Help! Wife stuck on side of road in '06 Prius

I agree. I start looking for gas when the gauge gets down to two bars, a quarter tank. What's the point of pushing your luck? You don't save money or fuel that way, so why is it worth it?

Oh, I forgot, there's the thrill of Living On The Edge!

 

Man, oh man! I'm glad that's all it was!

I'm the complete opposite with regards to gas. One of my greatest fears in life is running out of gas in my car. Never have done it, as soon as it hovers above the 1/4 tank mark, I vow to get gas in the next 10-15 miles rather than try to see how much further I can get out of those last few drops. I've never seen the gas light come on, nor do I care to. I'm sure I'll stay the same once I get my Prius...nothing would annoy me more than being stranded on the side of the freeway or street, having run out of gas due to my own fault.

 

Sorry to deviate from the original thread but could someone please tell me why NJ and OR are the only states in the Union where the politicians do not trust the public to fill their own tanks?

Rick

 

I asked a gas station owner in Oregon this question in October. I stopped to fill up a rental and was quickly stopped by an attendent that he would fill up for me. I had forgotten this was the law in Oregon. The manager said if he hadn't stopped me and they were caught, both the station and myself would suffer a hefty fine. He agreed with the law saying it was unsafe for people to fill their own tanks. He also said it provided lots of jobs. He also said legislation has been proposed in a lot of other states.

Andy

 

In Oregon it isn't necessarily about "The Politicians" - self-serve has been on the ballot several times and rejected by voters.

However, it has been more than a decade since the last time, and with widespread use of credit cards and "pay at pump" these days, some people's objections may no longer apply.

Personally I suspect that station owners (at least around here) purposefully keep their stations woefully understaffed so that we will all become irritated enough to demand self-serve.

I do remember a friend of the family moving up here from California in the late 80's. She had never heard of Oregon's laws and after crossing the border had started to refuel her vehicle. An attendant rushed up and politely told her she couldn't do it and she asked why and he said "Ma'am, this is a _Service_ station!"

- Bob R.

 

I should add that I have a 1990 Astro van that is notoriously difficult to fill up when the weather changes... the pumps often click off due to vapor-lock multiple times during a fill-up.

Several times a year I wind up getting out and holding the pump nozzle just to keep it running because the lone attendant has disappeared after starting the pump or is off helping someone who doesn't know how to use the air compressor.

- Bob R.

 

Probably not worth it but you do save money. For instance a gallon of gas weighs approximately five pounds. If you filled up with eight gallons that is an additional 40 pounds of weight. They say you lose 1-2% in MPG for every 100 pounds therefore the MPG would suffer by 0.4-0.8%. That equates to a gallon of gas saved after 50,000 miles!

 

Uhhh... better tell her it is mpG, not mpT that she should be seeking.

By the way, not to derive any sense of pleasure from the misery of others, but you must admit - at least in retrospect - that there is a tiny bit of humor in your tale. You'll be repeating this one for decades.

Anyway, I hope it's "lesson learned" and ever onward.

 

What I wonder is why 96% of the country has to get out of their car to put gas in it...

 

Bummer for you. I know about losing $$$ if I have to miss work. As to gas fillups I NEVER play the game of letting the tank get near or on empty just to see if I can get X amt. of miles. I know that if you suck gas from the bottom of a tank the garbage that made it through the filters gets sucked up too. I never let my vehicles get below 1/2 a tank. I really don't understand why anyone would keep driving a car when the low fuel light comes on.

I live in the country and once a week go into town for gas & shopping. I fill the Prius on that day regardless of how many bars are left. Good luck with your problem.

 

When I used to live in NJ and was a "Fuel Transfer Technician" at Hess, I asked one of the corporate guys visiting us. He said the original concern was environmental, that it would be better to have a "pro" do it so there wouldn't be any spillage. Now that was his reason 20 years ago.

 

For me, it's all about not stopping at the gas station every day.

Right now, I fill up my F250 every 4 working days with about 530 to 550 miles on the tank. I get around 30 gallons.

I can already see, that I probably won't be able to get 4 days on the Prius. Super bummer.. it takes 10 minutes, you gotta get off the road, you gotta get back on.. every 3 days. I would be sittin large if the thing would hold about 14 gallons.

Which brings me to the MOD people.

I don't have my car yet, supposedly Feb 8 - 16 ish... we will see...

It would seem that the filler port to the tank seems to be about 2 feet. Someone needs to figure out if the hose between the port and the tank could be created with a 3 gallon bulge in it. I suppose that would be terribly unsafe somehow.

Anyhow, I bet I'll now be at the gas station on 3 day intervals.

 

I've thought the same thing, as my F-150 has a 22gal tank, and so I'm at the filling station every 4th day due to my long commute. Due to the Prius' smaller tank, I'll make my fuel stops as often. BUT THE GOOD THING is that my refueling bill will cost me close to 1/3 of what it did. That will make me feel good about these stops - look at it that way!

 

Gas guage:

A couple of questions come to mind: are the "bars" indicative of the actual proportion of gas remaining in the variable-capacity gas tank, or are they just a rough indication?

Is the scale linear, i.e. does each bar represent the same volume of gas as the others?

Towing:
Page 372 of the '06 manual indicates the Pri can be towed on the rear wheels, or in reverse with the front wheels on a dolly. No speed restriction is stated. I'm just going by the manual - any objections, Richard or efusco?

 

in the summer you can EASILY go that distance. in the winter, it would be a struggle. i usually limit myself to about 425-450 miles. but i dont top off and i could probably easily get another two gallons based on my average.

 

The rule of thumb I was given by my brother and his wife (they have a 2003 classic and a 2004) was that if you have 400 miles on a tank, no matter what the season, Fill It Up.
The painful fact is that, as I understand it, running out of gas is not good for this car.

 

Call me cynical, but I just can't imagine that it's a cover for higher prices & profit margins?? After all, more places to bury 'labor costs' in pumping up the price.

I feel it's a remnant from the days before pumps had the auto shutoff... and people would regularly spill gas on the pavement.

 

hhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha :lol: :blink: B)

In a few months, Charlie, you'll realize why this last question, posting it as you did and when you did, is possibly the funniest post ever made at PC!

Linear? Nope

Predictable in its non-linearity? Not very

Predictable from season to season? Does the sun rise in the west?

Subject to other vagaries, even, such as gas pump temperament, your bladder condition ( :lol: ) and the alignment of celestial bodies?

You're getting warm.

 

geez, you guys :lol:

yeah it's nowhere near linear. in addition, you'll never get 11.9 gallons into the tank, realistically. the bladder makes it so nothing is predictable. just get gas when you reach 1 bar or when the bar starts to blink.