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[WARNING] Running out of gas (Gen III)

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by bwilson4web, Jun 26, 2009.

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  1. saunj

    saunj New Member

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    Seems to me that those folks who say it's easy to fill up at the next gas station are Easterners. Here in the West we have roads where it is 100 miles to the next town. And then to find it is a ghost town.
     
    #241 saunj, Jan 1, 2010
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  2. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    That isn't really good enough guys, I know my other cars all run perfectly when they run out of gas. Well come to think of it, no they don't!

    Here is a page from my Australian 2004 hand book, if people ever open their hand book they might just find a similar page.
     

    Attached Files:

    #242 patsparks, Jan 1, 2010
  3. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    One of the most common, road side, failures is running out of gas. Every month I see at least one car on the side of the road with a driver plodding along with a gas can. It is a fact of life that drivers have, are, and will continue to run out of gas.

    The NHW11 and NHW20 both provided a unique answer, the ability to continue on traction battery to a safe place because the driver got a clue that all gas was gone ... "CHECK ENGINE." Sad to say, the ZVW30 gives no such clue at urban speeds.

    Drivers are faced with a number of hazards:

    • accidents - well don't have one!
    • flat tires - well don't run over nails and screws!
    • equipment failures - well don't buy a bad car!
    • running out of gas - well don't run out of gas!
    Claiming "it can't happen to me" or worse "you shouldn't have it happen to you" denies reality. So I put on my seat belt; keep a good spare in the car; deal with blown fuses and other failures; and know how to deal with "out of gas." I don't recommend ignoring reality.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #243 bwilson4web, Jan 1, 2010
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  4. Tom183

    Tom183 New Member

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    All the more reason to stay topped-off then...

    Being pissed off that the Gen3 is no different from any other car when out of gas seems really overblown to me - maybe the Gen1/2 could crawl to a slightly safer location, but if you haven't found a gas station in the last 100 miles, your odds of finding one in the last 1/2 mile are worse than the average lotto...
     
    #244 Tom183, Jan 1, 2010
  5. thbjr

    thbjr Member

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    OK, fellow PC'ers. I'm confussed. I read the first few pages of this thread when it was originally posted, then missed the middle 15-18 pages and am catching up.
    In Bob's original post, his Gen III would not continue to move in EV mode after running out of fuel, but the Gen I and II would. It seems to me that Prius Team is saying that the Gen III will move on the traction battery in EV, just as the I and II will ("the 2010 Prius system design is the same as the previous generation").
    Did I miss something? Will the Gen III operate in EV after running out of fuel?
    Thanks in advance for bringing me up to date.
     
    #245 thbjr, Jan 1, 2010
  6. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Your odds of finding a 'safe place to park' in the last 1/2 mile are pretty good. Often that is enough:
    [​IMG]

    Don't forget that many of us live in urban environments. There are multiple, anecdotal stories of folks traveling up to a mile or more to reach an open gas station. Just use the search function here or at GreenHybrid. There is history of happy outcomes.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #246 bwilson4web, Jan 1, 2010
  7. web1b

    web1b Active Member

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    Start looking for a place to fuel up when the level is low.
    Start looking for a place to park when it says 0 miles to empty.
     
    #247 web1b, Jan 1, 2010
  8. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    It does but unlike the earlier models, it does not raise the "Check Engine" light. This means the driver can easily continue to drive and not realize they are draining the 'traction battery.' At highway speeds it is not a problem because the loss of engine power is obvious.

    I've deliberately run out of gas three times with the ZVW30:

    • first time on a down grade - the "power steering" light came on so I steered for a parking lot and came to a stop. I didn't notice the traction battery power was gone.
    • second time on a slight up grade - again, the "power steering" light came on so I pushed the accelerator pedal to maintain speed and nothing happened. I still had enough momentum to continue up the grade and turn onto a side street and into a parking lot. It was after 3:00 AM in the morning on a road that normally has a lot of traffic at 5:00 PM backed up a 1/4th of a mile.
    • third time on an 'on ramp' - acceleration was sluggish so I realized it was finally out of gas and there were no 'error lights.' I simply continued down the ramp, onto the shoulder and using the traction battery another 200 yards to be well clear of the 'on ramp' traffic.
    The "check engine" light should come on when the engine runs out of gas. In fact MotorWeek had an engine problem with a Prius and commented favorably about this feature.

    As a public relations ploy, restoring this feature would provide a unique safety advantage that others would be hard pressed to follow.

    Understand that I am patient and as the number of ZVW30s increase and more 'out of gas' incidents occur, there may be a change of requirements. Regardless, we've inoculated the folks here about what happens.

    BTW, I've run out of gas in my NHW11 (2003) about 40 times as part of my gasoline studies. I won't be doing the same with our ZVW30 until I've added an 'out of fuel' indicator.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #248 bwilson4web, Jan 1, 2010
  9. Yuma Taco

    Yuma Taco New Member

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    Howdy, I'm, a newbie here and I have been reading up on the Prius as I plan to buy one here soon.
    When I saw this thread I was very worried that the Gen 3 Prius did NOT have a gas gauge..:eek:

    Now the last couple of pages have calmed me down with the information that the Prius HAS a gauge SO THERE IS NO REASON to run out of gas....:eek:
    (Now if your doing it for a reason that's another story).
    Also running out of gas around here it's like cleaning a LOADED gun:( Miles from a gas station and heat reaching 125 degrees or better in the summers! Don't run out of gas..

    Sorry for my first post to be so opinionated but...........:deadhorse:

    Yuma Taco,
     
    #249 Yuma Taco, Jan 1, 2010
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  10. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    When you get 'flash,' you have about 2 gallons of gas. If the next gas station is +50 miles: reset a trip meter to track the remaining fuel; drive at the slowest, safe speed; minimize accessories; and drive to the nearest gas station. You should be able to stretch it to at least 100 miles since I got 120 miles.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #250 bwilson4web, Jan 1, 2010
  11. sashields

    sashields New Member

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    I don't quite understand why you tested your car from running out of gas multiple times. A prius still has a gasoline powered engine and running out of gas completely and switching to battery mode is not what it was made to do. YOU WILL RUIN YOUR CAR!
     
    #251 sashields, Jan 1, 2010
  12. a64pilot

    a64pilot Active Member

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    Now what do you base that on?
     
    #252 a64pilot, Jan 1, 2010
  13. sdleo726

    sdleo726 New Member

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    Am I missing something here? Common sense would dictate that all cars were not designed to be run to empty, where there is zero gas in the tank. You run out of gas, the car won't go anymore.

    What is this "gasoline study?" I can tell you without running out of gas, that if you do run out of gas in any car, you'll be walking to the nearest gas station for fuel.
     
    #253 sdleo726, Jan 1, 2010
  14. web1b

    web1b Active Member

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    He wants to use the hybrid battery as a reserve tank.
     
    #254 web1b, Jan 1, 2010
  15. sdleo726

    sdleo726 New Member

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    Thanks... why didn't he just say that? And for what it's worth, I don't want to use the battery as a reserve tank because it would appear from his "studies" that it wasn't designed for that purpose. :confused:
     
    #255 sdleo726, Jan 1, 2010
  16. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Well, I thought you'd never ask:
    [​IMG]
    You'll notice some fuels have more energy per unit than others. The higher energy fuels deliver better mileage.

    [​IMG]
    And here are the results from a second series.

    Now this data is also evident in hill climb testing:
    [​IMG]
    You'll notice the car is able to tune the engine at higher power settings to exploit the higher octane fuel.

    One last thing, my studies are collections of empirical data that anyone can replicate. As my drill instructor used to say, "A grain of observation out weights a pound of <bovine fecal matter> anyday."

    Bob Wilson
     
    #256 bwilson4web, Jan 1, 2010
  17. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Best in Huntsville two years ago:

    • Shell 87, Chevron, and Exxon
    The others, not so good. But everyone has E10 so I need to repeat the tests ... probably this spring.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #257 bwilson4web, Jan 1, 2010
  18. sdleo726

    sdleo726 New Member

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    wow, i'm sorry i asked (no offense)... the Prius is a car, drive it. when it's low on gas, fill it up. simple. easy.

    i think you need to come up with an executive summary - one small paragraph only.

    :yield:
     
    #258 sdleo726, Jan 1, 2010
  19. boppo

    boppo Active Member

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    this post reminds me of a joke I heard years ago.

    This guy gets a call from his wife, and she said honey I ran out of gas can you come and get me. He said honey don't worry I have a gas can in the trunk of your car. She said I used it 20 miles ago. :)
     
    #259 boppo, Jan 1, 2010
  20. Tom183

    Tom183 New Member

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    Here's the executive summary:

    If you used to count on the traction battery in the Gen2 to limp a few hundred yards to a "safe" stopping location, the Gen3 doesn't do that anymore - it is now like all the other cars on the road so when it's out of gas, it's out of gas.

    Normal people used to normal cars can continue doing what everybody else usually does: fill up on a regular basis, and believe the warning light if/when it comes on.

    If you have some kind of OCD need to run the tank as near as possible to empty, or simply don't listen to warnings of any kind, take public transit or a taxi.
     
    #260 Tom183, Jan 1, 2010
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