Ran out of gas after 472 miles

We've been getting, what I think, is a lot of "Ran Out of Gas" threads. C'mon guys, get gas! The lowest I've ever gotten it to is 2 pips, but I usually fill up at 4. My wife drives the kids around in the car, I don't want to take the chance of them getting stuck somewhere.

 

I'm going to make my best attempt to track the lifetime real mpg (forget the mfd), but somehow the "Biggest baddest single tank" number has no intrigue...

I did get down to the last square just before filling up last time (I've only had 3 fillups)...

I thought when I got to the last little block on the gague, it would blink, make noise or tell me something... but.. nope.. nuthin...

What's the deal on that? Gotta drive another 20 to 50 miles before it blinks, then I have... 20 to 30 miles left?

Interesting... most vehicles will start yappin at you with 1/8 tank left. Prius has 1/10 left and no warnings or low fuel indication.

 

That "ok to push it" mindset is the very reason Toyota made the gauge blink sooner, figuring a non-emergency capacity of 9 gallons would be acceptable.

The blink means it's time to refill the tank. Don't ignore it... because sometimes you won't actually have as much gas available as you thought.

 

i get pretty good gas mileage but in winter i usually get gas at around 450 miles. last tank i had was alltime winter record and record for fillup quantity. unusual that you could only go 35 miles... i can go max 65 miles when bar blinks. i set trip B when it blinks and i have been using CANVIEW to track "miles to empty" and last bar starts blinking on average about 13%.

basing your mileage to empty on a full tank (your 472 miles) is a huge mistake. i blogged reasons why. shortfilling your tank takes mileage off the end of the tank, not the begining. to do what you are doing, you need to pay attention to when the first bar disappears. how much sense does that make?

 

The gas guage flashing is a good indicator to get gas. If you decide not to listen to it, you shouldn't complain about running out of gas if it does happen.

 

i'm sure you get the " get gas comment by now".. so i'm gonna ask.. do you not fill past the first click? if empty you may have to "burp" the blatter.. fill it up till it click.. rock the car a bit.. and you can usually put more gas in.. If you fill nice and slow, you should be able to fit at least 10 to 11 gallons in when cold (experimented when only 15 degrees out in Colorado)... but you have to take the time.. fill slow (so the bladder can slowly expand) and burp it so you get the air out of the top. You can also fill the tube... so over 12 gallons over all? but it's not recommened since it basically clogs your vapor circulation system-thingy-magigy < you like that huh? lol

happy driving

 

you will never get 11.9 gallons in that tank, no matter how long you stand at the gas pump.

unless your name is Ray Moore.

 

when the guys did that 106mpg run they put in 12.8..... not saying i ever did it.. but it has been done. It may take a good half hour though lol

 

but neither one did it in the winter time

 

lol... i know give a poor guy some hope :lol:

 

mini2, where are you located and what was the outdoor temp over the last couple of refills? Do you store the car outside at night? How about during the day, at work?

 

In all my other cars, I've filled up before E since the few times I've run out of gas in my life, it's always cost me hours of time and wasn't worth it.

After filling the Prius with only 6 gallons I've trained myself to wait until after the flashing PIP. If I'm going to stop for gas, I really like to put in 10 gallons, just to feel I actually added more than fumes.

Must say the flashing Pip REALLY REALLY bugs me though.. taunting

 

sigh... deja vu all over again.

 

Am I the only nearly paranoid fella here? Two pips, I get gas...Actually had a blinking pip the other day and nearly wet myself in fear of running out... :blink:

 

hehe.. amusing nah.. us conservative tree hugging hippies (had to throw in the stereotypicals) like to live on the edge. lol

I know i'm never too far away from a gas station, so running out isn't ever really a problem seeing my normal commute is from home to a shopping center where my local gas station is. it's only a 3 mile trip too.

 

Do you by chance live in Northern Virginia? I seen a Prius on the shoulder of Interstate 66 this weekend. Was going to stop but didn't see anybody there.

 

Ditto. On my first non-dealer fill-up I got down to 3 pips before I filled up. My second tank I realized that I was down to 2 and thought, I'll get gas on my way back into work (~10 miles from where I was) before it got down to 1. A few minutes later it was down to 1 pip and I immediately made a beeline for the nearest gas station. I never want to see a flashing pip. I just don't have the desire to push my luck that far.

 

I've actually a new game to play, instead of the how many miles per tank I can get.

It's called how many 400 mile tanks (350 in winter) can I get for under 20 bucks a fill.

It's especially fun when the next vehicle over is still going over 40 bucks after you've paid and gone.

Again, your mileage (cost) may vary.

 

Me too. The only time I got a blinking pip was when I was across the street from the gas station I was heading to.