just "fill it up", chug down the road anywhere from 400-500 miles. I do not plan on running out of gas.

I have always had a motto that it costs no more to keep the top half of the tank full than it does the bottom half full. I work in the medical field & most of my family live out of state, so I am always prepared. Being a pilot, the other plus is less inclination for condensation with a full tank (most vehicles do not have a bladder).

How in the heck could this ever make the NYTimes is beyond me.....

 

I get 8 Gal. every time I fill up. Equates to 400 miles traveled...

This was just a filler story for LA Times because they could not sell the paper space with a couple more crappy ad's!

Lets beat this to death some more!!!

 

The bladder tank was improved starting from 06 model.

 

Highlander Hybrid and Camry Hybrid have a better (but more complex) fuel tank design where a pump is used to control gasoline vapor emissions. There's no problem filling the tank with these vehicles. This design was most likely adopted for the 2010 Prius.

 

What were the improvements? I recently had three consecutive "fill-ups" which only registered 9 bars. FWIW, the technique I always use when I pump gas is to let pump run for one click after the automatic shut off.

 

Yeah I'm completely new to the Prius (almost 3 weeks since I got mine) and last night my tank (I guess I should say bladder instead) was at 3 bars so I took it in to fill up the tank. It originally only allowed me to put in an additional 2 gallons into the Pirus. I had to keep putting the pump nozzle in and out of the bladder's intake to be able to squeeze in another 3 gallons altogether. After starting up, the tank gauge showed full bars, then after 30 seconds, one bar short of full. Yes, it was cold (32 f), but is this normal?

 

This issue has been beat to death! But, it is a nuisance..... especially when i am traveling long distances.

 

I'm new to the Prius myself, and have read the lamentations of the fuel bladder, so I've prepared myself for the eventuality that I will only get about 350 -400 miles before I 'should' fill up again.

One thing I'll be doing to mitigate the risk is to use a fuel economy tracking site (mymilemarker.com) that will plot out an average fuel economy over fillups. Given the tank issues, the fuel economy for each tank may end up being off by a bit, but over many tanks, it should average out. From that, it will be easy to figure out how much range I should have and not overdo it.

 

What were the improvements because they don't seem to have worked?

I can still rarely get 9 gallons into it from the flashing pip. I've succeeded in doing so only twice so far and one of those came from continuing to pump gas until it clicked off about 4 times.

It was the first time I had done more than one click. The pump was one I had used a time or to before but this time it was sensitive to line pressure, whenever someone else's pump kicked off, mine would click off as well...even at only 5-6 gallons or so which was ridiculous, so I kept cautiously adding as it kicked off at 7 and 8 gallons until I was sure it was full.

 

I can't find the document that has the list of improvements in the 06 model. I think the improvement was made to show the pips more accurately. For me, when I fill up after the flashing pip, I can get 9 gallons. I have gone 50 miles over and got 10 gallons a few times.

I think there were reports of 05 and 04 models running out of gas shortly after the flashing pip. The improvement was probably to eliminate that issue but not to allow more gas in the tank/bladder.

I will continue to look for that document. If I find it, I will post it. It seems no one else has a copy of it.

 

The fuel pump handles in my area of the world have two flow rate settings. I use the slower one, and am rarely unable to pump in about 9 gallons starting from the flashing pip. Over the past 4+ years I remember twice having to fiddle manually with the pump's fuel rate to coax the bladder into filling up.

 

I've attached a copy of the 2006 New Car Features Manual, pages 2 - 5. I am not aware that any changes were made to the 2G fuel tank system.

 

Patrick,

I must have remember incorrectly. EVAP control system was improved, not the entire fuel system.

Do you have the next page showing improvement in the traction control? It should be under ECU section.

 

I drive an early 2004 (delivered in January, 2004). The fuel fill thing is a nuisance, but only a minor one. I rarely get more than 7 gallons in if I'm down to one pip. I can easily drive 300 miles and have lots of reserve (i.e. I can begin looking for a station after 300 miles) and I'll tell you that after 300 miles of driving I need to stop and stretch my legs!

The woman in the article who complained that 300 miles was not enough says she lives in rural WA. The entire state is only slightly more than 300 miles across. It's just not that big a deal to stop for gas once in a trip all the way across the state. On a long trip, I generally fill up long before the tank is low, just because I need a rest.

 

On a long trip I don't want to stop until it is time to eat. If it is under 500 miles, I don't want to stop until I reach the destination.

And in Winter or wet weather I want to keep the number of fills to the absolute minimum. So you are welcome to stop every 300 miles or less if you like, but I would prefer to use a normal amount of the tank's capacity and reduce the number of stops I must make.

 

I like to stop more often. It's better for your concentration and your health. At the very least we stop to use the bathroom. Even using a conservative eight usable gallons and 40 mpg, that makes for 4.5 hours between fill-ups at highway speed. I don't like to drive longer than that, nor do I go longer than that without eating if I can help it. Obviously some people are tougher than others.

Tom

 

Given that they have changed the tank for 2010, does this now mean they will provide DTE (Distance To Empty) info in miles? All of my cars/truck since the 80s have had this.

 

Yes, the 2010 has it. I have seen it with my own eyes.

Tom