Inaccurate bar gas gage - anyone else experience it?

Hey Rick. is this reset Inclination reset procedure you descibe supposed to work in the '05 Prius? I printed the directions and took them out to my car just to be sure. I tried it several times, thinking I wasn't doing something right but always get the same thing. After powering down (checking that ODO is displayed beforehand), and then restarting in IGN ON mode and holding the ODO button down, I see a line of dashes (------) where the odometer reading is that disapears one at a time from left to right and then mileage comes up. If I press the ODO button three times within the five seconds as you describe, either after the "countdown" or during, it sequences between the ODO A, B and back to ODO. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

After reading this thread before I got my car on Saturday - I have tried to take very careful notice of the bars and when they go down...

I am averaging 48.4 MPG on this first tank from the dealership and have now noticed this:

3 bars left - 315 miles
2 bars left - 375 miles
1 bar now left - 422 miles

So, if the dealer really filled it up with 11.9 gallons - that means that in "theroy" I should be able to max out at 576 miles and would run out at that point. Should I just fill up right when the bar starts to flash? That seems to make the most senst to figure out the math... I assume.

I have also read many places that you should never put the gas pump beyond the slowest "click" on the holder. Meaning, don't put it on the fastest setting and walk away.... is that everyone else's experience as well? I assume this is due to not filling up the bladder to fast and causing the pump to stop too quickly? I wonder if this is why some are getting in-accuracies?

Anyways - just some thoughts - comment at will!

Thanks,
Tony

 

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For what it's worth I alway fillup on the slowest setting and only average 8.2 gallons per fillup. I've put in as much as maybe 9 gallons in the 15,000 miles I've owned the car. I think I went an extra 40 miles that time after the last bar was flashing. I've had both the fuel gage and filler neck fix done and only have a noisy dashboard to show for it now. There just seems to be a lot of variability between capacities among owners. I would love to be able to put in 10 gallons or even 11! Instead I'm stuck right around 380-450 miles per tank. I do plan to try to redo the level sensors soon and see how that goes.

 

I just experienced this due to the non linear operation of the gas guage.

Filled up can until pump clicked off, this was my 2nd fillupfor her & she took 9 gallons after cruising 449 miles (not to shabby for the first tank!)

went 100+ miles getting about 50 mpg this time (different driving conditions) gas guage guage still full.

drove to work now had 152 miles, guage still full.

Started car to drive home still full, hit 160 something miles guage dropped a bar.

Arrived home about 190 miles still only 1 bar down.

Drove to work today, dropped another bar about 225 miles.

This does not surprise me, Its been very hot lately I suspect alot of fume expansion is going on in the tank making her seem more full than she really is. (does this sound right?)

I've decided to fill her at 2 bars or 450-500 (based on "this" tanks mpg) miles which ever occurs first.

- Al

 

Yesterday, I tried my first "mega-fill" where you pump > 11.5 gallons into the Prius.

As you can imagine, it really screwed up my MPG reading for the tank!

http://www.w8kc.com/priusmileage.htm

The previous fillup was done by my wife without me in attendance. I'm pretty sure she simply stopped putting fuel in the car when the pump hit the auto shutoff point.

I still had ONE BAR showing!!! Not even flashing! So that's really strange that (in theory) I was less than 1/2 gallon from running out of fuel.

 

priusham, you probably werent that close to being empty. many have done more than the 1.9 gallons and you probably could too.

 

i got about that much in my car (11.5) with very careful filling to get in as much as possible and this was after i had run out of gas on the road and had to call roadside assistance.

 

Update on my first tank on my new 2005:

Last 3 bars -

3 bars left - 315 miles
2 bars left - 375 miles
1 bar left - 422 miles
Flashing bar - 469 miles

I filled up 1 mile later on slowest pump setting - could only get 9.5 gallons. I waited about 1 minute and tried again, and could only get .15 gallon more in for a total of 9.65 gallons

Average based on these numbers - 49.0 on the screen - 48.2 calculated.

I guess I would in theroy have got another 100+ miles if there really was approximately 2 gallons left, but oh well. Maybe when I get bored someday (yeah right) I will try to go another 50 miles to see if I get close to the 1 more gallon and a total of 10.65 gallons.

They must have done something in the later 05's, casue this is much more linear than I was expecting.

 

I just realized that if I would have not put in that .15 gallons more, my calculated would have been very close to being accurate to matching the screen exactly.

with 9.65 gallons (slight fill past auto shut off pump)- 48.2 calculated.
with 9.5 gallons (before filling past auto shut off) - 49.05

 

$28K??

my Prius never fails to look better and better!!

 

on my second tank of gas, i went over 200 miles without the gas guage dropping a bar. then, it dropped 4 bars in the next 30 miles. since i am getting 54mpg, i knew that the gauge was wrong. i just fill up at the 500 mile mark.