Hi. I now own an 2007 Prius (Package #2, Silver Pine Mica, aka green). I've had it for a week. I love it. I like how I no longer have to mess around with a clutch and shifting. I love the smartkey system. I was a bit worried when the sales guy said the key fob was $400, but hopefully it would get lost so easy if I never take it out of my pocket. And of course it's really nice to get a new car. About me: 48 yo, married (24 years this year), two sons 20 & 17. I drove my 1987 Mazda 262 for the last 20 years. Now my 20 yo is driving it. My wife drives one of those dreaded SUVs, a 1992 Mazda Navaho. Some day I'll replace that too. She wants a mini-van but there isn't a hybrid van out yet (in the US). When we first bought the SUV we really did drive up in the mountains. But our mountain driving adventures are mostly over. It has been interesting to read all about your driving adventures and misadventures. Question: how many miles does it take to register on the gas gauge? I've driven 126 miles and it still says it's full. According to the display I'm getting 44.3 MPG so that's a bit over two gallons. I'd expect it register something on the gauge.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Vebev @ Jul 27 2007, 06:47 PM) [snapback]486427[/snapback]</div> You'll find that people around here refer to it as a "guess guage". Basically, when it indicates that gas is low, put gas in. Otherwise it doesn't tell you much except that you have enough gas for now.
Welcome, Vebev, to PriusChat and Prius-dom! Danny's advice is good, but let see if I can address your question a little more directly. The guess gauge is not linear. I've gone as much as 200 miles in warm weather, and others have reported more, before the first bar disappears. The Prius' flexible bladder adds to the uncertainty. Its flexibility and, therefore, its capacity, decrease in cold weather, so you likely can expect fewer miles before the first bar disappears. In any case, expect the next bars to drop off more quickly.
Yeah, I guess my answer wasn't very heavy on details. My experience has indicated that the first pip takes a long time to disappear. I'm certain I've used more than 2 gallons since my last fill-up, and yet that darn guage is still taunting me with "all full buddy". Once it disappears, the next several pips seem relatively linear though I haven't paid close attention. When it gets down to the last 2 pips I seem to see a slowdown again. 2 pips to one takes a while longer than I typically expect, and one pip to a flashing pip (has happend to me only twice so far). takes longer than I'd expect, but that may the "watched pot boiling affect". I'm watching it at one pip thinking about finding a gas station, worrying about it, and psychologically that may cause the distance to seem farther. I haven't actually tracked it. When/if that last pip flashes, I find the closest gas station I can and pay whatever they ask for the gas. I'm just not willing to push it any further than that. There are people around here who will tell you they got 100 miles after the last pip started flashing. There are others who will tell you they were stuck on the side of the road after 8 miles. I trust that if the pip isn't flashing and I'm not in the middle of the desert, I've got plenty of gas to get to a gas station at any time, but that's about it.
Danny's got it esentially right. I pretty much ignore the high end of the gauge - I just start to pay attention when it gets down to two bars or so left. The fact that the bladder fuel tank varys from car to car, and even in the same car with the weather temperature, makes it pretty hard to give you a "hard and fast" answer. When you see one bar - start thinking about gas. If it beeps and flashes at you - stop and get gas as soon as you can. I, and I've seen one other poster as well, usually use 10x whatever my current MPG is (an assumed capacity of 10 gallons) as a safe rule of thumb for when I need to stop. It has been consistent for my car. I know I can go a little past that (I've had to...), but I get REAL uncomfortable. I have heard from other posters that once their car beeps and starts flashing, they run out of gas VERY shortly afterwards. Mine seems to go a while longer. This, along with the (former) backup beep and the (bypassed) NAV system lockout, is one of my biggest peeves with Toyota over the Prius. Otherwise, it's GRRRREAT.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Danny Hamilton @ Jul 27 2007, 09:44 PM) [snapback]486473[/snapback]</div> ... Which of course is the way most gas gauges in any car work, not just Prius. Generally, it takes a long time to move off the Full mark, then goes down quicker from there. Really, it makes no difference, as frankly, the only important thing is to fill up before you run out. While some people really like to push the envelope to see how far they can go, the safest strategy is just to fill up when you have one or two (non-flashing) pips left on the gauge. Just my opinion, of course. B)
Welcome to PriusChat, and nice package! There has been a lot of posts on the "Guess Guage", as you might have noticed. In 6 tanks of gas, so far, my first pip dropped off anywhere from 79 to 222 miles. I think the bottom line is don't over fill the tank and get gas ASAP if the last pip starts blinking.
Thank you for the comments. It seems I have nothing to worry about, not that I was really all that worried about it.
I use one of my trip meters to really gauge mileage. I am getting about 43 MPG therefore I'll fill up at around 400 miles regardless what the guess gauge reads.
Vebev, welcome to the site. My turn to take the thread off topic. Have you checked your tp? Dealers are known for delivering cars with underinflated tires. Pump up to at least 42/40 and you may see a couple more mpg.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JimN @ Jul 28 2007, 06:08 PM) [snapback]486845[/snapback]</div> Hmm... Tire pressure... No I haven't. I had no idea one should. I'll have to look into this. My wife and I took a road trip today. Added 240 miles. The gas gauge is working fine. I've noted the comments about refill issues so I know to be careful the first time I fill it up. This car amazes me. I put it on cruise control and it just goes! No lugging down and dropping out of cruise at ever little hill like both my previous vehicles. It accelerates whenever I want. It has a lot more reserve power than I'm used to.
