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Consistency in fill ups.

Discussion in 'Prius c Fuel Economy' started by MunkusMPG, Feb 22, 2014.

  1. MunkusMPG

    MunkusMPG New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2014
    25
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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    My wife and I have each only filled up once with our Cs. (Purchased 1/12/2014). I had driven more miles so I filled mine at the end of the first 3 weeks. I "topped off" the tank because I thought that the pump was faulty. So I squeezed the handle two times before I realized that the car was really full. (7 gallons pumped and over 56 MPG calculated). My wife's car made it to 5 weeks before needing gas. I did the pumping and decided to stop when the pump handle first popped. (Seven gallons pumped for an average of 51.3 MPG). We decided that we will follow a policy of not topping off from now on. The idea is to get more accurate data through a more consistent fill up procedure.

    The problem is the pumps themselves. There are certain pumps at our favorite gas station that like to stop well before a car is full. My VW had a 14 gallon tank and one particular pump would stop after pumping about 5 gallons. The car was almost empty when I started so I knew that the pump was flaky. Filling that car at that pump required pulling the handle again and again after each fraction of a gallon. Other pumps at the station require just one, two or even no top offs. The station would fix one pump and then a different pump would misbehave. This was true of other gas stations as well. Part of the problem is the vapor recovery system that the state of California mandated years ago. It is not the "one size fits all" cure that they intended. I often see people having problems and over filling to the point where gas is spilled on the ground.

    So I guess the best thing to do is to try the no topping off technique but use your knowledge of your cars' normal consumption. I.E. if the car has only one pip on the gauge and the pump stops after 4 gallons...pump on!
     
    #1 MunkusMPG, Feb 22, 2014
  2. thetakara

    thetakara Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 6, 2014
    36
    6
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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    Unless it's something obvious, like your 5 gallon example, you should never top off. You are shorting yourself when you do that. The gas is just going into the vapor recovery system in the hose. When that hose fills up, that's what causes the auto stop feature to stop working for the next person and spills gas everywhere (since the vapor system is then saturated and can't go anywhere else).
     
    #2 thetakara, Feb 22, 2014
  3. MunkusMPG

    MunkusMPG New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2014
    25
    10
    0
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Good to know. Thanks!
     
    #3 MunkusMPG, Feb 22, 2014
  4. Mo G

    Mo G Member

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2013
    317
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    Location:
    Dallas,Tx
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    That is why I manually push the "pedal" on the pump to get it to stop, finish the transaction, and then squeeze the handle on the pump again until it clicks off after dispensing the remaining fuel. I paid for that gas in the hose. I'm going to put it in my car. They all ready rip us off by pricing gas to the thousandths . Only thing sold and measured to 3 decimal points in mass quantity like this. I calculate how much gas I have pumped and how much the total should be. I'm not a penny pincher, but I do believe in getting in full what I have paid for in full. And it will never average out to the consumers favor either. Next time any you fill up gas, calculate if the amount shown is exactly equal to the volume shown.
     
    #4 Mo G, Feb 22, 2014
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