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gas guage--what Toyota isn't saying

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by Jeemz, Mar 13, 2004.

  1. Jeemz

    Jeemz New Member

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    Hey Gang,
    I found this on Yahoo's Prius group, thought it might be of interest. It looks like a software fix might be able to rectify it too. That's good news!

    Jim
    (waiting, waiting, dreaming and waiting)



    I think that despite what people say, there is most likely a small
    problem. It's severity, I don't know. We've heard that they have NAV and
    gas fixes, but both have yet to be seen.

    Jason Siegel
    http://greenhybrid.com | GreenHybrid
    http://greenhybrid.com/discuss | Discussion Community
    http://greenhybrid.com/explore/mileage | Real Mileage Database



    jploomis2004 wrote:

    > --- In [email protected], Jesse <bluesun_02461@y...> wrote:
    > > I was told (by a service manager at a local toyota dealership) a
    > couple of days ago that Toyota has acknowledged to dealer techs, but
    > not to the public yet, that there is a design mistake in the gas
    > guage sensor placement in the tank. The story I was told is that
    > the sensor was placed incorrectly in the tank so that it will appear
    > as if the car is running out of gas more quickly than it is and that
    > is why when the guage reads empty, many people can only put in 6-8
    > gallons of gas. It also explains the quickness of the bars dropping
    > down to empty. This is due to placement issues and the "crown" of
    > the ride of the car. Toyota is allegedly working on a software fix
    > to correct for it. I was also told that that information was not
    > going public at this time. I happened to mention that I know a
    > newspaper writer who has an interest in the prius who might want to
    > write a column about the glitch. That is when the information came
    > to me. What do you all think?
    > >
    > I now have 6200 miles on my 2004 Prius and I have noticed this
    > phenomena but hadn't gotten around to researching it.
     
    #1 Jeemz, Mar 13, 2004
  2. jennsdad

    jennsdad New Member

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    You really got my attention here. I have been toying with the idea of contacting the NTSB as well as Highway Safety section of the EPA.
    This is a really big proble, I have been fighting it for 20 months now with my 2003 Prius.
    I ran out of gas two weeks after purchasing it. The guage went from two bars to immobilized within 15 miles. Unfortunately there were no gas stations in that stretch of road.
    The really scary part is that I was cruising at around 65 when the system shut off the gas or somehow reduced my speed to 50 mph while I was in the fast lane and a solid line of trucks between me and the shoulder.

    I made it to the shoulder but by then I was on battery power, and it too shut down after another mile or so.

    Bottom line: it is a safety hazard and NO WAY CAN YOU EVEN APPROACH THE ADVERTISED 600 MILES PER TANKFUL ADVERTISED IN THE BROCHURE I STILL HAVE.

    Having a bad guage is not a big deal. Having an inconsistent bad guage IS a big deal. Not knowing if the tank is full or not when filling up makes computing gas mileage impossible. Ironically, the bladder, which is supposed to reduce emmissions, makes it necessary to overfill until overflowing as the only way to tell if the tank is indeed ful. Result? More emmissions!
     
    #2 jennsdad, Oct 27, 2004
  3. mikepaul

    mikepaul Senior Member

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    Actually, I *can* approach 600 miles per tank. The round-trip to Florida was over 54MPG at the 510 mile mark, so in theory I'd cross 600 miles on fumes. And that's at slowish highway speeds under 55MPH.

    600 miles with a safe amount of fuel left *would* be a trick for me...
     
    #3 mikepaul, Oct 27, 2004
  4. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    All the advertisements I've ever seen for the Classic Prius stated 566 miles as the max. But regardless of what yours says, you should note the MPG disclaimer. Also be aware that some owners have done 600 miles on a single tank.

    And you are going to have to prove the gas you have used was not high in sulfur. If it was, your case with Toyota won't be able to proceed. Sulfur is known to cause tank sensor problems. So you'd have to go after the filling station(s) instead.
     
    #4 john1701a, Oct 27, 2004
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