I pulled up to a costco gas pump with "0" miles left to go on the dashboard computer (non-Nav). I know that manufacturers always leave room for reserve, but I pumped 9.89 gallons to fill up. According to the specs, the 2011 Prius holds 11.9 gallons... So where did that other 2 gallons go?
The 2 gallons are in the tank. This is a common occurence, when the single pip starts flashing, you have DTE (drive to empty) at 30 miles or so and the car will take around 9 to 9.5 gallons. At 0 miles, it wil take about 10 gallons. What this means is that Toyota is giving you over 100 miles warning that you need to fill up. Had they given you an accurate flashing PIP or Miles to empty, you would have been pushing your car to the gas station. Happily, you aren't!
I set my trip B when it goes to '0' - I get 45MPG, and always am fine filling up between 70 and 80 mile mark (after 0) - 20% less time at the gas station
I have a Gen2, not a Gen3. Therefore, I do not have a "Miles to Empty". I've run out of gas before trying to guess how much gas remained in the tank. It's not advised and it's not fun. I'm not trying to lecture here, but please don't play this game. For your own sake, just fill up when the car says it's time to fill up.
I'll preface by saying I try to fill up as soon as reasonably possible when the car chimes and the last pip begins to blink. I don't have the intestinal fortitude to guess how much further I can drive, and I take comfort in the fact that its "pretty far". Living in the Chicago suburbs I never have to worry about finding a nearby gas station. My experience indicates that DTE decreases monotonically with distance but does not have a linear relationship to the odometer. I don't rely on DTE for anything. The many discussions on the blinking pips and the DTE accuracy and "how much further can I go before I <really> need gas" reminds me of an old episode of "Home Improvement". Skip to about 2:30 into the clip - you might get a chuckle.
How is this reserve different than your previous car(s)? As a percentage of the tank, this is similar to my previous cars, except for the one that ran dry with the fuel gauge needle still above 'E'.
Yes, I agree completely. I have filled up my GenIII 43 times now. My average fill up has been 9.65 US gallons. With a 11.9 gallon tank, that leaves 2.25 gallons remaining each time. With those 43 trips to the pump since the car was new, and a little more than 2 gallons remaining each time, I figure there is something like an extra 96 gallons hidden in the car somewhere. I can only think all this extra gas will save me big money somewhere down the line, as well as get me out of trouble if I ever run too low.
I can't really compare since my previous was a gas guzzling (in comparison) 2007 BMW 335i twin turbo with a Manual granny. This, when the †miles till gas†indicator goes to zero... Get ready to push.
My first car needed pushing even before the needle fell to 'E'. But the next 3 cars -- now 4, if we count the Prius -- had very roughly 100 miles worth of the claimed fuel capacity occurring after the gauge displayed E or DTE = 0. This is set aside as reserve fuel, to buffer against drivers inattentive to the gauge, and the many cases where short term fuel consumption greatly exceeds the long term average, and hills and tilted parking spots that prevent access to the very last of the fuel. So the Prius 'missing' fuel seems to fit the industry norm.
