Recently, my tank has not been filling all the way. I'm still getting 40 miles/gallon but even when I'm EMPTY (last bar blinking) I can only fill up about 7.5 gallons. I used to be able to put in close to 10 at that low of a tank. Any ideas?
Has it gotten colder where you drive? This sounds like classic cold weather bladder shrink. Seven to eight gallons is common in the winter where we live. If it's not that, you may need to have your tank inclinometer calibrated. It compensates for being on hills, and can get out of whack, making you think the tank is empty when it is not. Tom
LOOK under: KNOWLEDGE BASE ARTICLE DISCUSSIONS................... thread is: NO fix for the prius gas tank filling issues
I just had this problem two days ago after returning from a trip out of town and consuming just about all of the fuel in the tank. By estimation of miles driven vs MPG during the trip I calculated that I had consumed about 9 gallons since last fillup, yet the pump shut off at about 6 gallons. I knew it could take more so following the advise I got from a station attendant in the past, I pulled the nozzle back just to the point where it's barely at the filling hole and pulled the trigger as lightly as possible and gradually pulled more and more then slowly eased the nozzle into the filler neck and then finally it was pumping normally again and it stopped again at just over 9 gallons. I don't know what was causing the pump to shut off but it just wouldn't take anything once it reached around 6 gallons, maybe the fuel tank just can't vent as fast as it fills and builds up pressure from the air in the tank until it shuts off the pump thinking it's full.
