Refueling problem

Is the nozzle on “premium” smaller? That octane rating looks a little low.
I think the Prius looks for 95+ which equates to US premium. Perhaps it’s by design to prevent miss-fueling?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

 

The Prius takes 87 RON Gas here in the USA. That's commonly known as Unleaded Regular on our pumps. There is no difference in nozzle sizes for different Octane gas. I've never heard of anyone unable to insert the fuel nozzle in a Prius due to a too tight fit. Perhaps the OP can take some pics of his attempts.

 

So is that Wikipedia article incorrect then? It lists US “regular” as 87 (R+M)/2 which is 91-92 RON. I would have thought “Mid-range gasoline” 90 would be a more appropriate at 94-95 RON. But each to their own.

 

I remember reading a similar thread complaining about PP fueling, but I can't find it now. I don't remember if there was an "answer" posted in the thread but will post it here if I find the thread. Most of the refueling problems that have been posted for the PP are due to the earlier year model having no protection for the fuel door release button. If the nozzle or operator pushes the button inadvertently, the car sees it as the fuel door is "closed" and shuts off the valve in the fueling pipe, resulting in the fuel not entering the tank. But that is not the problem you are describing. Also, this fuel door button became protected in later year models of the PP, so it is no longer a problem. I think Gen4 had the same problem and was solved similarly.
See this thread for photos of earlier and later PP model fuel door buttons.
Problems refueling | PriusChat

I think the US uses (R+M)/2 Method for octane rating everywhere. And the US PP manual calls for 87 octane rating regular gasoline which is 91 RON according to the manual which I believe is the same for any Gen4 Prius. But in any case, as @FuelMiser pointed out, there is no difference in the nozzle size between different grades of gasoline I know of, so that can't be the reason for the problem OP is describing.

 

Agreed but I guess our air must be thicker as the uk manual says 95 RON. Go figure.

 

Year, there are other known regional differences for the requirements for presumably the same vehicle. It may be technical but could be more political. For example, earlier PP had engine oil 0W20 requirement in the US which is now 0W16, but Japanese Prius PHV always required 0W16. The Canadian manual calls for regular brake fluid replacement in the manual, but the US manual does not mention this.

 

OK, I think this is the thread I remembered. It may or may not be the same issues. But the core of the issue was that the OP of the linked thread seems to be having a problem in keeping the gas nozzle inserted into the car, a similar symptom as @ny biker is describing in this thread.

Unfortunately, the linked thread did not solve the problem nor reached a conclusion as to what was causing the problem to begin with.

Pumping gas | PriusChat

 

Agreed US emissions regulations are different.

 

I've been locked out of the cars gas tanks nozzle once. I think it's normal and can be fixed by pressing the refuel button on the dash a second time.
That little flap inside the gas tank tube (that flips open when inserting the pump handle (I think) is on a timer and if the driver takes to long to insert the pumps handle into the cars nozzle that flap shuts and locks until the refuel button on the dash gets pushed again.
I didn't try forcing the pump handle into the cars tank nozzle though so it's possible that locking mechanism could be damaged if you actually pushed on it hard enough.

Don't hold me to this, as it's only happened to me once and I don't know the particulars about the system either. But pushing the refuel button worked for me the one time I couldn't get the pump handle into the cars gas tank refueling nozzle.

 

I was thinking it was a pump foreskin issue but I don't believe Va has the foreskin on the pumps.

 

How long after opening the fuel door till you took the pic? I think the timer is set for 1 or 2 minutes.
I opened the fuel door, than realized I had to go inside to prepay. When I came back out I couldn't get the pump handle inserted into the fill tube. Pressing the Refuel button on the dash opened it (that flap inside the fill tube) again and the pump handle went in normally.

 

I don't know about Gen4, but in PP, the white plastic thing in the fuel opening started in the 2020 model. I have it on my current 2021 model as well. The thing is, even though that is new in 2020 and newer models and apparently restricts the fuel opening, I have not had any problem inserting the fuel nozzle into it. As someone commented in the other thread I linked, the spiral spring around the spout of the gas nozzle is supposed to be specific to the diesel pump only. I have not actually seen one like that at any gas stations I have used. The photo was taken from an internet image search.

 

As I understand it, the Gen2 refueling problem was due to the bladder in the tank. That does not exist in PP anymore. As I commented, most of the refueling problems in the earlier PP model (pre-2019) were due to the design of the fuel door lock button which was exposed, and sometimes this button was pushed accidentally before the completion of the refueling. This caused the car to "think" that the fuel door is closed and the car stopped the fuel valve. This problem was corrected in the 2020 and newer models by the new fuel door lock guard you see around the fuel door lock button in your photo. And this is not the problem you are describing in this thread.

Since I and many other PP owners with the white piece of plastic in the fuel opening have not had any difficulty inserting the gas nozzle into the PP for refueling, it is not likely the cause, unless somehow your PP is manufactured differently than most others. It is possible that your PP has some defective fuel tank opening parts, but before you go back to a dealer to make a complaint, at least try again at a different gas station to see if the tight fitment of the gas nozzle is universal. Unless the dealer can reproduce the problem, you will have less chance to correct the problem.

 

I have a 2022 XLE and the picture matches mine. I have no problem refueling, but then I generally have my card out and an out of the car before I push the button.
FWIW Shell has a video on one of their sites that explains the different ways I octane is rated in different countries.

 

@ny biker I tried to get pics of my fuel tank fill nozzle. Besides learning to some degree why it's so hard to get pics of black holes by using zoom to try to get a shot inside the actual fill tube, my pics didn't show anything all that much different that yours above, except I don't have that plastic valve looking thing on the right side in your pic.
Anyways, there is information about the system in this thread and a decent explanation of how the system is supposed to work in the specific post linked to
New Member: 2019 Prius Fueling Issue | PriusChat

What I experienced the one time it happened to me was no where near the 30 minutes mentioned in the documentation. But as with many other unusual things I've experienced with the Prime, if a thing happens at least semi consistently, I try my best to figure out why.

When it happened to me the scenario went like this. At the gas station I opened the gas door, went to the pump inserted the pump handle and tried to pump but the pump was not on, looked around to find out why and a new sign was posted bout having to prepay inside before pumping, so I put the handle back on the pump and left the gas cap off and the gas door open. I paid inside came back out and tried to start fueling but I couldn't get the pump handle inserted into the fueling fill tube. Long story short, after a few minutes of scratching my head??? I pushed the Refuel button on the dash and the pump handle went into the cars tank fill tube as it normally (for me) has every other time I've put gas in the tank.