The hand calculated value is the accurate value. The displayed value is "optimistic", in other words, has a positive determinate error (reads about 5 - 6% too high).
Do you tend to fill much past the first click when the pump shuts off? I find it incredible with a displayed 63.7 that you have 2 fuel bars showing at 610.9 miles. I would have guessed that you would be showing a blinking last bar.
I also hope it was a passenger who snapped that shot... cause according to the speedo he was still driving. Also must have been one hell of a top off. Unless he's at the bottom of that 2nd bar, he still is almost 2 gallons away from the blinking bar...
His Fuelly page has fill ups of 11.29 & 11.17g so with 2 bars left I am guessing he is squeezing 2 more gallons or at least close to 2 gallons.
Crazy. I did see a post long ago somewhere where a guy trickle filled his tank almost to 13.5 gallons, which would be right in those numbers you gave up there. Speaking of trickle filling, isn't that really bad for the gas tank? I know us Gen III's don't have to worry about that bladder but the vapor lock mechanism and fuel pump must suffer from such treatment.
I don't know if we have it too, but the Gen II had a carbon filter that absorbed vapor from the fuel tank. Overfilling the tank (to the point of spilling it on the ground) would send fuel into the carbon cansister. I think this would eventually throw a code. It is a few hundred dollars to fix. I'd rather not risk doing that just so I could get into the 800 mile club......
I am not sure if it is bad for the gas tank, but it is not recommended. They say it is bad for the environment because of the spillage. I never top off. Don't Top Off Your Gas Tank! | Mid-Atlantic Air Protection
I reached 600 miles on my first tank, thanks to all the valuable tips from Prius Chat members. I fly radio control airplanes, and most of my driving is the 8 miles each way to and from the field. There is usually no wind on my trip to the flying site, but I usually face a breeze off the ocean on my way home. Of course, I do a lot of P&G. My first tank actually had another 15 miles, but I reset the trip meters after getting home from the dealership. Last pip had been blinking for a number of miles when I filled up.
Welcome to the club! These numbers are good enough for the Top 20 and the 700 mile club if you keep going.
Thanks! I wanted to hit 700 on my first tank, but lacked the nerve to push things until I knew for certain how much fuel remained in my tank at "empty." Now I know, as most others have said, that I have a little less than 2 gallons left.
It does depend on how you fill your tank. If you fill it to the point of the first auto shut off, you can drive 10x the displayed value and have used about 10.5 gallons (+/- 0.2 gallons). 11x the displayed value could have you with less than 0.25 gallons or run out of gas. Thus, if you have a displayed value of 70.0 mpg, if you were to drive 700 miles and immediately fill up, you would likely add about 10.5 gallons to your car. I would recommend having a displayed value of 67.0 or better if you are going to push for a 700 mile tank. If it is reading 67.0 mpg on your display (likely 63.5 mpg real), you'd end up putting about 11 gallons into your tank, leaving about 1 gallon in reserve. Cutting it close, but not too close.
Well add one more to the 600 mile club. Been trying to reach 600 since I purchased my 2010 GenIII back in September. Been close. Always in the 500s when the light flashed. But it's November here in Orlando. So this was my first full tank with the AC OFF. Makes a difference. Normal driving conditions. Backroads and some city. Light on the gas pedal. The wife even put some of those miles on there. Running 40 psi in all 4 tires. Light started blinking at the end of my way home from work yesterday. Drove an additional 40+ miles on the blinking light today. Might have gotten a little more mileage out of the tank but it was late in the day and I had to pick my daughter up from dance. 45 min away. Not feeling that brave today. I made sure I reached 600 before the fuel up to pick her up though. Even drove around the block a few extra times to push it into the 600. Funny thing, As I left my fuel up spot it rolled and extra 0.1. New goal. 650 on a tank.
Congrats on the 600 tank. 11/15/12 600.1 10.04 59.8 3.190 90% I've never seen or heard of a Prius off by only one tenth of one mpg on the dash. That is less than a 1/4% error. Is your Fuelly entry correct?
Those were the numbers. 600.1 milage and 10.038 on the full up. Two clicks at the pump. I most always do two clicks. I have never driven that far on empty before. My acura used to be "empty" when i hit the last mark on the fuel gauge. Was a little unnerving. Sams club gas price 3.19. My past fill ups were off a little as well. But not too much. It could be the two click fill up method.
Interesting. I stop at the first click. My error is anywhere from 4.5-7.5%. My last tank had the biggest margin of error, dash 71.3 mpg/calculated 66.6mpg.
