Gas gauge griping

I added 3 gallons to a tank that had 1 unblinking bar left, and it went up to *6* bars.

Hardly the 50% of a tank increase the 10 bar-divisions imply...

 

:? When i got home the other day, it showed 4 bars left. yesterday it showed 6 bars. then today it started as 3 bars then after several minutes went down to 1 bar! sup with that? it wasnt blinking yet, but with those fluctuations i didnt want to chance it so i gassed up - stopped at 8 gallons. oh yeah, i got around 340 miles before that fill-up.

 

The best way to remedy this problem is to take the amount of gallons the tank holds, 11.9, & multiply it by your average MPG. That will show you the max # of miles you can go on one tank. I would never suggest pushing it to the max, but that should give you an idea on how far you can go on one tank of gas.

 

I must be lucky, or a lot of people are not posting here. I don't have a gas gage problem! I've had the car 6 weeks and have filled it about 6 times. If I wait till only one bar shows it takes around 10 gallons. If I wait till it's been flashing a while it takes 11+ gallons. I just set it on the slow fill notch and do my windows, no problems. I should add that I'm in Michigan so we are not in a warm area.

 

I can usually get between 7-9 gallons in my gas tank, and thats with coaxing and slowest fill. I've had it go from 3 bars to Blinking in an instant, which didn't make me too happy. There's definately still a problem, but either people are just getting used to it and waiting for the supposed 'fix' that may or may not be coming - or others just don't have the problem anymore.

Oh, and I've got 3200 miles on it, and it doesn't seem to get any better/worse with time, at least not yet. The largest amount I've ever put in the tank was after a long amount of freeway driving, mileage in the lower 50's (which is norm for me), and I got 9.3 gallons in.

The truly best bet to 'guessing' how far you can go is mpg x previous amount of gallons placed in the tank.

-m.

 

I'm waiting anxiously for the European Prius owners to wonder why the rest of us complain... :evil: :cussing:

 

Mine's pretty consistent. I use the slowest nozzle setting and quit when it shuts off. If the last bar was blinking I get about 8 gallons in. Then it drops fairly close to one bar per gallon, steadily.

 

This is only a theory, and one that I proved incorrect just this morning. I actually ran out of gas on my way in to work, but I knew I was calling it very close. I had 640.7 miles on the tank and my MPG display was 60.1 which should have put me in the 700+ mile range assuming 11.9 gallon capacity.

The last fuel bar began blinking at 559.1 miles so I went about 80 miles in that condition.

1) The calculated MPG wasn't too far off (58.5 MPG calculated v. 60.1 on the display), so I can't fault the software for a calculation error.

2) There may be about a gallon of unusable fuel, although some owners are getting results that suggest 2-3 gallons are never used.

So at least I know that I can use the 10 gallon rule for a safe range.

The really stupid thing about this incident is that I forgot to put the spare container of gas in the car before I left the house. This was supposed to be an insurance factor, knowing that I was pushing the total range and could run out of gas by doing so.

To add insult to humiliation, the gas station that I tried to use battery only to get to was no longer in operation. I only had enough reserve charge to go 2.1 miles, which was 0.4 miles too short.

BTW, the car was not a happy camper and eventually shut down with the warning triangle and the red car icon being displayed. These did not go away after I added a half gallon of gas to the tank (to get me to the gas station). The ICE did start right away, but the warning lights remained on. I drove the 0.4 miles to the gas station and filled up (10.5 gallons). Once I filled up, everything was back to normal.

 

So, your tank was dead empty and only took 10.5 gallons. So much for the 11.9-gallon-tank theory.

 

Looks more like .5 + 10.5...

 

I live near Seattle, so you know our weather here.

I routinely use the slow setting at the pump.

It invariably clicks off between 7+ and around 8 gallons. I invariabl can cosx another1.5 to 2.5 gallons into the tank.

Indicated and calculated MPG differ any where from .5 to 3 MPG, although last fill up the display showed 43.7 but I calculated 47.5.

Right now, until more warm weather comes or Toyota releases the software patch for the (now we know, improperly placed) Fuel Sensor, I figure about 430 mile range at around 43 MPG average. It's probably a smidge more, but I don't need to push it.

It's all conjecture anyway, until Toyota fixes the damned thing. Even then, the refill gallons with the baldder system will remain problematic.

Way I see it; anything over 40 MPG in town is gravy. That and PZEV rating.


Bob

 

we're happy for you but wish we're as lucky as you.

 

Oh I am sure that if I had that dreaded bladder in my fuel tank here in the UK causing the gauge to be erratic then I would too be cussing.

You have my sympathy. :|