As one who will soon be a Prius owner I have hundreds of questions, some a bit silly like this one, but it does peak my curiosity. I would think the main reason most here have bought a Prius is to take advantage of the fuel economy, and one of the fun things about driving the car is to see how high you can get that mpg. That being said I'm wondering if anyone, in pursuit of that high number, has literally run out of gas. And if you did, how many miles did you squeeze out of those 11.9 gallons? I know many have registered some impressive stats with probably less than a gallon left, but I'd like to know if anyone got as far as bone dry. You know, the situation where you're trekking to the gas station with a gas can.
oh ya. but i wasn't pursuing fuel economy, i was just dumb.and you don't have to run your tank dry in pursuit of fuel economy, it's measured in miles per gallon, not miles per tank.
Read the first post of this long thread: [WARNING] Running out of gas (Gen III) Many drivers have run out, but the predominate scenario seems to be the same type of 'accident' as with traditional cars, not attempts for super long tanks.
Yep - Been there, done that - electric took me about another mile and the station was another 30 yards ahead! (uphill grade). Nice guy in a pickup had a 5 gal can & poured it in - Wouldn't take any pay - I'm sure he enjoyed telling his buddies!
Note that the full story about the warning lights and shutdown isn't discovered until half way through that very long thread. But everything you really need to know is in the very first post.
Priuses have a working 2-gallon reserve. (Edit: G3 Priuses, that is.....) When the Beeeeeeeep goes off, you're at "Distance-to-Empty" (DTE) minus 10 (or 20, I can't remember). When this happens, you still have about two gallons of fuel left in the tank. This means that one CAN run out of gas in a Prius, but you have to kinda work at it a little. Good Luck!
Yeah it's happened. Not to me. Unless it's a Sci-Fi...Horror Movie situation, The Prius gives you plenty of warning, so I have no desire to test the utmost outer limits of ICE fuel burning. I've had 500+ Mile tanks, when my MPG was reading 54+ mpg...but when my distance to empty reaches zero, without panic...I then look to refuel. Some have run out in the name of scientific study. I'll leave it to them.
When the fuel level starts blinking, I have about 2.1 gallons remaining. So I reset the B trip meter and calculate the remaining fuel by dividing the miles by the MPG. So I'll usually go another day or so before filling up or put a 1 gallon spare can in the back if I plan to empty the tank. Oh my background: ~40 in the NHW11 - very good error lights when the last gas burns up ~10 in the ZVW30 - poor error lights, the power arrows go away when the last gas burns up FYI, I've also run everything from straight gas through E85. The car works OK without an error code at E50 but the mileage suffers. If E85 were priced at energy content, the cost per mile would be the same. Guess how I got rid of the previous tank residuals during testing. Bob Wilson
So many members here have tested and commented on different fuel grades, but very few have mentioned ridding the previous tank residuals before adding the next fuel. A couple even left in a huff after I asked how they cleared it. One didn't even have enough lifetime miles on the car to have cleared it by burning it off.
I realize this has virtually no practical value but I'm wondering if it is at least possible. If one ran out of gas and then depleted the battery could you push the car and re-energize the battery?
If done before the battery is depleted enough to cause warnings and shutdown, downhill regeneration should still work. But on flat ground, the forces and energies involved would greatly exceed what ordinary human muscle power can produce. But if car has already shut down, all bets are off. I have significant doubts that this would enable a sufficient reboot to get regeneration going.
Yes but there are risks. The car has to be in "D" and it will try to run-over any or thing in front as the charge is put on. This safety hazard is not theory: "Dingy" towing experiments. Bob Wilson
