Filling Prius gas tank

Well I'm still trying to figure out what the compliant is about. The gas gauge may not be indicative of a full tank but the gas gauge is accurate when it tells you the tank is nearly empty, the owners just ignore it. Complain to yourselves if you run out - you are the ones who ignored the gauge.

 

To each their own, but personally as soon as it gets down to one tick (non-blinking) is when I fill up. The other day I was down to one tick, and the station I normally go to was temporarily closed (!) - went down to blinking. Fortunately, there was a station about a half mile away from when it started blinking, but yeah, I was nervous.

 

The blink has been calibrated to trigger near the 8 gallon mark. I witness that on a regular basis. It provides a range of over 300 miles even in the dead of winter (close to 450 miles in the summer). So I certainly don't see why squeezing out greater distance is such a high priority for others either.

 

I got gas today for my 07 Base Prius for the first time. It was down to one blip so I thought I'd better stop. Could only get 7.8 gallons in. It stopped at 7.4 and I was able to get it up to 7.8 when I thought well it's enough. Drove 332 miles on 7.8 gallons of gas computes to about 42.5 mpg, which is pretty much exactly what the MFD says (it's actually around 43.8). So cool dude.

I wonder what the Toyota specs are for the flashing blip? Better go re-read my manual.

Dave

 

Yeah, when I filled my tank right after it started flashing, I only got a little less than 9 gallons in it (when I'm down to one tick, I usually put about 8.5 gallons in).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveLeePrius @ Nov 25 2006, 03:51 PM) [snapback]354047[/snapback]</div>

My 07 does exactly the same as your, also the MPG onf the MFD was very accurate with what I computed. I got more MPG when ever I look at the Enery/Consumption frequently.

 

My only problems are with most gas pumps clicking off. Most around MA are not designed to fill a tank with a bladder. I ignore them and fill the tank.

Tank empty I have filled with 12.4 gallons.
gauge flashing I get 10 gal in. gauge at 1 bar I get 9 gallons in. This happens all the time except when weather gets under 20 deg maybe it will take a bit less.

To prevent gas burping out I fill it like an oil tank and listen for the sound to change. Now I've found a couple of stations with better pump designs and don't even have to do that.

The flashing pip is very accurate but there is still some variation. When I ran out on purpose I got 50 miles after the flashing. Without spare gas on board I would get to a station and fill within 15 miles. This variation has been there on most of the the other cars I've had too. Depending how the car is tilted, how you accelerate or corner, etc the empty point can be triggered early. You can't expect to burn down to 1/10 of a gallon left unless you're in Kansas.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(gupchurch1349 @ Nov 25 2006, 03:10 PM) [snapback]354036[/snapback]</div>

Ha! If only. When the pump handle clicks off for me, I've put in about 1/2 teaspoon. Unless something new has been invented, I'm not going 300 miles on that!

My problem has never been running out of gas. I know when to fill up. My problem is the subject of this thread - filling it up. And "common sense" doesn't help at all.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Nov 26 2006, 05:33 PM) [snapback]354263[/snapback]</div>

Right on. Getting any gas at all in the tank is the real problem at a lot of stations.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tickwood @ Nov 26 2006, 02:55 PM) [snapback]354266[/snapback]</div>

No laughing, but how the hell do you open the hatch to even put gas in?

Prius owner for one day, and still a full tank

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prius happy @ Nov 26 2006, 06:14 PM) [snapback]354271[/snapback]</div>

There is a lever on hte floor, next to the driver's door, in front of the driver's seat. It has an icon of a gas pump. Pull the lever and the hatch will open.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Norm611 @ Nov 26 2006, 03:59 PM) [snapback]354282[/snapback]</div>

Ok! Thanks!

I shouldn't need gas for another week I suspect:-0 YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

 

One thing i discovered on my recent road trip: the problems some people have posted about trying to get gas into the tank. Now, i'm not talking about topping off (i haven't done that once in the Prius) - i'm talking about early shut off of the nozzle. It only happened at one station (and this was literally a first for me). i get out, put the nozzle in, squeeze it, and it gets in about 0.01 gallons and clicks off. i'm thinking "um, 400 miles, 43mpg....". anyways, since i didn't know the area and we had gotten down to a blinking pip before we found the station (long distance between exits, several of which didn't have posted stations), i had to sit there and baby the thing for 10 minutes to just get 9 gallons into the tank.

Needless to say, it was probably a problem with the pump.

Like others have posted here, i've never had a problem knowing when to fill up - in fact, i've never run out of gas in any car, including the 12k miles i've put on the Prius in the past 8 months. i find the gauge, while not very consistent with removing pips, at least reliable when it gets down to 1 pip. besides, in my normal commute, i'm very rarely further than a mile or two from a gas station, should i forget that i'm on one pip and get the flashing (only happened once so far, not counting the road trip). The big problem people have is trying to "out think" the fuel gauge - the classic "11.9 gallon tank times my current mileage means i have another 50 miles before i run out of gas... oh cr*p"

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(gupchurch1349 @ Nov 25 2006, 05:10 PM) [snapback]354036[/snapback]</div>

For me, this means having gassed up 111 times in the last 9.5 months rather than having gassed up the 66 times that I did.

Does 'a little common sense' say I should have made 45 additional trips to the pump over that 283 days?

Seems like that would be a stupid way to do it to me.

I have not run out of gas with my prius.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Nov 25 2006, 06:36 PM) [snapback]354043[/snapback]</div>

Same here, I generally fill up whenever I get to 1 or 2 pips left, which is usually Tuesday. I have only had the blinking pip twice in my 7 months of ownership, and both times went to the nearest station of preference to fill up. IMHO, I don't think the risk of possible damage/inconvenience/embarassment from running out of gas is worth the bragging rights about how far I went on a tank...

In Toronto, the golden rule is to always fill up at night, when it is 5-10 cents cheaper (per litre) than in the morning. Every day. Stupid games they play. <_<

 

Start keeping an excel spreadsheet. If you have a smartphone w/Excel it makes it real EZ to keep a log. You'll see your fillups increase in the summer and decrease in the winter. In my spreadsheet I track: date, trip ODM, # of pips, gallons required to fill, price, gallons in tank before fill (11.9- G to fill), overall mileage (ODM), and calculation for miles per gallon. I find the MFD is about 2 mpg over my manual calculation.

Yes the bladder is an issue but since I've started this spreadsheet 37 weeks ago I've come to understand this car a little better. I typically fill up @400~425 miles which is usually 2 pips left.

-B

 

I also fill up as soon as I hit one pip. For long trips I usually hit is between 2-3 pips since my bladder will not last the entire tank (8-10 hours).

I do not seem to have any problems filling up at stations. The fuel pump sometimes clicks off as soon as I turn it on but by changing the angle of the pump usually fixes this. It generally shuts off around 8-9 gal.

I track my mileage like a fiend and have not seen any particular pattern for winter and summer, but I have only had the ar two years. The first year my winter stats were in the toilet but this year they seem to be in the sky.

 

Obviously, the Prius fuel tank is unlike any other out there with the bladder design and the tight seal around the gas nozzle when filling. I've had different results on different fillups using the same nozzle at the same station.

I never try to fill above "one click" on the nozzle lock and the last time filling, I could not get the pump to stay on. I finally turned the nozzle 90 degrees (pump handle facing right, rather than down.) and it filled no problem. Just have to play with the nozzle a little bit... Different, but certainly not something that I can't get used to. Since the amount of fuel taken is so much less than other vehicles I've owned, fill time is basically the same even though flow rate is much less.