How many gallons in a reserve tank when the last pip start blinking?

Zero gallons. In general, you don't want to go below three bars.

 

Welcome and Congratulations on your new Prius.

The answer to your question is that it varies(A LOT). Around here we call the Fuel Gauge a "Guess Gauge".

There have been several posts about how many miles people got after it started blinking. Some got as much as 60-70 miles and others ran out of gas before it started blinking.

Many of us refill at 2-3 pips.

Try a search on Guess Guage.

 

I have made it a habit to refuel at 2 to 3 pips. Its less painful that way! ($)

 

i fill at 2-3, sometimes 4 if i'm going a long distance where there are who knows how many stations. I would recommend the same.

 

I think the answer you are looking for is about 0.9 gallons. Don't plan on it carrying you much further then 10 miles. Best to fill up around 2 bars.

 

How many gallons in one of those pips? It may be non-linear. I was two pips down after the first 140 miles, and it took 2.2 gallons to fill to the auto-stop. That's 65 mpg vs 48 mpg on the readout. I concluded the Toyota dealer had filled the tank a bit further on delivery.

 

I think it is totally non-linear. It seems like the first couple of bars (when full) are weighted more heavily than the rest.

Like others have noted, I usually refill at 2 - 3 bars. There is no penalty for refilling early, but some bad things can happen if you run out.

 

I've driven 25 miles past the flashing pip. Guess I should stop. Most I've gotten in @ fillup is 9.05 gallons.

 

It varies. The first time I drove to fuel exhaustion, I went 130 miles suggesting over 2 gallons. I've run out in as little as ~30 miles, about 1/2 gallon. But the most frequency has been in the 60-70 mile range, about 1.2 gallons. I carry a 1 gallon spare can when driving on "flash."

Bob Wilson

 

I'm guessing 3ish on my 2008. The manual states fuel capacity is 11.9 gal and that the light should start blinking w/ 2 - 3 gallons left. The light usually starts blinking for me around 440 - 450 miles, I usually fill up around 480 - 500 miles and it takes about 10 gallons. My claculated fuel economy is always within .2 MPG of what the computer says and I have been averaging 48 - 50 MPG on each tank. The farthest I have driven on a tank is 544 miles and I put in just under 11 gallons to fill it back up that time. Maybe the guages have gotten better on recent vehicles or maybe I'm just lucky.

 

I've driven 60 miles past the flashing pip, averaging around 50 mpg, with no spare gas can in the car, on I-95. Beat that.

Normally I do fill up soon after the "Add Fuel" warning, but after 122K miles, I know my gas gauge pretty well. 2004 Prius.

 

There is no "reserve tank" as such, and you can't be certain how much gas is left when the last pip starts flashing. A prudent person buys gas before that point.

 

Although Toyota states that the capacity is 11.9 gallons, because of the design of the bladder, I wouldn't count on having 11.9 gallons of useable capacity. The actual amount that you can get hold depends upon the temperature, the gas pump you are filling with, and luck. It is almost certainly less than 11.9 gallons.

 

Agreed I find it easy to bank on it having 10 gallons in summer and 9 gallons in winter, everything after that is just gravy.

 

i push it all the time last time i filed up i put in 10.9 gal and i whent 43 m on the last bar i have even put in 11.2 gal one time

 

Pretty much just enough to get you to a gas station, and never try that again!!!!

ROOG is a BAD THING!!!


Besides its embarrassing as hell!

KK6PD

 

My 2008 gets about 495 miles when the gas gage starts to blip. Ive gone another 40 miles before I fill up. The most Iveput into the tank is 9.3 gallons. It looks like if the 11.9 max is close then I should have another 100miles or so. But reading the posts on the 11.9 gallon myth, I'm not so sure. Has anyone really measured how much the tank really holds?

 

Yep, and it's been determined that it holds less than 13 gallons. The exact amount changes every time you fill up. Sometimes you might have more than 12 gallons if you got some fuel up the filler neck a bit, other times you might have less than 10 gallons if the bladder didn't expand as much when you filled it or the pump handle was a bit sensitive and shut off early.

If the gauge indicates that you are low on fuel, add fuel. That way you won't run out.

Personally I go with:

2 pips = fill up if it is convenient
1 pip = fill up even if it is inconvenient
1 flashing pip = fill up at the closest possible location

 

Just to reiterate because some people don't get this concept: Because of the properties of the bladder, it is different every time you fill up. That is why you can't depend on it. Ask all of the people who did and ended up running out.