What type of warning does your car give you when low on fuel?

Only my older cars have/had yellow low-fuel lights. Not this Prius.

Each bar is roughly a gallon, but the gauge is not perfectly linear, so don't count on each bar being the same. And there is lots of sloshing around that the computer mostly (not completely) filters out, but a ScanGauge will display.

If the last bar is blinking, then the warning beep has already beeped. It will repeat each time you start the car.

You have two known remaining warnings left. Distance To Empty will count down to zero, though mine seems to snap to zero from about 5-10 miles left.

The last is the Electric Power Steering warning light, discovered by our Bob Wilson who tests these things for fun and sport. This warning flashes about a mile after you are empty. You don't want to get this one, because it won't leave enough battery charge to pull off the road.

 

Yeah, I wanted to see how much I could squeeze out of my first tank. When I got to the last bar it started blinking and counting down the miles left.

I was on my way home from work and halfway to my destination, I got down to 3 miles left. I decided to get off the freeway for gas. At the stoplight at the end of the offramp, I looked down and saw that my 'miles left' now suddenly dropped to zero. I hit the EV mode and cruised slowly for a few blocks until I found a gas station.

 

Minor correction. If you get the red, power steering error light, it is too late. You are in a 'glider.' The scenario of running out:

• alert and last bip flash - there is a little over 2 gallons remaining
• count down to 0 miles remaining - I've not studied
• run out of gas will over 46 mph - car exhibits detectable loss of power. Slow down to extend range and find a safe place to park before traction battery is exhausted. Distance is unknown.
• run out of gas under 46 mph - the car continues to operate until traction battery is too low and red "power steering" light comes on. You are now in a glider.

Unlike the earlier Prius, burning the last of the gas transitions to electric mode without using 'check engine' light to signal the driver the last of the gas is gone.

Bob Wilson

 

Does the Gen III flash an "Add Fuel" warning on the MFD, like it does with the Gen II?

Tom

 

I am sure you will figure this out, but the miles to 0 as indicated on your Prius "countdown" is not literal. Not that I am advocating for this, but there is still a good gallon (or more?) in your tank once the countdown hits 0. I have consistently driven 20-30 miles after hitting 0 with no problems. Even with doing so, the most I have ever put in my tank is 9.8 gallons and it is an 11.9 gallon tank (I believe).

Again, there are many wise people out there who will tell you to fill with 1-2 pips left on the graph; I just haven't heeded that advice. YMMV.

 

Not that I've found, or heard from anyone else, and I've gone roughly 30 miles past DTE=0.

Yes, I've even see two bars reappear several times.

This is really no different than the analog gauges on my previous cars, which have been seen to temporarily climb on occasion. A ScanGauge programmed with the fuel level XGauge gives a better idea what is happening -- there is a lot of sloshing around in the tank, with hills, corners, and speed changes. The car's display does not perfectly filter out this noise.

 

This was my 2nd fillup since car was purchased .I had one bar left and reading was 30 miles to 0. The car only took 9.1 gallons.

 

I've hit the blinking pip and have filled up with ~ 9.5 gallons. Miles to zero isn't an accurate estimate of how much fuel is in the tank. My current tank...I've got 600 miles on it, the miles to zero is zero, and the pip started blinking @ 565 miles. My tank MPG reading is 63.5 mpg. If I assume 60 mpg, I've used 10 gallons and have ~ 2 gallons left. I'll fill it up when I get home tonight (another 35 miles) and I fully expect to put in ~ 10.5 gallons.

 

• audio bleep and flashing last fuel bar - at this point, ~2.1 usable gallons remain in the tank
• speed under 46 mph - the car can silently transitions to traction battery power and the state of charge goes down. Eventually, the "Power Steering" light comes on and there is no more accelerator function regardless of the traffic conditions. Try to be careful because one of the most frequent causes of pedestrian fatalities is someone trying to get gas for their car that is parked in a dangerous location. Such cars have been struck and fatalities occur because the car could not reach a safe parking location(*).
• speed above 46 mph or under engine load - the engine stops and the traction battery state of charge goes down. Use the remaining power to safely park before all traction battery power is lost. Maximum EV range is very load dependent but less than 1/4 mile is a reasonable estimate.

Bob Wilson

* - The earlier NHW11 and NHW20 provided a 'check engine light' when the last of the gas was burned allowing the driver to reach a safe place to park. This more dangerous behavior matches Toyota's design.