Electric Only?

It hasn't happened to me (yet) but I think the answer is "only for a very short distance - maybe 500 yards?"

 

no, no and NO.

do NOT do this. you can kill your hybrid battery, and trust me it won't be covered by your warranty because it falls under negligence/abuse. (my husband is a dealer tech, and has seen one case of this.)

the Prius is like any other car. if you run out of gas... stop on the side of the road and get some more gas. or better yet... don't run out of gas at all.

i don't intend to sound harsh, but i want to make this very clear to you and anyone else who might be reading this. by running in EV after running out of gas you are gambling with $3000-4000 of your own money. sure, you might win once or twice, and some people have... but you might lose too, so please be careful and make sure there's always gas in the car.

 

Yeah, it's a little hard to figure out why people is pushing so far. The manual recommends to not go under 1/4 tank, and modern fuel pumps are cooled by the fuel so when you go low the fuel pump might not be cooled as well. That said I tend to drive until I get a low fuel warning and then fill-up as soon as possible mostly because I hate to fill up.

I guess we all need a hobby and for some it's maximizing the mileage on a tank. Me? I'm more interesting at maximizing lifetime average for this car (hope to end up over 50).

 

I am doubtful that the HV battery would be damaged, since the ECU will cut it off before it hits a damagingly low SOC.

 

saw it happen... but it was an 01. i know they've improved since the 1g but it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

Kinda like Russian Roulette! Anyone want to try it for themselves?

 

I don't think a safeguard such as you imagine exists. It has been a while since I read the manual, but I believe it explicitly warns against driving without petrol, due to the risk of HV damage.

A recent thread on one of the Yahoo Prius groups concerned a fellow who drained his HV inadvertently after multiple starts with a cracked manifold. No dealer in Canada was able to recharge the HV; he eventually did it himself by dismantling the battery (!). Jury is still out if damage to the HV has occured.

I routinely drain the tank until the 'Add Fuel' warning, but then fill up within a few miles and have only put more than 10 gallons in twice.

Of all the fun things one can do with a Prius, this is NOT one of them.

 

The protection has been posted about several times, though I can't find one at the moment. But I also remember posts about the shockingly small number of HV chargers in the states (single digit number), which would mean many dealers can't recharge it. An owner might be told there is no choice ut a new battery by a dealer who doesn't want to bother negotiating for use of the charger.

 

You betcha! I do it weekly with a $30,000 - $50,000 battery pack (depending on who you ask) in an irreplaceable vehicle. I've driven my Rav4EV until it simply wouldn't go any more. Turned it off, turned it back on, drove another three miles, and repeated. I drain my pack at least weekely, and after three years, 30,000 miles, my range is as good - if not better - than it was when new. The guy I'm currently working for does this as well, and has 80k miles with no loss of range. The Rav uses the same NiMH battery chemistry as the Prius - just without the pesky SOC safeguards. The Rav, of course, was designed for "charge depletion" while the Prius was not.

No, I don't have a Prius (yet), no I don't plan on driving on battery power alone after the gas runs out... but my personal experience with these batteries at least gives me a bit of confidence in that area.

 

one charger per region, in the hands of the regional rep. it's really up to the regional rep whether or not they'll even try the charger- don't know what the criteria are or if it's just personal judgement. from what i've heard, they don't like to do it, and have very picky requirements for the setup of the attempted charge.

 

It's absolutely nuts to let your Prius tank drain, thinking you can make it on electric power. Its a Hybrid SYNERGY Drive. Look up synergy in the dictionary - the two energy sources need to work TOGETHER. There are some hybrids that are made a little differently and may be able to handle such a happenstance - but in the prius NO !!

 

Mine took me most of a mile (I would guess) when I ran out of gas.

 

Judging by the replies, a lot of uniformed guessing's done in this forum.

 

I hate to gas up, too, because of the cost and waiting in line.

With the Prius, I gas up when it's convenient. Once every week or so I gas up when I hit Starbuck's in the morning. The line at CostCo is nil and I drive right up to a pump. Then, because I haven't drained the tank, it usually costs me only $10-15 to top it off.

I LOVE this car!

If I ran out on the freeway, I'd definitely go as far as the shoulder. Then I'd call AAA.

Jan

 

I've run out of gas 3 times. I like to test the limits of the Prius. The ECU will prevent the battery from losing complete SOC. It cuts power when it hits 1 bar on the MFD, and you might be able to start it up again, but only because the ICE got some of the last bits of fuel in the tank. The SOC of the battery is highly regulated and it will not allow the car to drop below a certain point; it still needs enough power to attempt starting the ICE for when you refuel.

 

so do you have an informed opinion or just wanted to complain?

 

Does this mean you really only have a Eight gallon tank.
and how many gallons are left after the light comes on.
I never stopped for fuel yet in my new Prius.

 

Is there any place that sells a 1-litre (1/4 gallon), sealed fuel container? I want to have one in the storage pocket in the trunk in case I decide to push the fuel tank again