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Prius C Shut Off with One Bar of Fuel

Discussion in 'Prius c Main Forum' started by Silver101, May 21, 2013.

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  1. Silver101

    Silver101 Junior Member

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    I was driving my Prius C on Sunday. The fuel warning was on and I had one bar of fuel left. I was able to drive about 100 miles after the warning light turned on before. My destination was about 20 miles away, so I thought it's OK and decided to fuel up on my returning trip.

    However, it did not go well as planned. The Prius C shut off before I reached my destination and the fuel gauge is not completely empty yet. I could not start my Prius C and my only option is to call the road side assistance and had it towed to a dealership.

    The dealership examined the car and told me it's running out of fuel even though the fuel gauge is not depleted yet. They put some gas in it and reset the system. The car was back to normal afterwards. The service is not covered under warranty. Fortunately, they only charged me half hour labor plus the fuel.

    The moral of the story is that you'd better fuel up when you see the warning light. Your Prius C could shut off even with one bar of fuel.
     
    #1 Silver101, May 21, 2013
    JMD likes this.
  2. DKTVAV

    DKTVAV Active Member

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    Similar thread.
     
    #2 DKTVAV, May 21, 2013
  3. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    One more reason I refill at 2 bars. Why take a chance? You never know when you may need to take an unexpected trip.
     
    #3 jdcollins5, May 21, 2013
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  4. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    The fuel bar starts flashing with the last bar of fuel. That is the last bar of fuel... there is no bars after that. It doesn't show with 0 bars when there is no gas. Even when you are slap out of fuel it will still flash with 1 bar.
     
    #4 ztanos, May 21, 2013
  5. Silver101

    Silver101 Junior Member

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    Well, it does show zero bar. I have seen it before. That's why I thought I could drive a little more. BIG MISTAKE.
     
    #5 Silver101, May 22, 2013
  6. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    I've put over 9.5 gallons in my tank and never seen it completely empty before... you only have ~1.5 gallons after the light comes on, so you have to pay attention to your driving style... I usually only estimate ~1 gallon, but, if you are willing to drive more than that... you should see the thread about the guy who ran out and blamed it on the car... the most I have pushed it is 75 miles after the light came on... that was on my 9.6 gallon tank. So kudos for being able to go over 100 miles with the light on.

    I'm looking at your fuelly and was trying to figure out which tank you ran out on... but I don't see any indication as to which it was. Was it the 5/28 tank?
     
    #6 ztanos, May 22, 2013
  7. Silver101

    Silver101 Junior Member

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    I have not updated Fuelly for a long time. That info is from last year.
     
    #7 Silver101, May 22, 2013
  8. R Scneider

    R Scneider Member

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    I did 50 miles after the light came on. When I fueled up it was over 8.5 galons 1st click. Never again.
    This car is not like my 09 civic that you can drive with no bars and still have 3 gallons of gas.
     
    #8 R Scneider, May 22, 2013
  9. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    You still had a gallon left. This car has a 9.5 gallon tank.
     
    #9 ztanos, May 22, 2013
  10. Image Group

    Image Group Bounding Overwatch to Grandmothers house we go!

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    I have trained myself that at 2 bars...GAS UP! As a new Hybrid owner is scares me to run this thing out of gas. All I read are horror stories. I was curious though if there was some sort of warning when you were low on fuel.
     
    #10 Image Group, May 25, 2013
  11. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    It blinks the last bar and tells you that you have 0 miles left. At this point you still have ~1.5 gallons of gas.
     
    #11 ztanos, May 27, 2013
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    op, how many miles had you driven when it shut off?
     
    #12 bisco, May 27, 2013
  13. Mr Gee

    Mr Gee Member

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    last week, refilled tank with 34.5 litres. 1.5 litres left?
     
    #13 Mr Gee, May 30, 2013
  14. Netineti

    Netineti Member

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    Oh crap, mine came on last night. I'll fill up before work....
     
    #14 Netineti, May 30, 2013
  15. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    Give or take.
     
    #15 ztanos, May 30, 2013
  16. Mr Gee

    Mr Gee Member

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    give or take. supposed to be a 36 litre tank.

    500km travelled
     
    #16 Mr Gee, Jun 2, 2013
  17. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    When the bar starts flashing I change the odometer to miles left in the tank and get gas as close as i can. Even I think that is cutting it close.
     
    #17 JMD, Jun 2, 2013
  18. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    and that's smart. We don't need people creating more threads about running out... :D But you have over 1 gallon left, so depending on your driving style at the time, you could go pretty far.
     
    #18 ztanos, Jun 2, 2013
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  19. iheartnewwave

    iheartnewwave Junior Member

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    I've only fueled up once so far on my new car. It got down to one bar, but there was plenty of fuel left from what I could tell. I'll probably always make a point to fill up before the warning light ever comes on. After reading these posts about people having their vehicles shut off, I'm not taking any chances. I don't see any good reason to just keep waiting longer and longer to get gas. It's much more convenient to stop and fill up than to have your car shut off and have to have it towed to a dealer and pay to have it reset. Not like we have to fill up every week anyway unless driving tons of miles. ;)
     
    #19 iheartnewwave, Jun 2, 2013
  20. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    Which some of us do... ;)
     
    #20 ztanos, Jun 2, 2013
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