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600 mile tank...should I go for it??

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by efusco, Jul 10, 2005.

  1. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Ok, I'm sitting at 530miles give or take, MFD shows 59.5mpg (had shown 61.7 until my wife and kids went on a 125mile trip yesterday. And the last fuel bar just started flashing on my way to work this morning (about 9 miles of driving while flashing this morning on the way to work).

    I've never had a 600 mile tank. In theory I should have used only 8.9 gallons and need only about 1.5 (or less) to get the rest of the way to 600.

    I've never had a 600 mile tank, I've never filled more than 9.6 gallons and always fill shortly (within 40-50 miles max) after the last bar starts flashing.

    Man do I want it just to say I have, but I sure don't wanna run out of gas. No gas can nearby either.

    Push it or not??
     
  2. prius04

    prius04 New Member

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    Do you have AAA?
     
  3. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    LOL!!

    I'm taking it home tonight and the kids to school tomorrow then I'll see if I "Feel Lucky"...or not. Gotta get my oil changed so I'll have some time to decide if I want to push or not.
     
  4. Ray Moore

    Ray Moore Active Member

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    Evan- You know my opinion........hell yeah!
     
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Hmm, the safe side of me says no since your bar already started blinking, yet the other side of me wants to see another 600 mile tank. I'd push it to 570 or so.
     
  6. jamarimutt

    jamarimutt New Member

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    If you decide to go for it, take a couple of gallons of gas along with you, just in case. If you don't make it you'll at least join the growing number of Prius owners who have run out of gas. :oops:
     
  7. prius04

    prius04 New Member

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    You can get a cheap gas can for about $5 at many convenience stores. A lot of gas station/ convenient stores keep them for those who run out of gas "by mistake".

    That's what I'd do. Normally it is dangerous to keep gas in the car, but for your "experiment" it might be OK.

    Once the "experiment" is over, pour that gas into your tank, then keep the empty can in the car for when you decide to aim for 700.
     
  8. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I'm at 550 now. Blinking for 23 miles, 59.8mpg on the consumption screen.

    I think I'm gonna push for it.
     
  9. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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  10. kirbinster

    kirbinster Member

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    I keep a quart of "emergency gas" in the car at all time. Before anyone says it is dangerous -- it is not really gasoline. It comes in a little yellow bottle and is safe to keep in the car or trunk. It is designed to work in a hot engine and will save you if you run out of gas. I bought it in an auto supply store about a year ago, think it was about $12 -- which is cheap for peace of mind.
     
  11. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    that "its not really gas" part would make me a bit nervous. not worth damaging a nearly brand new car, epecially one that i love
     
  12. kirbinster

    kirbinster Member

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    The product is made by Pennzoil and is called Roadside Rescue. It comes in a yellow one quart bottle with a red funnel attachment to aide pouring into the gas tank.

    Not trying to sell the product or make claims for it, but for those that are interested here is a link for more info:

    http://www.napsinfo.com/pdfs/New%20Emergen...%20Additive.pdf
     
  13. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I'm a wus. A whimp. A chicken. A loser.

    I got cold feet with about 30 miles to go knowing I had a morning of short trips and an oil change at the dealer, etc.

    And here's the really 'sick' part. I filled at a different gas station than usual b/c it was less out of the way for where I needed to go. The pump kicked off at ~7.7 gallons. I KNEW that was too soon so I worked to squeeze in more, but gave up at 8.019 gallons and after about 5 or 6 click offs.

    For the 567 miles that worked out to 70.1 mpg (MFD showed 59.8mpg). Ain't no way it was that good a tank. 60 or 61 I would believe, but not 70.

    In any case, the next tank will surely register much lower than displayed MPG. It's also clear to me that I could have/should have made it at least another 100-150 miles before running out.

    I knew all this intuitively...but that blinking pip just kept taunting me....it hates me, I know it, I just know it! Out Out damn Pip!!!
     
  14. Ray Moore

    Ray Moore Active Member

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    hehehe

    The man can stare down death on a daily basis, but a flashing gas guage? nope

    hehehe

    Saddest of all is that if you crammed the gas in, you could have done over 700 miles with that average. I realize that you've never gotten that much gas in your tank, so it might not be possible, but then again.......
     
  15. rflagg

    rflagg Member

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    Go for it on this tank, Evan! We have faith you can do it :)

    PS - I'm slightly bothered that I now get so excited about a tank of gas. :)

    -m.
     
  16. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    Evan , i know exactly what you are saying. that is why it took me so long to get my 600 miles tank. i was lucky in that on my tank, the bar didnt start blinking until i hit 570 miles. it was the most stressful 32 miles of my life!!

    you notice from my signature, i tolerated it long enough to make it, but it was tough!
     
  17. kellymatt

    kellymatt New Member

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    YOU CAN DO IT!!

    I have gotten 580 miles on 1 tank, avg on the screen said 53.2. I was calculating the milage on my calculator and sweeting bullets while trying it, lol. If you are getting 58, well look out, i say you prob can get 630 or so. good luck, im going to try it even father next time, i still have the road side assistance thou.

    2005 prius, 2200 miles so far

    8)
     
  18. eric29730

    eric29730 Junior Member

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    Evan,

    I'm a little bit late for this thread, but I know how you feel. I have only gone thru three tanks full so far. My last tank I had 564 miles and the MFD said 58.3 and I had only one fuel pip showing - but not blinking. Reading all the posts about the 'guess gauge' has me a little gunshy about how much fuel remains in the tank. I was facing a 46 mile drive at 5am and I pass 16 gas stations on the way, although not all are open then. I could have pushed it but didn't. I put 10.153 gallons in when I filled it, so I think I could have made 600 easily. In 27 years of driving I have never run out of gas.

    Someday I will achieve a 600 mile tank tho. I would definitely have 1 gallon of gas in a container in the car for the event specifically. I keep telling myself that preparing in that manner for running out of gas would allow me to continue saying that I never run out of gas. Kinda cheapens it thou, you know? Maybe I should just run it until it runs out of gas then put that 1 gallon in. That way I could say that the only time I ever ran out of gas was 'intentional'. LOL
     
  19. saechaka

    saechaka Member

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    the best tank i had was 603miles. my screen showed 54.1mpg. so i'm sure you could've made it to the 600mile mark. when i filled up it stopped at 9.8 gallons so i had to pump it up to 10.5gal.
     
  20. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I really topped off the current tank I'm on so I'm confident that I've got close to the 11.9gallon capacity (or had that much). Unfortunately I'm only showing about 58mpg 300 miles into the tank with 5 bars on the fuel guage. I'll have to play this by ear and see how my mileage does the rest of the tank....600 might be a possibility on this one, but the timing may be bad as I have a long drive on Saturday coming up that I'll need to top off for before I leave and I don't think I'll be driving 300 miles b/w now and then.