Hello all, I was hoping to get some clarity on the issue of range on a 2013 Prius 2. I have a long commute and one of the reasons I bought the Prius was so as to only have to fill up the tank every 4 days (you'd be amazed how much of a selling point that is after filling the tank every other day for over a decade). My calculation was 11.9 gal tank x 48.5mpg (based on the published mpgs and my driving mix) would give me 577 miles, more than the ~500 I needed. So far I average ~50.5mpg (based on miles driven/gas pumped [although the mpg display has my average at 52.1mpg]), but, by the time I get to the gas station, the fuel gauge has been flashing and the cruising range display is between 0 and 20 miles, but I only end up pumping around 9.5 gals, so my question is what is behing this: A: Does the Prius tank have a shallow close so the pump shuts off leaving 2 gals of empty space? B: Does the Prius have an ultraconservative fuel gauge/cruising range, leaving 2 full gallons in reserve (around 100 miles)? C: Do the fuel gauge/cruising range take a while to mature and will eventually give me the correct numbers? If so, about when? D: None of the above, my car is just weird, I should take it to the dealer to look into it. Thanks in advance, /s/ Harry
No its a Prius, not a Prius C, I know that one is ~9.5 gals, that's why I did not get it. It would only give me 3 days range (the same I could get from the Corrolla for less with better incentives)
You'll never be able to use the rated capacity of the tank. Are you topping off to the top of the filler neck ?
So that would make it option A. But a full 2+ gals, that seems like a really shallow close (I could understand 1 gal, that was about right for my old Matrix), when I first searched the forums I did not see any posts along that line. Well, if this turns out to be the case, then it is just a matter of pumping 1 gal after the first pump close and we are good to go. I just thought that there were already ~2 gals in the tank that never got counted so I did not force the pump.
welcome to priuschat harold! it's option B, the difference between what you pump, and the tank capacity rating is toyota's 'safety reserve'. you can drive another 50 -100 miles, but at some point, you're going to risk running out of fuel before you reach a gas station. your original plan of mpg times total fuel was using every drop and a bit unrealistic. all the best!
I've never been able to use the full fuel capacity in any vehicle I've owned, and didn't expect to. There's always a little fuel left in the tank even when the fuel pump starts sucking air. The worst example was the diesel truck I recently traded in. The theoretical capacity was 37 gallons, but that was split between 2 tanks. With 2-3 gallons unusable in each tank, that meant I had an actual capacity of about 32 gallons. This gave me about the same real range as my new Prius.
I vote for Option [B: Does the Prius have an ultraconservative fuel gauge/cruising range, leaving 2 full gallons in reserve (around 100 miles)]. But add the side comment that this is not ultraconservative, rather a normal industry practice to prevent angry driver complaints about running out of gas when the gauge still displayed fuel remaining, or going dry in unfavorable conditions on trips that the car successfully completed in other conditions. The driver is issued plenty of warning, so running dry isn't the car maker's fault. For a typical fuel range, read the base post of this long thread: [WARNING] Running out of gas (Gen III). The real story of how the car quit is discovered deep in the thread, but the 'typical' numbers you want are in the OP. Beware that gauges vary among individual cars, and you could have drawn one of the short straws, so test it only when failure is not hazardous, not seriously inconvenient, and not terribly embarrassing. I have intentionally run only one car (my last carbureted engine) out of gas, and it went about 120 miles past 'E'. Each subsequent car (including a 2010 Prius) has gone at least 40 miles past 'E' or the last warning, and refill volumes suggest each should have gone roughly 100 miles over. Last week I took my 2012 to 68 miles past DTE=0, or a bit over 90 miles past the flashing pip, and it took 11.2 gallons to the first click of the pump nozzle. Not all cars have this generous fuel margin. The very first tank of the very first car I actually owned, accidentally ran dry with the gauge still slightly above 'E'. This happened shortly after my parents seriously teased me about being worried about running one of their cars below E, when they switched cars on me at the last minute before a special outing.
Thank you all for your replies, and thanks fuzzy1 for the link, I guess my search phrasing wasn't so good since I missed that one. For all the "don't run out of fuel, idiot (not stated, but implied)" recommendations, don't worry, I have no plans on driving 100 miles on 0 cruising range , I just wanted to makes sure 5 to 10 miles would be OK. As an aside, when I fuel up, my cruising range is usually 570-590 miles (which would make sense based my original calculations), yet it drops precipitously (to the tune of 5+ range miles per driven miles) until it settles around 500-520. I always figured since the measure did not seem all that exact, I had some slack to play with (which is why options B & C came up). /s/ Harry
Be aware that if you are reading fuel economy off the screen, it could be up to 10% optimistic of what is actual. My anecdotal survey of all cars I've ever owned is that the low fuel light comes on when there is about 2 gallons left in the tank regardless of the vehicle. I subtract the amount of fuel I fill up from rated capacity. On a 50 mpg Prius, it seems conservative. But on my 20 mpg Frontier, watch out, next gas station is 35 miles away. Perhaps the 2 gallons of fuel is to keep the fuel pump properly lubricated? Anyway, I know exactly how you feel. I was filling up every 3 days with my 105 mile commute in my Civic. Then I started driving in the right lanes and got to 4 days every tank. But the only way I made 5 days was sweating on the last day as the low fuel light blinked. My PiP is now going on 7 days. I've driven up to 60 miles with the low fuel light blinking. It took barely 9 gallons. It's a wonderful feeling and I wonder if I can make it 2 full weeks.
