Ran out of gas after 472 miles

We put a man on the moon almost 40 years ago, yet we still can't manage to know precisely how much gas is left in the Prius...

I think we need a visual of the actual gas in the tank fed right to the MFD. h34r:

 

I was ridiculed for making a similar statement several months ago.

 

hmm. not sure how this works. the airtight metal tank i was referring to is the type of tank used in the new camry hybrid and the highlander hybrid. i don't know what the rx400h uses, but i imagine they have it in there too. it's an improved version of the bladder tank really- achieve AT-PZEV without annoying drivers with that bladder issue.

you indirectly answered your own question let me clarify.

there is a check valve. i'm not sure on the specifics, but that was one of the things DH mentioned when telling me not to top off. vapors are unlikely to get through since the bladder is sealed. however, if you shoot for a megafill and put way too much gas in there, the pressure of the fill can send a few drops into the space between the bladder and the metal tank. this would be the cause of HC vapors in the space. at least, that is how i understand it. wish i had some kind of diagram to sort all this out.

sure are... i hope this version of the prius is the last version that has a bladder tank!

 

I know you love your Priuses, but for heavens sake, they are not perfect and the gas tank is a prime example. Please stop with the nonsense of "if you see it flash" fill up immediately. This was a problem they had on the Ford Mondeo in the UK. Difference is, they fixed it after Reps were being left at the side of the road. Yes, Ford!! Please Toyota, fix this.

As I reported last year, on my trip from Seattle to DC and back, I joined MANY other Prius owners stranded at the side of the road. I had travelled 14 miles after the fuel warning light came on when I ran out of gas near Memphis. I filled up in the morning, it was not cold, so don't start with the cold stuff please. And yes, because of the miles I was doing, I filled it to the point where I could see gas.

Toyota roadside assistance was excellant, and a guy came out in 20 mins with 3 gallons of gas. One mile down the road was a gas station (I was that close), where I put a little over 7 gallons in. So, on a nice warm day, I could only put in just over a little 10 gallons. Why not tell me that I filled the gas tank up too quickly? I filled this puppy to the brim. I have been able to get 11.9 gallons in the Prius.

One thing I've learned about this forum; don't EVER critic the Prius. That's why I have stopped visiting it as regular as I used to.

To all those who have ran out of gas just after the warning light, join the club.

 

Congratulations! You've joined my ignore user group. Just kidding.

 

I'd like to know the '06 Prius engineering.

I don't object to the bladder in principle, just the lack of a way of determining tank content at fill with reasonable accuracy, or remaining gas, which was the object of my questions. If we understood the engineering better, we would be able to deduce if there is any way of making better estimates.

As to critics - I think this is a pretty critical thread, there are plenty of admissions on recent threads that the gas guage is a disaster, and has caused lots of grief. It's not an apology to say: fill it at 2 bars; its a necessary precaution because of a defect.

C

 

What are you asking Toyota to "fix"? Make the gas gas more conservative? It's the driver's fault for ignoring the flashing. My dealer was very explicit about getting gas real soon once I'm down to 2 pips and immediately if I'm down to the last one. He mentioned to me that one of the most common "problems" that Prius people have is running out of gas.

I'd imagine that part of the reason Toyota got rid of roadside assistance for the 06 model year was because of people ignoring it and going... "oh.. it's ok, I can go further and oh yeah, I can run on a battery a while longer too..." This was probably putting unnecessary costs on them. Your experience along w/other stranded Prius drivers exactly proves my point.

 

My 2004 Prius manual says...
"The fuel tank capacity is decreased at low ambient temperature. (decreased by about 5 L (1.3 gal., 1.1 lmp. gal.) at –10C (14F).)"

It just says about 1.3 gal. There is no guarantee you have at least 10.6 gallons.

Ken@Japan

 

I ran mine down to the blinking bar, and got nervous after 5 miles, though I was in freeway EV creep mode for most of it. It took 9.647 gallons using the auto shut off at the pump. I only got 440 miles. Been out "criusing" the HOV lanes all week. Anyway, 9.647 gallons from a blinking gas bar seem to be about right, from what I've been hearing. One wierd thing, right after fillup, the MFD was indicating 76-80 mpg (freeway crawl). I got one yellow bar (about 75 mpg). The next time it posted only a little green car, and no yellow bar, but still indicated 76+ mpg. I thought that was kind of different. Anybody else get green cars, but no yellow bars?

 

Yeah, looks like it might have something to do with EV mode.

 

So, you now know the 11.9 gallons is not always true.
Do you know "my MPG" shown on MFD is displayed about 2.5% higher?

I believe our mission is understanding Prius before complaining Prius.

Ken@Japan

 

I see comments about the bladder getting smaller as temp goes down. But I should think that the bladder will assume the temp of the gas being put into it. I also think that there is not a whole lot of difference in gas temp coming from underground storage tanks during summer or winter as they are buried at least a couple feet down. Earth makes a good insulator so I should think that the avg. temp of gas would be around 50 degrees F. Varying during the year probably between 40-60 degrees F as the seasons change. So I don't think the problem is shrinkage in the bladder due to low temps. I think it's just a poor system for storing and reporting volume left because of Toyota's desire to achieve low emissions.

Wildkow

 

How about something like this: 70-gallon aux tank

Even with the extra weight, I could go maybe 2 months on this...

... on second thought, would probably still push it after the last pip would start to flash

 

I completely agree with you in principle, Ken. And that is mostly what this thread has been about (with little success).

So I also agree with another poster that Toyota should have made every effort to ensure that the buyer gets all the necessary and accurate information he needs with this unusual vehicle, (Toyota should never have allowed this discussion to be necessary.) I suspect they did not, because the tank would have been exposed as a design weakness. The design weaknes is greater when it is concealed, so it does more damage to Toyota in the long run that if they were up-front about it.

All those Priuses Porrige saw on the side of the road, out of gas, are hardly a good advertisement.

C

 

My manual clearly states the tank will have less capacity when cold, and that is exactly what it does!

I count on going 500 miles between fill ups in summer, but only 400 in winter.

 

"Toyota should never have allowed this discussion to be necessary"

I disagree. The Prius gives you the following warnings:

Gas gauge blinks.
MFD gives message to get gas.
Voice mutes radio, tells you to get gas.

But you feel it's Toyota's fault when you run out of gas after these three warnings?

 

The aux-tank concept is so ... so Road Warrior. Now I can't get
this vision of a prius with two big ol' drums stuffed into the
hatch out of my head... cruisin' for days across the outback..
.
_H*

 

So the tank holds 11.9 gallons....

Fill up record since Jan 27, 2006. (Pick up date)
2-05-06 387.0 miles 11.4 gals 33.9 mpg
2-23-06 374.3 miles 9.95 gals 37.6 mpg
3-10-06 504.2 miles 11.01 gals 45.8 mpg

I started my last tank with a 120 mile highway
trip that indicated 51.1 mpg. Went from Reno , NV at 4411 FT
to South Lake Tahoe, CA 6200 FT. 70 MPH and some slow city
driving combined with up a mountain pass and back down.
I reset it for the remainder of the tank, which was
in town, 43.2 mpg

The mpg results are real close to the MFD displayed mpg.
I ran it until the last gas mark was displayed at 460 miles
I then ran until it started blinking..................... 503 miles
That makes 43 miles from last mark to blinking or about 1 gallon.
The MFD mpg shows 43.2 mpg or 1 gallon.
I headed to the next gas station and filled up. Just a few miles. I topped
the tank off.

The gas nozzle fits very tight and you need to fill slowly after it
kicks off.
Pull the nozzle out and let the air equalize. Rock the car
before you start filling again. Go for it again. I had a slight burp.
Nothing like the first fill up that gushed out. Gas was visible in
the filler tube,
And I had less dribble then I did with my old 1994 Mercury Tracer.
I think the problem is the tight fit around the filler tube gasket
against the nozzle.

Also no problems with the gas gauge readings. Always shows correct.

I doubt if the 60 MPG city is realistic. The highway 51 is right on
at freeway speeds.

As for fill up, I can get 11.+ gallons in so maybe as a bag of potato chips
expands going from sea level to Lake Tahoe, so might the gas tank.
So maybe thats why I can more gas in at 4411 FT when some people
have troubles getting in 8.9 gals.

So maybe the elevation and the outside temp both are a factor in filling up.