In WARM areas, how empty is the gas tank when it blinks?

A technician at the Toyota dealership informed me that there are appoximately 3 gallons remaining in the tank when the last bar starts to blink. And when I fill the tank, it only takes about 8 gallons before clicking off.

Others in this forum have estimated that 1 gallon remains when the bars blinks. I have been unable to ascertain who is correct - don't know if the actual capacity of the tank is 11.9 gallons and/or if the car will run out of gas with a few gallons remaining in the tank.

 

I'm in Central Louisiana and it gets pretty hot here. On my very first tank of gas I ran it out. I went 50 miles after the light started blinking, then all the warning lights came on and I was on battery power for about a mile. I don't recommend trying this on purpose. But it's nice to know it will get you out of a jam.

 

I usually get 9-10 gallons in if I let it blink for a while. Usually about 40 miles is about as far as I would let the blink go. I take it as a "plan to stop soon" light. And really, the blink isn't particularly annoying unless you're staring at it instead of the road. I would be more irritated if a light came on and stayed there next to the gas gauge like hubby's camry.

I have never had to do some intricate thing, as you say, to fill up the tank. Usually a few clicks after shutoff just to round off to an even dollar amount is as far as I go. Takes 2 minutes and I'm on my way.

Nothing to worry about, my friend, it is an extremely minor thing in an awesome car. Don't let it get to you.

 

I tend to put about 1 gallon more after the first clickoff, sometimes a tenth or two beyond even that.
This last tank I really pushed it. 58 MPG, last pip started blinking at about 580 miles. Drove about another 70 miles for a total of 657 miles. Calculated MPG is 57, so I had used roughly 10.17 gallons before it started blinking, which is fairly consistent with other tanks based on total miles, tank fill and aprox miles driven on blink.

 

I've only had my car a month and only filled up twice.

Both times I haven't waited until the last bar was blinking. When it got to the last bar I waited until I found the station with the lowest price and then filled it. Both times a little over 8 gallons. I usually give them a $20 and when it's gone that's it. Maybe it's full and maybe it's not.

Fillling up (for me at least) is the most annoying because with the bladder the pump keeps shutting off. So I have to keep squeezing it. And because of this I never know if it's really full. So when the $20 is gone that's it. I get in and all the bars are lit up again. Of course I don't know if I lose the first bar fast because it's not quite full.

I'm hoping eventually the bladder will loosen up a little or I'll find a pump that goes slow enough I don't have to keep squeezing it after it shuts off over and over again.

 

I usually drive 50 miles after the light starts blinking before i start looking for gas. i consistently put about 10 gallons in to fill up. i don't put any extra in after it clicks off.

-drew

 

My experience (since late Sept 2004) is that regardless of temperature, just past 1 bar blinking, I get about 8.5 gallons in when the pump clicks off. I can get 1 more in if I am willing to do it a few pennies at a time. Never had gas spill nor heard it in the filler neck. I have also never tried to see how far I can go after 1 bar blinking! The last few bars seem to equate relatively closely with the computer MPG at 1 bar per gallon.

 

I thought the owners manual said to not let the tank go below 1/4 full. Does anyone know why?

 

I've only reached the "blinking" point once, and was able to fill it with slightly over 9 gallons.

 

No - As there apparently are no Mind Readers here in PriusChat, we have no idea why you think/believe the manual states something that far fetched.

BUT . . . just in case . . . I checked . I could not find any reference in the manual regarding not letting the tank go below 1/4.

If that really were the case, Toyota would calibrate the fuel gage to flash empty at that point.

Also, for an environmentally correct, high milage vehicle, it would make no sense to constantly burden the car with a quarter tank of dead weight gasoline.

 

It blinked on me the other day and I drove on about 12 more miles with no problem, which I guess is not much considering 50 mi being what some others have reported. I was nervous though, and kept thinking about running out since I just don't know. It's a bit of mystery, or was. The first tank fill up, I put in 9.9, the second was 10.9, and this last one I'm not sure because I forgot to look. I can't wait to let er blink again.

 

You're wrong. (Apparently, there are not only no mind readers, but also fewer English readers than you suspected.) Toyota recommends keeping the tank at least 1/4 full. They've made this same recommendation for every Toyota I've owned (3, so far). Toyota really doesn't want you to run out of gas because under some circs the catalytic converter can be damaged. Check the owner's manual more carefully (have someone help you if necessary), and you'll find the recommendation.

 

I'm with Dan. I put in one or more gallons after it clicks off. I drive a couple of gallons worth after the blinking starts and have put in more than eleven gallons on almost every fillup. I drove 118 miles past the blink on my last tank and as far as 134 miles in the past. I have many many tanks of more than 650 miles and the last tank I put in 12 gallons. If I filled up as soon as it blinked and didn't add past the first click off, I would only be putting in around nine gallons and driving around 500 miles. It's a point of personal preference.

 

I live in South Texas. In the 1800's Gen. Phil Sheridan was stationed in Texas and is reputed to have said, "If I owned Texas and I owned hell, I'd live in hell and rent Texas out." That in reference to our Texas "warmth". :lol:

I've only deliberately waited for the last bar to blink once, and I filled up pretty shortly after in began blinking. I stopped the fill-up as I always do when the pump clicks off. The tank accepted 9.6 gallons.

 

Thanks for the friendly reply to my post. Page 114 of the 2005 Prius Owner's Manual states "It is a good idea to keep the tank over 1/4 full".

 

Is there something wrong with my Prius?

So is there something wrong with my Prius?

The nozzle shuts off after about a gallon, even with one bar left. I have to constantly squeeze it to start it up again over and over. I never do know how much it needs because of this. I usually stop when it gets to $20 or around 8 gallons.

The car is only a month old so I figured with the bladder this is a breaking in thing. I've only filled the tank twice.

Is this normal or is there something wrong?

 

Conceivably, the problem is with the particular pump(s) you're using. Based on my scant experience, however, I rather doubt it. I have seen this happen once with my car. It just happened to be the only time I tried to manually limit the flow of gas to the lowest amount possible, rather than using the setting on the pump handle (I was thinking this might give the bladder more time to expand). I was using the same pump I had used on previous and subsequent fill-ups. The pump shut off after a very short time, and I had a hard time getting it to stay on after that--no matter how much flow I allowed. If this were a regular problem, I'd take it to Toyota.

 

Re: Is there something wrong with my Prius?

There are several posts about this fill up problem. I've had it occur a couple of times. I does seem that lifting the hose to clear any backflow of fuel helps. Check out This Post