My Toyota dealer has my 04 Prius now and has ordered the parts to do the job - filler pipe and the gas gauge computer thing?? I am having second thoughts about having this done. I experienced no problems except was unable to get more than 6 or 7 gal of gas in at once (I fill up at 3 bars) My main concern was that at 2 bars it went to a single bar after only 2 miles - I never knew how long I could go before running out of gas so always filled up at 3 bars and approx. 350 miless travelled. I see on this forum that most of you seem to get well over 400 miles before filling up so..... after determining that my Prius vin was one of the affected vins I scheduled the fix. The dealer said they had to keep the car and it could not be driven until the part came in - this sounds strange but? Those of you that have had this fix done - Would you do it again? Any lasting problems? Have you noticed any improvement in tank capacity? accuracy of gas gauge? etc, etc. Thanks Terry
Terry, I do not think you should have the TSB done the way you do your fills. I seriously doubt you'll see a change/improvement if you intend to continue to fill at 3 bars. Clearly distance traveled is not a major issue for you and the TSB is mostly for those with inconsistant filling or early refill warning while still adequate fuel. If you are thinking that you might start driving to 1 bar or even 1 flashing bar and you still have issues about not getting enough fuel in (I doubt that will be the case with what you're currently reporting) then you can have the TSB done then.
It seems like the only reason Terry is filling up at 3 bars is because of the prior rapid drop from 2 bars to 1. 6-7 gallons at 3 bars is probably what I would get in my car. I've done my 2 fills shortly after 1 bar blinking. It does seem that I got about 130 miles before losing a bar when I picked the car up. Only about 90 the 2 times I filled it. Maybe the dealer crammed in more than I dare try. I don't need it to vomit on my shoes! ;-) Based on Evan's prior posts, I don't think they should have to keep the car while they wait for parts. Pretty sad that they let you schedule the repair as "we'll order the parts when we have the car" without telling you first. Maybe they already took it apart then figured out the parts weren't normal stock items on their shelves?
Yes, do it. As much as I hesitate to disagree with the wisdom of Evan, I'd go ahead and get the fix done. After all, can you be absolutely certain on the gauge) twice when I encountered a long, uphill stretch of road. Both times I lucked out by getting to a gas station quickly on electrical. But I had the TSB done and have been problem-free since. Long term peace of mind is worth short-term inconvenience in my book. YMMV.
Well, I called the service/parts dept and thought I was cancelling the process bsut when I gost there was told that they already had a confirmation that the part had been calibrated and sent so my choices were to go ahead and get it done or never be able to get it done. It seems the odometer has to be set to what is now on the car (This is why they have to keep the car and then order the part) makes sense when you think about it - odometer laws are very strict now. decided I had better get it done in case the minor problem I had got worse with age. Thanks to all who weighed in on this one. T.
forget what the gas gauge says and base your fillups on the tank mpg. if you are averaging 50 mpg, fill up at 500 miles and that will give you plenty of cushion.
here here I agree, or mpg times 11. I drive to 650 or more miles on almost every tank. You only have to push it really hard once and then fill it all the way up to know how much gas your car will hold. This has been my experience and others have had very different experiences. Push it hard once, with a gallon of gas in the back just in case, and then just gauge by your current mileage after that.
There may be a problem with that strategy: with winter coming on, cold weather could cause those bladders to shrink and gradually reduce the tank capacity. If you fill up early a few times as winter sets in, you might not realize how much the capacity has shrunk, and have considerably less gas than you think. I'm still considering the fix, but don't want to be without the car for two weeks. I may ask if they can give a higher odo reading, order the parts, and then let me take the car in when I get close to that reading. As long as I am under, what harm is there? Claiming lower mileage than actual is fraud, but claiming higher mileage than actual hurts nobody but me.
Hey if you have to be without the car for so long aren't they supposed to give you a rental under the warranty?
Assuming you have 11.9 to start! Unless you suck all the gas out of the tank then put in 11.9, you really don't know how much is in there do you? I'm a bit shy about trusting how much I have after "1 bar blinking" especially after fill #2 was all "dribble in". I might get more brave if I get a consistent auto shutoff. For instance, my wife's Subaru is REALLY close to full when the pump auto stops. Round to the next $0.05. I could get AT LEAST another $0.50 in my Odyssey. I know when they are full
My dealer had me come in and report the problem, then took note of my mileage and sent me home till the parts came in. Then they had me come back, take a loaner car home and pick up my car the next day. The mileage on the "New" odomoter was what was reported (and about 500 miles less than actural). The rental they gave me was a new camry (with 11000 miles on it) and I preferred my Prius. The camry seemed to get about an average of 25 MPG.
I don't get it? What's the problem here? Can someone post a link to a topic where this problem is discussed? I've noticed my gauge is weird. It takes like 300 miles to get to 1/2 a tank and then its down to 1 bar in less than 100 more miles. I've just been filling up at 400 miles per tank. The car should get more... I just haven't pushed it yet.
The dealer only had to hold my Prius for 2 days and gave me a 2004 Camery (I definitly like the prius better) The fix was accomplished and on the drive home noticed no problems, except.... the reverse beep and seat belt warning bells were back in place - should be an easy matter to eliminate them once again. Also noticed that I have lost the quick up/down feature for the drivers window. Will take it in next week to get this fixed. Hope there are no other problems as a result of this fix.
I understand the first 2 as they were reset to the default. However, auto up/down on the driver's window is also the default. Hmm.
This happens when the 12v battery is detached. You needn't take it in, you can easily resolve it yourself. Push the button to put the window down, when it is down continue to hold the button...I think 5 seconds is long enough, but do it for 15 to be sure. The, pull the button to put the window all the way up...when it gets to the top continue to hold the button for 15 seconds (again, 5 may be enought if you want to try that first). Then see if it works. I believe that is all that's involved. Definately worth trying that and saving yourself a pointless trip to the dealer.
Yes you should do it. The fuel gage is inaccurate and Toyota has come up with a fix. I had it done and it was painless and the gage was more accurate now. Tollhouse
Thanks Evan for the advice on restoring the auto window feature. Worked like a charm. Everything else is working fine and it looks like I may be able to go a few more miles before having to fill up.
