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Does anyone know how many.......

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by HFFL, Feb 10, 2004.

  1. HFFL

    HFFL New Member

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    The "E" just started flashing on my Prius this morning. This is the first time since I had the car. Does anyone know approx how many gallons of gas is still remaining in the tank when the light flashes. I have heard about 2 gallons remain depending on the bladder & the outside temperatue.
     
    #1 HFFL, Feb 10, 2004
  2. jeffrey

    jeffrey New Member

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    I suggest you simply fill it and make your own calculation. Depending on the temp, I've gotten as much as 8.5 and as little as 5.5 gallons into the tank :(

    I'd call it the number one disappointment with this car, low range :(

    Still the most remarkable car I've ever owned :) :)

    Peace
     
    #2 jeffrey, Feb 10, 2004
  3. terkar

    terkar New Member

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    When 3 bars are showing you have very little time to fill it up. I have over 1500 miles on my 04 and always fill up at 3 bars - except... this last time. I decided to see if I could go a bit further - you can't!! Mine went from 3 to 1 bar in less than 5 miles. In other words, don't look at the bars as a typical gauge it will not work. My advice,l fwiw: Fill up soon after you see 3 bars.
    btw: I had always just pumped gas in until it stopped but this last time after it stopped I slowly added gas and got a lot more (8.? versus 6.?) All of which leads me to believe that unless you are a fanatic about getting every drop of gas possible into the tank you will never be able to really calculate your gas milage. I just rely on the screen now and am happy with what I see. If its wrong well Duh. Who cares. This car still gives great mpg.

    2004 Salsa Red
     
    #3 terkar, Feb 10, 2004
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    It depends on a lot of things. What's your mpg showing on the INFO screen now? If you're showing 50mpg and you're in a warm temp environment then you've probably safely got 100 miles more. You could easily just use 9 or 10 gallons as your estimated usable fuel and calculate the total miles you can travel.

    I disagree with the previous poster who suggests filling at 3 bars. I'm not sure why his experience is the way it is, but it's far different than mine. The gauge WILL drop more quickly after you get past the 1/2 tank mark and esp. after you get to the 3 bar mark. BUT, you can very safely drive at least until the last bar starts flashing. (assuming you're not heading into a desert and will be able to stop for gas within the next 20-50 miles or so).

    In my experience, the last bar starts flashing when you have ABOUT 1/4 tank of gas left.

    I don't know how much it will help, but I'll list the last several tanks of gas fill up volume (in gallons) when I filled when or shortly after the last bar was flashing....

    (8.8, 8.1, 8.8, 8.3, 7.5, 8.4, 8.2)

    My last tank of gas I drove 45 miles after the last bar started flashing (414 miles at 45.7 mpg showing (44.1 calculated after a 'generous' fill)). That's the first time I ever was able to squeeze in more than 9 gallons--9.4 gallons.

    I'd guess that even with maximal bladder shrinkage in that last tank I should, theoretically, still have had a gallon and thus maybe 40-50 miles more of usable gas in the tank... but I was already nervous at 45 miles past the flashing bar.
     
    #4 efusco, Feb 10, 2004
  5. jreasus

    jreasus New Member

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    Here's another first tank experience: gauge read full when I picked up the new car last week, though I obviously don't know exactly how full. After 402 miles, the last bar began blinking. At 407 miles I refueled with 7.93 gallons. I feel pretty good with a total mpg of 51.3 especially as the temps here in Colorado during my driving hours ranged from about 15-42 degrees F. The odd thing was that my display mileage exactly matched my calculated mileage even though I don't know how full the original tank was. Also interesting, I think, is that my gauge read five bars at just over 200 miles and 400+ miles at the blinking last bar, so I sure can't ask for more consistency than that. Hope it continues!

    Jim - Tideland Pearl AM
     
    #5 jreasus, Feb 10, 2004
  6. HFFL

    HFFL New Member

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    Thanks for all your reply's on my original question. Let me tell you what happened. I decided to let my bar flash while I made my round trip to work & back yesterday, which is 80 miles. I made it home no problem. When I went to fill up with gas last night, I slowly pumped 12 gallons of gas in the Prius. I was floored by the number of gallons I was able to get in there, I must have been driving on fumes. The Prius is a great car...I will continue to push every drop of gas out of the vehicle since I know I have at least 80 miles left on the "E".
     
    #6 HFFL, Feb 11, 2004
  7. SpartanPrius

    SpartanPrius New Member

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    Still...

    Keep in mind that playing with a near empty tank is not the best for your vehicle. Doing so, you tend to suck up tank debris, which will increase as the car ages. Given the incredible range available, filling it in the manner suggested by efusco is probably the best advice.

    As far as outfoxing the tank during mileage checking fill-ups, I've always done the following (as practical). Minimum of three tank fill-ups to determine a running average; use the same gas station pump (with the same ground pitch); set the pump flow to the same moderate setting each time; and, stop the fueling process upon the first "click off" by the pump. Sure, you may not get that last 1 to 2 gallons in, but you will have a far more consistent means of measuring mileage tankful to tankful.

    And, once again, with the super range, who is gonna miss the extra gallon or so? If you want to impress people with a "maximum tankful range", simply extrapolate it.
     
    #7 SpartanPrius, Feb 11, 2004
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