About 4 weeks ago my the fuel gauge in my '05 became unusable. About half-way through the tank it drops to one blinking bar and says add fuel. The first time it happened at about 240 miles, and since that fillup it's happened at 275 and 283 miles. The MFD has been reading about 42 MPG (accurate), and it's been taking about 6 gallons to top-off. Has anyone else had this problem? So far this week the add fuel blink has been on for over 120 miles and I'm still driving based on MFD read-out. Bryan
I wonder if you did the "fuel guage inclination meter reset" if that would fix it. Other than that its' dealer service dept time. Edit: part of Toyota Technical Service Bulliten EL101-04
Exactly what I was looking for... how do I perform the fuel gauge inclination reset? Today I disconnected the 12V battery in hopes that would reset something. Bryan
actually it's fairly complex, your best bet is to download the TSB and have it at hand when you do it.
Just to throw it out there I found the link to the fuel gauge inlcination meter reset. It worked perfectly, but the first step said to initiate the reset from the ODO - INCORRECT. It should be inititiated with Trip A displayed in Ready mode.
sorry I didn't get back to you but I lost the tread. Then I couldn't find the TSB on the Alldata site anymore. Glad it worked. I'll make a note on my hard copy to start from Trip A instead of ODO Thanks for the info. So did that fix the problem?
The fuel gauge has been on ongoing problem with me... where did you find the TSB... and how easy was it? (I'm not the most technically apt guy) I really really don't want to take it in since Toyota dealers don't have comp loaners etc, a quick at-home solution would be fantastic. Thanks!
Fuel Inclination meter reset: A. Start car in Ready Mode B. Go to "Trip A" C. Power down D. Make sure your foot is off of the brake pedal. E. Push in and hold the “ODO/TRIP†button. F. Turn the power switch ON (push the “POWER†button twice). G. Turn the “ODO/TRIP†button OFF, then ON 3 times within 5 seconds. H. Continue to hold the “ODO/TRIP†button until the “ODO†indicator in the display turns off and a 6–digit code (######) is displayed. I. Release the“ODO/TRIP†button. J. Push and hold the “ODO/TRIP†button for 5 seconds or more again. The 6–digit code (######) will then change to a 5–digit code (#####). K. After “1†is displayed at the 3rd digit of the 5–digit code, release the “ODO/TRIP†button. L. Approximately 5 seconds after “1†is displayed at the 3rd digit, the “TRIP A†indicators are displayed, and the odometer returns to the normal operation.[/i] NOTE: The “TRIP A†mileage will revert to 0.0 miles in this procedure. Do not drive the vehicle before the reset procedure has been completed. HINT: If a write error occurs, start the procedure again from the beginning. the 5 digits you see will be X = first two digits Y = middle digit Z = last X: Values Written Into Meter (Longitudinal Direction) Y: Write Status and Result Z: Values Written Into Meter (Lateral Direction) Write Status and Result: 0: Writing 1: Write Completetd 2: Write Error 3: Write Canceled
Also, make sure you are on a level surface, like a garage floor. Otherwise you will screw things up worse than before.
Thanks, you rock... I've driven over 200 miles and I'm still showing full on the gauge despite an avg 39mpg per the screen.... Guess I know what I'll be doing before leaving the house tomorrow.
I have experienced one occassion in my 2005 Pri where the fuel gauge indicated "full" all the way up to 150 miles driven on that particular tank of gas. I knew there was no way the tank was still full, so I decided to tap my extensive prior-vehicle-problems knowledge base and went back to my 1972 Pinto (yeah, I know - please no disparaging remarks about this). In that vehicle there was a problem with a "sticking" float fuel guage indicators. I figured that maybe the float was stuck in the Pri (assuming there actually IS a float in these things). I decided to try applying a vigorous rocking motion (up and down) on the back bumper (with force similar to that which might be applied by Tom Zbikowski to a USC running back). Sure enough the guage reset and it has worked just fine ever since (thus the "genius" moniker). I still can't prove there actually is a "float" device in the Prius gas tank (perhaps some Toyota engineers can weigh in on this issue), but whatever the problem was, the bumper rocking thing seems to have permanently fixed it.
