Ran out of gas

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Redpoint5, Feb 17, 2015.

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  1. Redpoint5

    Redpoint5 Senior Member

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    The wife and I went to the coast Sunday, and shortly after leaving Portland on highway 26, the last pip began to flash. I continued on, stopping at Cape Lookout State Park for a 5 mile hike, and then headed down to Pacific City to watch the sunset on top of the sand dune and drink an IPA. We then connected to highway 22 towards Salem, and I tried to get fuel at a Shell station in Grand Ronde, but couldn't figure out how to enter after circling around the station. Furious, I went on my way east on highway 22. Since I was anxious to get away from the stupid Shell station, I moved to the left lane to pass traffic and pushed into the accelerator. The car was extremely sluggish, barely passing traffic to the right. Glancing at the EV miles remaining, I saw the tenths falling off like seconds on a clock. I realized I was out of gas, although there was no obvious warning. I had 5 EV miles remaining.

    I turned to my wife and asked her to pull up Gasbuddy and find the nearest station. A minute later, I was traveling 45 mpg to conserve range, and she located one in Willamina. Turning off the seat heaters and climate control, I exited the highway towards Willamina and reduced my speed even further. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we pulled into the station. It was 5 cents cheaper per gallon, too. Looking at the EV remaining miles, we could have gone just 1.1 more miles before being stranded.

    It's a good thing I had decided to preserve the EV miles as a backup plan for running out of fuel. I was able to find out approximately how far the car can go after the last pip begins to flash. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 130 miles, although I'll run it out again to verify this number. This tank of fuel took us 586.4 miles on 10.191 gallons, for 58 mpg.

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    #1 Redpoint5, Feb 17, 2015
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2015
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  2. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    The Oregon Coast is beautiful isn't it?
    But, just fill up conveniently when the gauge get's low.

    IMO pushing the last bit of possible mobility out of the vehicle just isn't worth it.
     
    #2 The Electric Me, Feb 17, 2015
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  3. Prius 2007 user

    Prius 2007 user Junior Member

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    Thanks a lot for the pictures, they're great ! Next time I'm in Portland visiting with my daughter & grandson (a recent addition to the family) next summer I'm going to rent a Prius as I usually do and take them there, they'll have a great time (weather permitting of course) !
     
    #3 Prius 2007 user, Feb 17, 2015
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    cool!(y) surprised you didn't get the Christmas tree, but maybe that doesn't happen until ev runs out.
     
    #4 bisco, Feb 17, 2015
  5. gallde

    gallde Active Member

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    In 2010, I rented one in Seattle and dropped it in SF after a wonderful drive down the coast. Got 50+ MPG on the trip.

     
    #5 gallde, Feb 17, 2015
  6. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

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    Wow you might be the first one to run out of gas in a Prius Plug-in! Glad to hear nobody was hurt, and no damage was done. Did you have full EV mode power, or was the power pretty limited? Could you accelerate fine (again for EV mode) with range still left?
     
    #6 PriusC_Commuter, Feb 18, 2015
  7. Redpoint5

    Redpoint5 Senior Member

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    The strange thing is the car would only run in hybrid mode, even though I was out of gas (Or maybe the car switched to EV mode and I was confusing that with hybrid mode). When I switched to EV mode, the car wouldn't go. In hybrid mode, I had normal EV power. I had purposely reserved some EV range knowing that running out of fuel was a possibility. I had intended to leave the full EV range, but I couldn't resist using some of it during certain slow sections of road.

    I'll have to run the tank out again and observe more closely exactly how far I can go after the last pip flashes, and if the car switches to EV mode, or if it keeps me in hybrid.
     
    #7 Redpoint5, Feb 18, 2015
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Honest to God: can't believe I'm reading this. Go with The Electric Me's guidance, sin no more.
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Feb 18, 2015
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  9. Redpoint5

    Redpoint5 Senior Member

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    There's no other way to know where the edge is until you step over it. That's just the way I am.

    I'm headed to the hardware store to install a 240v 50 amp outlet in my garage. I've never done that before, but it shouldn't be too hard. If you don't ever hear from me again, you'll know why.
     
    #9 Redpoint5, Feb 18, 2015
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  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I replumbed some abs drain pipes under our kitchen sink yesterday, never done that before. Then tension was palpable as I daubed on the cement and brought pieces together, lol.

    I guess one man's ceiling is another man's floor; I tank up anytime convenient when it's gotten below the half mark.
     
    #10 Mendel Leisk, Feb 18, 2015
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2015
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  11. roflwaffle

    roflwaffle Member

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    My first turn of the wrenches was replacing the fuel filter on my mom's pickup a little over a decade ago. I was pretty nervous, but everything went well.

    Fast forward a decade+ and I've done plenty of home/auto/etc repairs, including engine/trans swaps through the CA referee, and a bunch of home repairs (just about everything). I'm looking to do a few DIY solar installations/energy efficiency retrofits and if everything goes well there, start building my own place that's energy independent and only requires water (assuming I don't have water rights and enough land to collect my own water).

    DIY can be pretty engaging...
     
    #11 roflwaffle, Feb 18, 2015
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  12. Jumpjet

    Jumpjet Member

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    Thanking you for taking it to the edge and giving us facts that are a bit blurred. Most of us wouldn't even attempt that but it's good to know. So it's safe to say that you should be able to get atleast 100 miles after the blinking pip starts?
     
    #12 Jumpjet, Feb 18, 2015
  13. Redpoint5

    Redpoint5 Senior Member

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    Not dead yet; my 240v project is on hold until I find out who I loaned my fish tape to.

    Instead I fixed a PCV hose and thermostat on a friend's 2002 VW Golf. Now I'm installing the junction boxes to the outlets and will finish the wiring sometime next week. About the same time I should have finished upgrading my Leaf EVSE to 240v, and will charge the Prius with it on my overkill 50 amp outlet.

    Easily 100 miles. When the last pip started flashing, I added about 100 miles to the odometer to be a reminder of when to get fuel. The flashing pip plus 100 miles put me at about 550 miles. Obviously I went a little further, running out at 586 miles. I'll note the exact mileage when the last pip starts flashing again, and then note the exact mileage when the fuel runs out.

    There should be almost no way to get less than 100 miles after the last pip flashes.
     
    #13 Redpoint5, Feb 18, 2015
  14. rxlawdude

    rxlawdude Active Member

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    I have observed the blinking pip starts when the EV/HV display changes from 7-something to 8 gallons used (catching it changing is the only time one knows if it's 8.0 or 8.99999 gal used). Knowing there is 10.6 gallon capacity, about 2 gallons of reserve sounds right. at 50mpg, 100 miles.
     
    #14 rxlawdude, Feb 18, 2015
  15. KennyGS

    KennyGS Senior Member

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    That's one of the reasons I hate lending out tools.

    Good luck BTW whenever you get to it. Typically common sense prevails. Also, there are probably some good youtube videos to watch just as an extra measure.
     
    #15 KennyGS, Feb 18, 2015
  16. markabele

    markabele owner of PiP, then Leaf, then Model 3

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    So ya, this just accidentally happened to me as well. I knew I was getting kinda low (I always push my tanks a bit). I tend to fill up right when it says I've done 9 gallons on the EV% screen. However, I guess the previous fill up I didn't get as much in as I thought I did. (Ended up putting 10.088 gallons in when I filled up) Luckily I had some EV miles left and was coming up on a filling station in a few miles. There were absolutely no warnings or anything, just kicked into all EV and acted sluggish like he said. I was on a 65 mph highway and could do nothing but decelerate going up hills, enough so that I had to put my hazard lights on.

    I think this is a terrible design. If I hadn't read this thread or know quite a bit about the car I might have pulled over and called a tow truck thinking my car wasn't working properly. In fact I did pull over once to restart it thinking that might help. It also makes me think the car wasn't truly out of gas, but just conserving the tiny amount it did have, but I could be wrong on that. There just needs to be a warning that comes up and says fill up immediately. Oh well, learned my lesson and will try to fill up a little more often now. :)
     
    #16 markabele, Feb 24, 2015
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  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i've been complaining about this for ten years. does anyone listen? noooooooooooooooooooo....................
     
    #17 bisco, Feb 24, 2015
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  18. -Rozi-

    -Rozi- Member

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    But there is! It's the blinking pip. :)
     
    #18 -Rozi-, Feb 25, 2015
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  19. Redpoint5

    Redpoint5 Senior Member

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    The last pip began flashing at 493 miles, and I told the wife not to refuel. I'll see exactly how far it goes (minus the EV miles) before it shuts down the engine.

    Strangely, the car didn't take the full volume of fuel when I ran it out last time, taking just 10.2 gallons of a theoretical capacity of 10.6 gallons. Perhaps the Prius shuts off the engine at the first instance of sputtering. Markabele also reports having filled with 10.1 gallons after running out, so my theory is that you can't utilize the full 10.6 gallon capacity.

    I'll find out how much of the capacity is usable so that the data can be made available for Ultragauge or Scangauge use. That will give a more accurate view of exactly how much usable fuel is remaining.
     
    #19 Redpoint5, Feb 25, 2015
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  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    With my parents '58 Beetle we used a stick: dip it in, see how much was wet. Never ran out of gas that I know of.

    Anyway yeah: running the tank down makes NO sense, doesn't help with anything. Seeing how far you can go on a tank doesn't improve your mpg, appreciably. It just is what it is: a game of chicken, with yourself. ;)

     
    #20 Mendel Leisk, Feb 25, 2015
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