Thank you. Take a look for yourself on this Toyota Parts website: FUEL TANK & TUBE. Fits: 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS C SEDAN, 5-DOOR, TWO 1500CC 16VALVE DOHC EFI, ATM STEPLESS | Village Toyota Parts
I've had my 04 Prius for 9 months now, a couple of months ago the fuel gauge also started reading less than what was in the tank, about 3 bars less. I took it to the dealer today because of a recall on the steering shaft. I complained about the fuel gauge, the dealer said they reset the unit to read 1 bar down instead of 3. They told me that the fuel tank is actually a bladder instead of a solid tank & that it contracts in the winter, which may be part of the probem of false readings. You asked about the Prius c. I've read that 2010 & later priuses are being made with solid fuel tanks, which may avoid this problem.
They're not wrong unless you're misunderstanding their operation. The Prius C's gas tank is not unique or special. It's the same fundamental design as most other cars on the road. Also consider the gauge damping required to avoid wild fluctuations for every corner or bump you hit causing fuel slosh, and subsequent float movement.
I'm a little confused with my gas gauge as well. In July, I left home and had about 65 km to go to get to the next gas station. My cruising range said 174 km, so I felt pretty comfortable. (I think there were 3 or 4 bars showing.). Anyway, about half way there, the cruising range started dropping dramatically and with about 20 km to go, it beeped and told me I had 0 km left. I limped into the gas station and there was less than a gallon left in the tank. It almost seems a little like my old Chev - the "top half" of the tank seems much larger than the "bottom half". Suffice to say that I fill up when I have 3 bars left. (I'm in a rural area so gas stations are about 30 miles apart.)
the dte is an estimate based on past mpg averages. in no way should you use it to determine when to get gas. and btw, you do not have a bladder in the tank.
What exactly do you mean by "limped" and how did you determine that there was less than a gallon left ?? That one experience might not be typical but it's better not to wait that long anyway. How much do you put in at a "fillup" now ??
When the car beeps you still have ~1.0 - ~1.5 gallons of fuel left. Depending on how you drive this can get you anywhere you need to go, so you didn't actually limp.
Only the Gen 2 Prius Liftback has the bladder. There is a reason they got rid of it for Gen 3/PC/PV. It was awful.
Ok, so perhaps "panicked" would be a better term than limped. I mean that I turned off the AC, rolled up the windows, and slowed down to 90 king to try and get the best mileage I could. I know there was about a gallon left because of the amount it took to fill the tank. I really didn't think I'd be cutting it close by trying to drive 60 km when I had 3 bars left on the fuel gauge and I was driving a Prius c! A typical fill is around 30 L - my gauge is usually at 2 or 3 bars.
I was wondering if there was something wrong with my gauge, but it looks like is a peculiarity of the type. I don't know if it is the bladder effect or not, but it looks like this: it take 80 to 100 miles to drop one bar, then the process accelerates to the point that nearby the middle to bars disappear every 20 miles or so. And the last two bars last way longer than the ones int he middle. I get gas anywhere between 300 to 360 miles traveled since the previous fill up, or 2 bars left.
there's no bladder in the prius c. i think you can get the gauge adjusted, are you still under warranty?
^ Ah, good to know. Unless warranty for the gas gauge is 1,980 miles or 16 days, whichever occurs first, I should be covered
just what i recall from reading here in the past. your free to think what you want without fear of retribution.
There must be something wrong with your sending unit as you have suspected. Mine works fine, when the single bar starts flashing I have less than 1 gallon left. Usually by the time I find a station I have .8 gallons left in the tank. I find it worrisome to let it get that low so I usually refill at 2 or 3 bars.
