Has anyone looked into what would be required to remove the damn bladder from the gas tank. It is a pain in the nice person trying to fill the tank, and I would gladly sacrifice the zero emissions rating for an easier to fill tank.
I am not sure I follow, I fill my Prius the same as I do my Rav 4... What is the problem with the bladder? Viro
Same feeling. I really don't understand why. I just fill up whenever I got down to the last bar or when it starts flashing. Don't see any different than other cars. And I sure love to have the AT-PZEV rating.
im sorry, but i dont feel the "problems" filling the tank come any where near justifying a radical measure like that. are you really having that much of a problem? its really only a gallon or so of gas... the spit problem i have seen in other cars so its not unique to the Prius by any means.
Wow. The logistics would be phohibitive. The bladder is more like a bullet proof vest than a ballon. it is a very stiff tight weave of some sort of coated nylon(?). It would be impossible to extract from the tank without cutting the tank in half and removing the bladder. Then you need to get someone to reweld your gas tank (good luck), remove the fuel pump and sender from the blader assembly, fabricate a sealing dock for the pump and sender, and then pray that the tank has sufficent structural integrity without the blader to not pop in half in a minor rear end impact..................If you are having that much trouble getting fuel in to justify the cost/hazard/etc, perhaps you could just ask a expedition owner to help you fill it because they get more practice than you. No. That wont do, it looks like a road test with a tech is in order. Better yet, ask the svc manager to come with you and fill your car. Show him the issue, go back get a rental or new stock and YOU fill that one too. If they both do it, then it is oppperator error. If only one does it, then you have a valid issue and the tech can replace the tank, or inspect the neck for debris/restrictons etc. I am disapointed to hear a prius driver say they dont care about vapor emmisions release. regards, mike
Well, from everything I've read the key is to try to have the nozzle out a bit and tilted down. Then fill slowly and it will fill all the way and easily. I know the problem though. Stick it in all the way and fill it fast and you'll come away with a half full tank much of the time. I think it has a lot to do with different types of pumps filling at different rates.
If I was driving another car, I wouldn't mind getting a gallon or two less gas in the car when I fill it. However, two less gallons in the prius is 20% of the tank, and around 90 miles additional I can travel before I need to refill. I was at the gas station over lunch today with one bar showing on my display. This usually means I have a little less than a gallon in the tank from prior estimates. I started filling and the pump kicked off at 7.8 gallons. I managed to squeeze another .8 or so gallons into the car. That means my 10.5 gallon tank only has around 9 gallons in it. If I could get the rest in, it would give me about another 70 miles until I need to fillup again. I was under the impression that only the NA cars had the fuel tank bladder in it. I wonder if the JPN or EU tank would be a drop in replacement for the tank.
Ask around for info on the European tank, which I believe is bladderless. If it's a drop-in replacement, all that's in your way is a (probably) huge cost...
I think you might also be violating federal and state clean air laws. The bladder is what helps the Prius be a partial zero emissions vehicle. It wouldn't be the same car as licensed to be sold in the US if you changed the gas tank to remove the bladder. What are you trying to do to our air?
Ahem, sorry if I started calculating: If I have one bar left on the fuel gauge I tend to fill up. Never waited for the buzzer to go off, never saw the last bar blinking. Same as you do, obviously. Anyway, the EU tank is specified to hold 11.8 US gallons (about 45 liters converted). If I fill as mentioned with the final bar lit I'm able to squeeze in 10.3 US gallons (39 liters converted). Thus truly leaving a reserve of 1.5 gallons (same as yours) worth about 70 to 80 miles before the engine *sucks dry air*. Well, I politely ask you to consider that if you are trying to fill a 10.5 gallon tank with 10.5 gallons of fuel... and also before cutting apart your car. Different volumes of the tanks indicate that the EU version has no bladder, but I'm confident that there is one. Surely it's of a different build, for the intention in the EU version designatedly is to prevent fuel leaking in case of a crash. Best regards tinspoon
The bladder is also a safety item and one not usually found on cars in the Prius' price range, which I think speaks well of Toyota for installing it. Because it collapses as it empties, there is no gas/air mixture inside a rigid metal box which could explode on impact if the box were hit. The lack of an empty volume of air in the tank also eliminates water condensation and corrosion. Racing cars use bladders instead of solid box fuel tanks for this reason. The bladder takes a few months to be fully broken in; "stretched" (I believe is the term). Until that time, you will find the fuel pump shutting off with different amounts of gas when you fill up. To me, this is a minor annoyance when weighed against the obvious advantages of the bladder tank.
I have seen comments about this before; I have never had any problem filling my tank at all. I stick the nozzle in and set the little lever on the handle and when it clicks off I round off to the nearest 25 cents and that is that. Never had a problem. Sorry to hear about your problems.
One of the things I have noted is that some pumps are more Prius "friendly" than others. It is clear to me that some pumps cut off prematurely and others don't. Find a good pump at a station that is near the low mark for your area and stick with it. FWIW
Lately I have not been able to get as much gas in the tank as I used to. Granted, the weather has gotten cooler (didn't say colder). Also my gas guage delclination rate has shifted a bit too.
I have to fill my Prius just about as often as I had to fill my Volvo Turbo Sportswagon - twice a week. It got 23 mpg, but had an 18 gallon gas tank. I wish the Prius took at least 15 gallons....
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ron L. @ Aug 8 2006, 10:34 PM) [snapback]300007[/snapback]</div> I'm with you there, it would be awesome if on the next gen they could get a bigger tank wedged in. The range would be huge then.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cairo94507 @ Oct 31 2005, 06:28 PM) [snapback]148242[/snapback]</div> Me too. No problems in 15,000 miles of fillups. Try a different gas station. Most people have favorite stations, for whatever reason. If you shop around, maybe other pumps would work better for you. I find that at almost 50 mpg, I'm a lot less picky where I buy gas ($ wise). If I see a long line at Costco, the Shell across the street is .10 more. Big deal.
