No low fuel light in Prius

Then someone will post how they are annoyed with the texting and would like to know how to disable it.

 

They better hope the SO remains in the dark.

Nice avatar

 

I would be a bit more sympathetic if the person did not earlier have

4 bars
3 bars
2 bars
1 bar
Blinking bar

 

I have never seen mine because I am to scared about running out of gas. Two bars...fillup time for me!

SCH-I535 ? 2

 

The fuel gauging of all my current and past cars has been very sloppy and inaccurate compared to the gauging accuracy demanded by pilots in their aircraft. The Prius is typical, with plenty of undisclosed safety margin. Cwerdna has frequently posted links to several articles describing the car maker practice and philosophy on this.

How accurately do you know your aircraft's remaining fuel range? I seem to remember other pilots suggesting 10 minute uncertainties. Most of my cars have gone two hours beyond nominal fuel 'Empty'.

Cars have very cheap fuel indicators, and fuel weight is a very minor factor, less than 2% of a Prius' gross vehicle weight. Sloppy gauging has little impact on operation, so a huge safety cushion helps cut complaints from customers caught with their pants down.

Aircraft are completely different. Fuel weight is a huge factor, exceeding even total payload weight on long flights. The two hour fuel range uncertainty of my cars would be completely unacceptable on a commercial jet, sharply reducing its usable range and cargo capacity.

It will shut down propulsion at 2 bars, saving the remainder for future engine starts.

For more detail about GenIII fuel starvation, read the base post of [WARNING] Running out of gas (Gen III). The whole thread is too long to read, but Bob does find and describe the full story of what really happened later in the string.

 

Hmm, ever visited Gimely Manitoba? That aircraft finally houred out and I guess is sitting in a desert somewhere.

Oh, and Tideland, you assume people can read. I don't see that when they're driving. Or maybe it's just a lack of understanding of what they're reading.

 

Deep discharge will also damage the longevity of a nickel-metal hydride battery, which is likely another reason that the Prius shuts down before a deep cycle rather than allowing a Prius driver any illusions of getting into a habit of running the car out of fuel every tank.

 

Sorry, can't muster much understanding or sympathy for anyone complaining of a lack of a low fuel warning light on a Prius.

What do you think the 1/2 moon crescent shaped series of Pips represents?
When you get down to 1 or 2 left what do you think that means?
When you get down to one, and hear a tone and the last remaining Pip starts blinking, what do you think that means?

How much more "warning" does a fully functioning adult need?

 

A gentle tap on the shoulder.

 

Some people need the mallet to pop out of the headliner (for impact to the top of the head) or the cricket bat to swing out from the side (for impact to the rear of the head).

 

Crazy! Next thing you know, somebody will want a coolant temperature gauge!

 

Never fear -- even if Toyota put in THREE temperature gauges, there would be complaints from bozos that wrecked their engines that they were in the wrong part of the screen, not the right colors, or too small or too large.

 

I'm still running on my tank from last year ;-)

Mike

Mobile on my SGH-i717

 

Sounds to me like you need to log some hours with a CFI who's current in the Prius, and then maybe head out for a checkride before you go it alone. NTSB report on your mishap would say "Probable causes of this accident were the pilot's failure to confirm that adequate fuel was on board before departure, and his improper decision to continue driving after the instruments indicated the low-fuel condition. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's unfamiliarity with the type of vehicle, and no standardized indicator for low fuel conditions in this type of vehicle."

More usefully though, I think you can go up to 100 miles or so after the last pip starts flashing - or maybe it's after DTE hits zero, I'm not really sure. I've never actually tried this myself, so I generally no more than 50 miles beyond the last pip or DTE 0 before filling up. I rarely get more than 10 gallons into the tank (no topping off) when doing this.

You can also get an OBD device of some sort (I have a ScanGauge) that will tell you gallons in the tank, among other things. Because the fuel is sloshing around a lot, you have to average the reading out a bit in your head, and take into account that it will change if you're going up or downhill (and you may flame out sooner if you're on a slope as well, if the remaining gas is pooled away from the fuel pump). As I said, I've never run it down to bone dry, so I don't know exactly what the margin of error on the raw OBD reading is - but it's at least reassuring to know that I have enough gas left in the tank that it can still slosh around and make the sender change levels.

 

What is the Scangauge code for fuel level?

tnx,
Mike ;-)

Mobile on my SGH-i717

 

I'm a new owner. I waited until the blink bar to fill up. When, I do, I was only able to fill up just a tiny bit over 9 gallons. Is that similar with everyone's experience? I understand that the max capacity of the tank is 12 gallon. It's just odd that there are still about three gallons left in the tank and the bar was blinking already.

Regards,

 

It's a safety factor, so you don't run out of gas and harm the hybrid system.

 

My parent's '58 Volkswagon had a low fuel stick, lol. Pop the hood (gas tank in the front), take off gas cap and dip the stick in.

With our Prius I fill it anytime it's at or under half, do not want anyone else fueling up. I know they'll (unnamed )either do a partial fill or not record the odometer reading.