When Gas light comes on, how many miles (approx) can you get before it runs out ?

I once drove for 65 miles on a flashing pip, then I ran out of gas and the car lit up like the Starship Enterprise under Borg attack. Now I get to the station as soon as possible once I get to the flashing pip...

 

New 2008 owner here I am learning. Ran out of gas on the first tank I full. I was trying to get back to my town before I filled up, dumb idea. Drove 487 miles on probably 10 gallons, the display said I was averaging 48 miles per gallon so it was right. The PIP started blinking at 420 miles and one square showing. I thought since it holds 11.9 I theoretically should be able to go at least 135 miles and I was only 80 from home when it started blinking I read somewhere it starts blinking with 3 gallons left. I also read DON'T over fill it so when I filled it for this trip I only put in 1/3 of a gallon after the nozzle shut off, a total of 9.1 gallons. I have concluded if you stop putting gas in when the nozzle stops (and that is what you want to do so the bladder and canister isn't damaged) you probably only have 10 gallons in the 11.9 gallon tank. Therefore "I state my name do solemnly swear to put gas in my wonderful Prius AS SOON AS THE LIGHT STARTS BLINKING" and not try to go another 67 miles.

 

I am told by the dealer if one runs out of gas in the Prius then the system will not let you just put some gas in it and start again. It requires the dealer to reset the system.

 

If the engine tries to start repeatedly without gas, you will set a code and need to get it cleared. So if you run it dry, do not try to restart until you have 3 gallons of gas in it.

 

Your mileage may vary (Always wanted to say that in a real situation". I've gone 40, but I usually keep it under 20.

 

I notice the fuel gauge goes down quickly yet the car shows I'm getting over 43 MPG. Maybe I'm just used to driving a car with a big tank, but how accurate is the car at calculating MPG?

 

Averaged over tankfuls, the computer is very accurate, but any one tankfull can be way off.

 

As a rule of thumb, I used to go 60 miles after it started blinking with my '07. Never ran out of gas... Most it ever took was 10.6 gallons... Hope that helps!

 

i got the blinking light yesterday and miles to go to Gas station was 28, i drove 23 miles to gas station and it allowed me to fill only 9.4 gallons, what does this mean? Mine is a Prius 2010 III...thanks

 

(so many North American Gen 2 owners ran out of gas due to the bladder, that even though the Gen 3 does not have a bladder) Toyota was very conservative, so owners did not run out of gas.

 

seems like that bladder was a very stupid idea... i've never been able to fit 10 gallons in my tank any time of year no matter how far i drove with it blinking. someone mentioned a tsb about defective gas gauges; is that for the early gen2? mine was made in late '03.

 

The bladder was very effective at reducing vapors, it just was not very user friendly. Mine did not prevent me from filling up, but I did run out of gas once, just 7 miles after the last pip started blinking. And each tank was full with a different quantity of gas in it, owners wanted consistency. Being in MS, I could get 11 gallons in mine in the summer, if it was blinking, but mostly it was just not worth it. I can't drive 6 hours without a 'rest break' anyway.

 

The float sensor inside the tank may got slightly stuck sometimes.
It may not float to the top and thus the last pip not lit.

 

I think the stupid bladder has disappeared in Gen 3.

 

thats what i've read; i guess toyota learns from their mistakes, unlike german and american manufacturers. i wish someone would make a retrofit tank to eliminate the bladder, or possibly figure out how to fit a non-usa tank without causing the emissions garbage to throw a hissy fit.

 

my gas meter is really odd, I drive 150~165 miles on a full tank before the first pip goes out then from there drops rather quickly. my last blinking pip i always fill back up immediately out of fear of getting stuck but it never takes more then 9.5 gallons

 

The minimum distance I have driven before running out is 7 miles, I have heard of is 5 miles, but that was not the actual driver.

 

That is well within the normal behavior of gas gauges, even outside of the Prius family.

Fuel gauges are generally just cheap indicators intended to keep drivers from running out of fuel. Several biases are built in to reduce complaints from non-geek, non-technical, and inattentive operators. These gauges often lack the precision, accuracy, and repeatability to provide the information that the more geeky and OCD operators desire.

 

We got 10.1 gallons in it last fill up, the Add Fuel ding first came up right as we pulled into the gas station. Was probably half a gallon more than we'd ever put in it at one time, before. Usually we're at 9.5 when it's on the flashing gauge.

 

My 2nd Gen Prius T Spirit (UK) does not have the dreaded bladder as in the US models, thank goodness, so I'm always pretty much guaranteed to get anything from 41 to 44 litres into the tank at fill up time. I've had the warning bleep go off and driven 18 miles to my preferred fuel station, but I was employing hypermiler techniques (while keeping up with the traffic), and also ensured I built up enough HV battery power to get me the last mile in event of fuel starvation.
I filled up with 43 litres that day, indicating that I could have theoretically gone further on 2 litres.

However, truth be told, you really don't want to completely exhaust your fuel supply - as the fuel actually COOLS the fuel pump which is situated INSIDE the fuel tank!!!
Kudos to the PC member on here who enlightened me - as I had no idea.

It will over heat and fail if not surrounded by the fuel acting as a coolant for its operation. The trouble is, if it fails (due to overheating), the whole tank will have to come out to replace it.
In fact, I believe it's actually part of the fuel tank itself - you may well be buying another fuel tank.

So it's a good idea to make a beeline for the nearest fuel station when the warning beep goes, regardless of what country model you drive.

How far can you go in the UK model? I'd budget to find a station while in hypermiler mode within 15 miles. You could probably go up to 40 miles or more, BUT do it in 15 miles. That leaves a reserve just in case your target station is closed, has run out of fuel, or is unreachable due to a massive traffic jam (caused by a terrible road traffic accident).
That means you can divert to a secondary location and still reach it safely.


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