Did my bladder pop? 12.4 gallons filled.

the bladder isn't a thin piece of plastic or anything. for that matter, it really doesn't stretch all that much either.

I seriously doubt you popped it.... but you may have filled up your other safety systems with fuel.. such as the charcoal canister that's supposed to catch vapor only. and the recirculation tubes that are supposed to transport vapors.

others will chime in. i'm thinking there was some sort of overflow to the system. if the canisters and such fills up, it can bleed itself off. maybe that was part of the vapor recovery system i'm thinking about.

be prepared to see a lot of diagrams

 

it's not.. it has transport lines that go up to the throttle intake.. or.. something like that... most of those systems are under the car/in the rear. there are still several ways for fumes to reach the cabin though. shrug...

i've heard a pop like that before.. i had no clue what it was.. it thought it was a tire but it wasn't... shrug?

 

I believe there's supposed to be a sensor that can detect when gasoline enters the space between the bladder and the surrounding "tank."

 

I think DiamonLarry filled to 13.1 one time. I have filled to 12.6 once, so I think you are OK.

 

Yes, if you destroyed the bladder the car would throw a code.

The carbon canister is in the fuel tank -outside- the bladder. There's pictures of it on this site.

It's possible you overfilled, stuck a valve in the vapour recovery system, and the valve released with a pop. Or you were just overly sensitive.

I suspect there is no problem with your car. The new gas station, well that's another matter. Sounds like they need to calibrate their fuel nossles so they shut off correctly. Good job catching it before you had a fuel fountain (if you manage to overfill enough, you get fuel gushing out when you remove the nossle. If this happens, -DON'T PANIC- {couldn't resist }. Press the nossle down to make a "leak" at the top. That will let vapour pressure leak out - the excess vapour is what is trying to force the fuel out of the filler tube. Eventually you will release enough vapour that you can safely remove the nossle.)

 

I agree with David. The new gas station has a pump that didn't click off, causing you to overfill. The extra fuel ends up in the filler tube. It's not a great thing to do, but usually not damaging.

As others have pointed out, if you have a tank bladder problem the system will throw an error code.

Tom

 

Another 2 pip failure of the gas gauge, and a reasonable response to the out of gas condition. How much did it take to fill after that?

I doubt the bladder has popped, but if it has they will have to replace all that junk under warranty, so that's a good thing.

 

Hi All,

The carbon cannister is inside the metal casing of the gas tank, next to the bladder.

 

Actually, the canister is located on top of the fuel tank.

See autoshop101.com and look for page 3-5 of Hybrid13 Fuel and EVAP System.pdf within the Technical Articles section of that website.

 

Hello, everyone. This is my first post. Just got a 2009 Prius and haven't put gas in it yet. Have just got to the last 'pip' as you say. We were wondering how many gallons each pip represents and that's why I came on the forum.

But this post scares the dickens out of me! You 'ran out of gas while on the freeway with two pips left'. How does that happen?! The manual says the last pip flashes when there are 3 gallons of fuel left. I sure don't want to run out of gas when I think the tank is 1/4 full. I didn't know anything about the tank having a bladder in it. Now I'm wondering if we should have gotten a 2010 instead of the great 0% financing we got on the 2009. I gather it has a normal tank.

Is this particular fuel gauge unreliable? Will go out now and get some gas!!

Kris

 

i think each pips i equal to a gallon. it only takes 10 gallons to fill up the tank in my 2005. i counted each pip and it has 10. i think its a gallon each but im not sure. i just got my 05 a few month a go. still learning. "DOGFRIEND" usually have a great answer for ur question. :rockon:

 

I have a 2005 with 48K, and have observed that Pips are non-linear with respect to fuel use. I usually get about 360-400 miles to a tank. The Pips stay at 100% until I have driven 150-180 miles, then they start decreasing. They decrease more rapidly the closer I get to empty, much like analog fuel gauges reacted in years past.

 

Thanks to both responders to my post. Needless to say, I am much better informed about the whole gas thing as a result of this form. Hytec, we observed the same thing with our gauge. My husband kept thinking something was wrong with the gauge because it stayed full for so long. And since I'm the primary driver, I've definitely noticed it changed faster, the fewer pips there are. From now on, will get gas when it hits 2, I think.

We had 1 pip left, not blinking, today when we filled the tank. Got just over 9 gallons in and the fuel tank shut off. Pips went up to 10. This first tank averaged 44.4 mph, a little disappointing, but I'm just learning how to drive it, so hope it will improve.

Appreciate your comments.

Kris

 

Hi Kris. Welcome to Priuschat and Prius ownership.

One thing I just wanted to point out: don't try to guess how much gas you have in the tank; the car will always win that stare-down. Because of the bladder-lined fuel tank (discussed at the beginning of this thread) and the non-linear gas gauge, it's pretty hard to know exactly how much gas you have less. Many of us fill at 2 "pips" just to be sure, since there are stories of people going <10 miles between the flashing pip and running out of gas. It's not the norm, but it has been known to happen.

I really love our car and have had 4 trouble-free years out of it, but the gas gauge is a bit of a weakness; way too variable and non-linear for my tastes.

 

Also many popping sounds are from small stones or other debris that get wedged into the tire tread and get spit out as you get up to speed. Just a guess.