Has anyone else noticed that the fuel indicator says empty when there is still 1/4 of a tank left? When I fill up, and use 5 litres per 100km, so being a 45 litre tank, I should be able to drive for 900km. However, it says empty at about 700km. The distance to empty is at zero too. So I fill up, but can only put in 35 litres, meaning there was still 10 litres (or 200 km) left in the tank. This time I am going to see how far past zero km left I can drive it before it goes empty (I have a spare can of fuel in the car with me for when I run out) So I'm wondering iof anyone else has seen this with theirs? thanks.
I been told that its not a good idea to let the car run out of gas and run on battery alone. Could do damage to the inverter or something. And isn't it a good thing that it warns your that you're empty but still have a bit of gas left to get to the nearest gas station? I think many cars do that anyway. My honda used to flash and blink the fuel gauge but I could still drive 60-80 miles to the next gas station.
I think you'll find this thread from bwilson4web of intrest. He has your question pretty much already answered. You'll just have to convert from US gallons to liters. ...of course it is difficult to get the last bit of fuel off the top of the tank for you guys down there that drive upside down... ;>) Just kidding!!!
HAHA very funny. I'm reading that thread in it's entirety at the moment, but back to my original post, I just think it would be nice to have an accurate fuel indication system, maybe counting down the litres, and audible voice warnings every litre down from 5 litres. What's the point of having a guage that says zero when we all know it really has X distance left in it?
It's the same problem with almost all fuel gauges: cars, boats, airplanes. It's for this reason that pilots use fuel burn rates and calculate the amount of remaining fuel. Would an accurate fuel gauge be nice? Yes. Would most consumers be willing to pay for it? That's a question that remains to be answered. So far the auto marketing departments have said no. Tom
The answer is around 2 US gallons (7-8 liters) once you hit empty. I have yet to run out by using the following: Take the trip MPG, multiply by 1.4 (gallons left) - this seems safe. Remember - the trip MPG is accurate in that it always overstates the mileage. This - and varied driving conditions - is why I use 1.4 (personal preference).
inaccurate fuel gauges are sooo common today. Not only in hybrids, but regular ICE as well. My old Nissan altima 2002 was just as crazy as my 2004 prius. all over the place. As one of the posters have said. People don't want to pay for the improved fuel gauges
It is an attempt at idiot-proofing - which, as we all know, leads to the discovery if new and advanced forms of idiots...
It is a reliability and safety issue. The car companies are not always evil. If you only have one gallon sloshing in the tank, and you are driving up or down a steep incline, you may run out of gas even with one gallon. So even though you have one gallon, on a steep slope, you are effectively empty. In a regular car, you are in really bad shape because you are on a steep incline with no power steering, power brakes etc. Then we will all be cursing the car manufacturers and calling for a recall. If you accept the concept that there is a reserve tank of 2-3 gallons, then the meter is just fine. Many high tech fighters, airplanes, etc. have a reserve tank so thinking that way is not exactly low tech. Also, there is difficulties is adjusting the fuel guage to be 100% accurate. See my steep incline example above. This is really the best that can be done. The car cannot have a gauge that is adjusted for flatlanders. The gauge has to accommodate people with steep driveways. On a side topic, not related to the OP. Running low on fuel is a dangerous situation because you can lose control and hurt innocent 3rd parties. You don't want the driver of the school bus to run with one gallon in the tank when he/she is transporting your kid (loss of power issues on a slope or freeway). So why would you want to move your own self, or your kids with only one gallon in the tank? What does driving 500 miles on a tank prove? All of us can get on a freeway, drive 45 mph all day, and get 500 miles on a tank. It is not difficult, just so tedious that many people cannot do it. With a 11.9 gallon tank, it should be possible to drive 600 miles on a tank under the right conditions. I can do it if somebody pays me but I won't otherwise.
Found this out also 2 bar left, the tank took 26 l last bar flashing 35 l I thought it was a 40 l tank, coud I be wrong again
I think it would be quite simple to have an accurate readingm off the top of my head I can think of 2 ways of doing it. 1. have several fuel line connection points in the base of the tank, so that even if you're going up a hill, and all the fuel is at the back of the tank, the fuel line connection at that spot will still suck the fuel 2. have the tank separated into many vertical tubes, each with their own fuel line connection. I don't think that would be too expensive. But yeah, anything other than basic tank would put the price up and no one wants to spend any money on something they wont be able to appreciate. Point taken, but compared to my previous prius, the fuel guage on that did indicate that the distance travelled was about 1000 km at 4.5l/100km in so far that resetting the trip meter when filling up would allow me to travel that distance and the fuel guage would be showing empty. after travelling that distance. I did this on a trip from Brisbane to my parents place west of sydney, exactly 999 km travelled from door to door without re-fuelling. With my new prius, it shows I get about 650 - 700 km on a "full tank" with "full tank" meaning from filling up to showing empty. So, something has changed a lot.
I noticed that the Prius gauge is less inaccurate than my Subaru gauge, and about the same as the two cars before that. My very first car had the least gauge error. But unfortunately its small error was in the wrong direction, so on the very first tank, it ran empty with the needle above E. I'm one of those people who wants to know where the bottom of the fuel tank is more accurately than a vague 'couple driving hours'. This is related to experience -- 1973 alternate-day gas rationing, triple-digit distances with no assurance that the only fuel station will be open on my schedule, similar distances where the only station charges tourist-trap / emergency prices, and holiday extortion where the only open station in the area is adding a half-tank surcharge just to unlock the pump. (I refused, and did make it to the next.) If you have never experienced any of these, you are either fortunate or young.
Odd. All of our cars (and granted, they're all modern cars and all Toyotas lol) have had a reserve tank (so to speak). With Toyota, it's 10 litres (as you've found out). The low fuel light comes on when there's 10 litres left. Works well since I can use the FE meter and estimate how much I really have left (although given the nature of the 2010's FE meter, I might not be so inclined to try). With the other Toyotas, our experience matches yours. Honda uses 15 litres IIRC.
