Fill up at a 1/2 tank! or pay $159.12

That is a total crock of c**p. Yes, it's true you shouldn't run the tank down to the last flashing pip. But half-full no way. You should speak to the regional Tech and press them on getting the money refunded. 2.7 gallons does not constitute an empty tank. Keep badgering them until they fork over the refund.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mdescher @ Aug 1 2006, 01:27 PM) [snapback]295729[/snapback]</div>

I say that is not acceptable. Pay the kind of money we do for a Prius and then be told you have to keep it 1/2 full even though the manual says nothing about that :blink:

 

2 points:

1. You probably did not have 2.7 gallons left in the tank if you put in 9.2. I have never been able to fill with more than 9.8 from the flashing pip, even the one time I ran out of gas. When calculating the max range for a tank of gas, use the number of gallons from your last fillup, not the maximum capacity. This is because of the bladder-tank.

2. I have never heard about rebooting the car computer after running out of gas. So many Prius drivers do run out, especially when trying to push to see how far they can get on a single tank. In my case, the car started up just fine after I added fuel.

 

I often don't fill till the flashing pip on my 2005. I have actually gotten 10 gallons in once and never had a lick of trouble. Go after Regional, your dealer is feeding you a big load of......

 

Yeah, this is BS. No need to guess at how much gas was in the tank - the gage clearly showed that you had gas in the tank... and the car was still running! As far as I can tell, you did NOT run out of gas... and even if you did, there's a charge for this? Wth?

If we can only use half a tank, then the day has now dawned when a modern EV has substantially more range than a modern gasoline car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mdescher @ Aug 1 2006, 12:27 PM) [snapback]295729[/snapback]</div>

When they tell you stuff like this, ask for this information to be sent to you on letterhead, signed by whoever wants to back this statement up.

Then post a scan of the page on here for all of us..

Then start talking to Toyota corporate about what the heck is going on here.

I've filled up 38 times (since 2/15/06). 2 times, 11+ gallons. 10 times with 10.x gallons, and 16 times with 9.x gallons. Most of the 9.x gallon ones are in the high nines.

I think I've only had the blinking pip once or twice. 28 of 38 fillups are 9.0 and up, I'm not sure why all the trouble with people running out of gas, or having trouble gassing up their prius. Did I get the reject car that is freaky normal in this way?

 

I ran out of gas completely and the computer did not need a reboot.This is bullshit. Particularly this 1/2 tank comment is pure bull. Don't stop till you get your money back.

 

When I test drove my new-to-me 04, it had the flashing pip. I took delivery this way, and my sales guy "convoyed" with me to their contract gas station for my "free" fill-up. He did the card, and I pumped. We got every bit of 11.5 gallons into the car ( :blink: ). Close call, I guess, but the car has shown no signs whatsoever of acting up as a result.

Beyond the question of getting your money back, which you very well should, I'd also want to know why the car acted up in this fashion. You might demand that they produce for you the exact codes thrown by the ECU, which you could then research yourself. www.techinfo.toyota.com is a good starting point, though you do have to pay for access to the service documents. You can buy daily, monthly, or annual access (I usually do the $50 monthly access when I've built up a couple issues I need to look up (we're now back to being a two Toyota family -- I do this maybe 3-4 times a year and look up lotsa stuff during the 30 days).

 

Keep at least 1/2 fuel in tank!!!! How about filling up at every gasstation that comes your way!!!! Damit, how the hell dealerships come up with that crap???

 

md:

You won't find the good stuff in the owner's manual. It's a "dumbed down" lowest common denominator thing. The service bulletins, manuals, and so forth are all accessible, for a small fee, at the link I added in my last post. I think the daily rate is $10. You can view and download a lot of stuff, all models of Toyota and Lexi, in 24 hours. Though I'm new to the Prius, we've owned Toyotas of one stripe or another, for almost 10 years. This site is the place to find anything you want to know about your Toyota.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ekpolk @ Aug 1 2006, 12:47 PM) [snapback]295834[/snapback]</div>

And nowwhere do those documents say to never go lower than 1/2 tank... nor that there will be some major service charge if you do.

 

Out of all of this i'm curious... exactly what does the tech mean by "rebooting" the ECU? I can see having to clear the error codes, but turning the car off shuts down the ECU and turning it on boots it up... i'm not seeing where he really has to do anything!

 

I just filled up today with 2 pips on the gauge. The Wal-mart pump said it put in 11.418 gallons. How big is the tank on the 2006 model?