Reset on Consumption Screen?

Marcia, the "miles" on the LCD does reset automatically to zero every time you refill the tank with gasoline (it may take a few seconds, but the miles is reset).

The cumulative MPG on that screen does not reset until you reset it. But it is possible to accidentally press the reset button when cleaning the window.

 

There was a lady a month or so ago who took her kids to the ice cream store and it reset on her also. We suggested she accidentally reset it, or somebody put gas in the tank and it didn't register until she drove it, but maybe there's something else. The car was cool, left it in the sun for awhile, and the gauge reset, kinda like your situation.

In any case, it's probably not too serious. You'll accidentally hit that reset button at some point anyway, so it's best to write down each tank (and maybe put it in an excel spreadsheet for tracking trends like us OCD engineers do).

 

Dealers and service departments are independently owned, as required by U.S. law. The policies of the service department will be their own, although you can bring some pressure to bear by complaining to Toyota corporate.

It sounds to me like you are borrowing trouble. The Prius does just fine in the winter, especially if you put decent tires on it. As for the consumption screen, there are several possible ways the system could reset. Most are unlikely unless you have a low 12V battery. While you will deny it, the odds are very good that you or someone else reset the screen, either on purpose or by accident. That is almost always the case.

Tom

 

Complaints work like that. People who are happy go about their days doing other things, and are generally too busy to bother with positive, glowing comments. Unhappy people, on the other hand, want to complain. That's true in general, and true with the Prius. For each complaint you read, there are a thousand good stories that never get posted. Take the complaints with a grain of salt.

In an area with real winter driving, I would use real snow or ice tires. Jayman can tell you about that with his 2004 Prius. For most of the U.S. you can get by without dedicated snow tires. I use Micheline MXV4+ Energy all-season tires and get around just fine, and I'll wager that our Michigan winters are as bad or worse than yours. The OEM Goodyear Integrity tires have very poor traction characteristics, so they don't do well in rain and snow. Some people have posted about using the OEM tires in adverse conditions and think they are fine, but I didn't like them. I swapped mine before the first winter. If I had it to do over again I would have swapped them at the dealership.

There are many threads on PC about winter tires. Most Prius drivers are looking for a good tire that doesn't hurt their mileage. Micheline and Nokian are favorites. Get a cup of coffee, search for tires, and spend some time reading. Google is better for searching than the built-in search function. Try this line in your goole search: tires siteriuschat.com to limit the search to PC.

Tom

 

I wouldn't bother with two sets, but that is a personal decision. One set of all-season tires should work where you live.

The MXV4+ Energy tires are no longer offered in the stock size for the Prius. The have been replaced by the MXV4+ Primacy tire, which is similar but not identical. The Primacy is supposed to work a little better on snow. Many PC members also report good results with the Nokian WR G2 tire, but I haven't tried them. Either are a good choice.

Tom

 

Hi Marcia,

This is a normal policy. The dealership cannot charge Toyota if a customer has a "no trouble found" issue, so the customer is put on notice that s/he will be charged instead. The policy discourages "frivolous" complaints, which is good from the dealer service dept's perspective.

Regarding your concern about Prius performance in the winter, I suggest you upgrade your tires before the snow season starts, as Goodyear Integrity tires do not enjoy a good reputation for snow traction. Nokian is a popular brand with owners who must drive in snow.

 

Hello Marcia;

Your Prius has a bladder tank. I am no expert on it's function but have read somewhere that it changes shape for climate changes. I thought it was rather weird but what isn't with the Pruis??? lol

Ray
2008 Prius pkg 6
Sacramento, Ca
formerly borned and raised in Pgh...

 

Hi Marcia,

The North American Prius has a flexible bladder within the fuel tank. The purpose of this bladder is to reduce hydrocarbon emissions into the atmosphere.

The gas gauge, as you've discovered, does not provide an accurate reading of remaining fuel. Hence many owners justifiably refer to it as the "guess" gauge. The practical result of having a bladder-equipped fuel tank and the "guess" gauge is that you do not know the exact capacity of the fuel tank, nor can you easily determine how much fuel is left.

11.9 gallons is a nominal rating. The actual capacity depends upon ambient temperature, when the gasoline pump being used decides to cut off, and how aggressive you are in continuing to pump gas beyond that point.

You ask how much fuel is left in the tank. If you've pumped 8.66 gallons, then the fuel tank should contain at least that much fuel (if you assume that the gasoline pump used is honest.)

If you reset the MFD after refueling, you can use that display to show miles driven and average mpg for the tank. This allows you to calculate how many gallons have been consumed. Subtract that from the 8.66 gallons pumped to determine a conservative estimate of remaining fuel. Also compare to the fuel gauge reading. To avoid running out of gas, refuel when you have a couple of gallons remaining in the tank, or when the fuel gauge shows two bars; whichever comes first.

 

Multi Functional Display MFD .

You better search & print a list of acromnyms, if you want to utilize this site and the very valuable info shared here. These guys are into acronyms.

 

MFD is the Multi Function Display, or the little computer screen in the middle of the dash.

No one at the dealership lets you know these things because most car salesmen are clueless.

Stop worrying about the horror stories. I can repeat my previous post if you want, but it's easier to recognize that the Prius is presently the most reliable car you can buy. Don't worry, be happy...

Tom

 

Marcia, congratulation on purchasing a fantastic car. You have made a good choice and the odds of a trouble free life together exceed those of any other car on the market, not just in my opinion but the opinion of most Prius owners.

I'm not sure why your consumption reset but for the purpose of tracking consumption I suggest you keep a record in a small note book of consumption for each tank. I suggest you record the fuel added against the distance travelled and also the average miles per gallon as displayed on the centre screen. Reset the screen on each fill and you will be able to more easily track improvements or if the prevailing conditions or the way you are driving this tank are having a negative affect on consumption. Keeping a lifetime average on the screen will mean you get an ever slowing response to changes because of the higher miles and gallons of fuel you are averaging.
I hope that makes sense.

 

MFD - Multi Function Display
ICE - Internal Combustion Engine
HSD - Hybrid Synergy Drive
PSD - Power Split Device
MG1 & MG2 - Motor Generator 1 & Motor Generator 2
HV Battery - High voltage or traction battery
Trac - Traction Control
VSC - Vehicle Stability Control

The list goes on. Search for acronyms.

Tom

 

Hi Marcia,

If you do a search for "out of gas" you'll find many stories from owners who had problems because they assumed that Prius behaves like their previously-owned vehicles. A recent PriusChat poll revealed that ~25% of respondents ran out of fuel at least once... Is that what you meant by "horror" stories?

The dealer staff did not tell you about the gas gauge, either because they do not know, or because they are not eager to provide you with reasons why not to buy the Prius.

If by "horror" stories you mean various reliability issues, note that PriusChat is a very active forum, so over time you'll be exposed to whatever problems exist. However, the % of owners with a given problem remains quite low. Hence Consumer Reports continues to report very high Prius owner satisfaction and loyalty.