"you need gas"

yes, you are making perfect sense. Once it starts blinking u probably have anywhere from 30 to 50 miles left....give or take ;p.

 

You, I was searching all through the menus today trying to find a place where estimates the mileage left on the tank. I guess there is not one? Now that is one thing I will miss from my Explorer.

I'll try to watch for when the blinking starts.

 

When the last pip is blinking and the "Add Fuel" comes up, it may not be 30 to 50. It may be only 5. I fill up at 2 pips.

 

I just did my first fillup, I was down to one (not yet flashing) pip. I got just over nine gallons in.

 

<_< The nickname "GUESS GAUGE" is very appropriate for the Prius' fuel level indicator. For nearly 3 years, and in my 2004 traded for a 2007 Prius, I have almost always added fuel at one UNBLINKING pip and have never fun out of fuel.

Attempts to assign amount of fuel per pip can not be accurate - the GUESS GAUGE is not linear and ambient temperature affects the flexibility of the fuel bladder.

 

The last pip does not start blinking immediately. When the last pip appears you have ???? fuel remaining. Later, it will start to blink and you have ?? fuel remaining. Some people routinely get 30 miles more. Some have run out of fuel after 5 miles. Best rule: fill up whenever convenient once it's down to 2 pips. Fill up at the very first possible opportunity when it gets to one pip. Fill up NOW if the last pip starts to blink.

Don't try to push it. What's the point? You may get to come back here and brag about how much gas you got in, but is it worth the risk of running out of gas?

Also, DON'T try to force more gas in than it wants to take. You may be able to squeeze another gallon in. But in doing so you also may damage the vapor-recovery system. It is not worth damaging that, and spewing out more pollution as a result, just to be able to brag that you got more miles on a tank.

It's a great car. Have fun with it, but don't try to push its fuel or range limits.

 

You will have to go to a gast station sometime, might as well do it while you still have gas, instead of having to walk a few miles to the nearest gas station. Dont push it.

 

The fuel pump need gas to cool it,when you run low the pump dont cool and will burn up.The computer
knows you ran out of gas and you will pay to have it replaced.Easy job to replace pump but the hard
part is to remove the gas tank to get the pump out. good luck

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(desertbriez @ May 31 2007, 09:40 AM) [snapback]452618[/snapback]</div>

When the last pip starts to blink there will be an audible tone and "Add Fuel" will appear briefly, then disappear, and the blinking of the last pip is the last warning you will have. At that point you may have 20 or 30 miles, or you may have 5. I think I've gone 20 on one occasion (in the very early days we thought we could count on 30) but each car is different. The flexible gas bladder prevents evaporative emissions, and so makes the car cleaner than it would otherwise be, but it plays havoc with any sort of reliability in regards to gas quantity, both when filling and when running low.

On the other hand, my ZAP Xebra has nothing but a voltmeter to try to judge how much juice remains, and it goes way down when you step on the electron pedal, and then back up when you coast or stop. So it's even more of a guessing game than is the Prius.

(NOTE: The pics in the above link are not yet showing. Danny is still migrating files from the old server.)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(duanerw @ May 31 2007, 03:31 PM) [snapback]452742[/snapback]</div>

you can't remove the pump from the tank. i bet the pictures are all down right now (with the server change and all) from our thread but search for "gas bladder exposed" to see how it's all put together. the car will cut you off before you kill the fuel pump so no worries about that, just the whole walking for gas from who knows where.

you've gotta have the music really cranked to not hear the beep that accompanies the "add fuel" warning on the mfd.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ May 31 2007, 10:43 PM) [snapback]453028[/snapback]</div>

I am thinking of buying a small gas can, filling it up with a gallon of gas, and securing it carefully in the back of the car. Then I will drive until the last pip starts to blink, and measure how long until the car runs out of gas, so I can calibrate the gauge. I had a neighbor who was an engineer, and every one of his cars had a paper insert at the end of the gas gauge to tell him "the real amt of gas remaining".

Dave

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveLeePrius @ May 31 2007, 08:09 PM) [snapback]453046[/snapback]</div>

I've thought of a "dip stick" type gauge too. The problem is that with the bladder, even that is probably not going to be consistent. However, it you've gotten to the gas shutoff point, it will may give an idea about consistency between "fills".

Dave M.

 

Adjusted for temps I got 70 miles on the blinking pip in 70+ degree F weather and 20 miles for +30 degrees F and lower weather. anywhere from 10.3 gallons to 6.4 gallons is a fill up when the last blinking pip starts. 53 MPG versus 39 MPG. 400 mile tanks versus 280 mile tanks.

You can figure out the cold fill up/MPG versus the warm fill up/MPG using the above numbers... it's that drastic.

the car's smart, it'll tell you and show you and keep reminding you you get gas. YMMV.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(desertbriez @ May 31 2007, 10:40 AM) [snapback]452618[/snapback]</div>

I have never seen "add fuel" or heard a beeb on mine so who knows

 

yeah, I've come to rationalize it like this, since the car is so awesome: Cheaper but more frequent winter fill-ups, spendier but less frequent summer fill-ups.

either way the car lets u know when to fill. you can challange those reminders, but it doesn't care if u ignore them and run out. it's still a machine. yet, I can't help but see it as smiling and happy as it uses less and pollutes less!