The Toyota dealer service department infomed me today that there are approximately 3 gallons of gas remaining in the tank of my '04 when the last bar on the fuel guage starts blinking. And that it is intended by the manufacturer as a safety feature to reduce the chances of running out of gas. This seems to be confirmed by the fact that I can only add 8 gallons at this point before the pump clicks off. However, I read in this forum that there is only 1 gallon left when the guage starts to blink. Which is correct? At 54 mpg, can I go another 50 miles - or another 150 miles on "empty?"
Vernon, you'll find tons of posts in Priuschat addressing the woes of the gas tank/fuel guage issue. Bottom line is, the guage is not linear. There is no way to accurate equate the number of bars showing on the guage to be a certain number of gallons remaining.
I routinely can put in 9½ - 10 gallons into the car when showing the last bar not blinking. I refuel as soon as I get to my gas station. If I'm down to two bars and have my commute (88 miles), I fill up first.
Hi. This is my first time in this forum. I've just bought a 2005 and have the same 8-8.5 gallon head-scratching question. Does this mean that I should not count on any particular reserve amount when the light starts blinking?
Vernon, mypri, It is possible that the fuel tank/system inclination sensors need to be recalibrated: Inclination Sensors. There are two inclination sensors located in the [fuel] meter ECU to detect vehicle longitudinal and latitudinal inclinations and to correct the fuel level calculation. Corrections are made by the signals from the inclination sensors and the ambient temperature sensor located in the fuel tank. The inclinometer must be reset if the customer complains that they can only pump a few gallons of gas into their tank or if they run out of gas with three or four bars left on the fuel meter. The inclinometer must also be reset if the Prius is refilled on an excessive slope or if the fuel gauge becomes inaccurate. Please refer to the Prius Repair Manual for the inclometer calibration procedure. This is from the Toyota tech training manual. Hope this helps.
