A few weeks ago the Prius had its annual service Afterwards the fuel economy improved, the fuel gauge seemed to hardly dropping at all. Stopped at the local garage to fill up with fuel and it took an extraordinary amount The tank was nearly empty. The slow realisation that the fuel gauge hadnt moved at all After filling the fuel gauge had moved to max A few hundred miles later it's so economical it's still at max What's happened?
I doubt that the sender is stuck. It is located inside the tank and is not accessible. You just overfilled your tank and the gauge will eventually start registering.
Nope - I think it was stuck at about half full, I nearly used all the fuel but luckily filled up. Filling it up moved it to max. Its now stuck there - Ive done over 150 miles at 55mpg = 3 gallons. It should have moved. Is it inside the tank or bolted to the side?
It sure sounds like the fuel guage sender is gummied up. If this is so, it would not be good news. The fuel guage sender is integral with the fuel pump in a separate plastic subtank, separate from the fuel bladder. The problem is that both are encased in a steel fuel tank. To get to the sender you have to cut open the steel tank... with an air tool. The process is destructive and non-reversible. Here's the documentation: http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/Hybrid13.pdf the gas bladder: exposed! | PriusChat The answer then is to replace the tank, new or used. I'll leave it to your Googling skills to find one. Caution: Although replacement senders are available on the InterWeb, ~$100, for the life of me, I can't see how it alone could be replaced. And FWIW, the fuel pump goes for a mere $328: PartsTrain.com - Hard to Find Auto Parts and Truck Parts - Toyota Prius Fuel Pump
Before doing anything else, I'd try recalibrating the gauge. Instructions can be found here: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/15063-fuel-gauge-calibration-instructions.html While your symptons differ from many that have been reported here, the procedure appears to be quick and easy.
AutoBeYours.com: 04 and newer Prius Parts Cars Psst! It would be helpful to know where you are... Completing the location info in your avatar would do fine.
Here is some useful information http://www.vfaq.net/docs/TSBs/EL010-04.pdf lots of manuals described here Documentazione Tecnica Prius 2006 and available here La documentazione del selidori No result yet
