Hi! I am a new prius owner (2008, Barcelona Red). I am really enjoying the car - the ride, the styling, the gas mileage. My other car is a SUV that gets 15mpg, and the prius got 42.9 on the first tank - Yahoo!! I have a question about the first fill up. I was down to 2 pips and having read that running too low on gas is a bad thing, I decided to go ahead and fill up. However the pump stopped at 4.35 gallons. I turned the car on and saw that 4 more pips showed as full. I assumed that the pump might be malfunctioning and switched to another pump at the same station, and was able to fill 2.02 more gallons in before this one stopped. Not wanting to overfill - I stopped. I turned the car on and saw that now all the pips show as full. I did look up some of the old posts (from 2005) on this issue. I am wondering if it is still an issue for newer models. Or do I need to contact the dealer? Sorry about the length of this post!
It's not an issue with the newer models. sometimes you get a pump that is too sensitive and it will kick off prematurely. It's better that than too late. As for the gas gauge pips, it takes a few minutes before they register, so don't be surprised after a fill up if the gauge only shows 3/4s full for a bit. It will catch up. Tom
Push the nozzle right in, fill at slow speed and if it clicks off once maybe try just one more time after giving it a few seconds to settle down if you think it should take more but never more than 1 extra try. Only fill with the car powered down, it readies the vehicle for refilling.
In my experience, I have noticed that the problem of premature gas pump shut-offs might be related to not opening and removing the gas cap very slowly. You almost have to do it as if you're in slow motion!
