Which Pip on the gauge do you routinely fill your gas tank at?

I normally look at miles driven, not gauge pips, if I FILLED the tank at the last stop. 10 gallons worth of miles has worked so far.

If I only add a token amount due to price or not having enough gas cards on me, I think 2 pips is about the time I make sure I get some more. I know there's plenty left at that point, but better safe than sorry...

 

I usually fill up on the first commute home once it reaches two bars. I only fill up on the way home, never in the morning if I can avoid it. My commute is only 15 miles and there are gas stations near home, near work and halfway between. If the guage gets down to one bar, which rarely happens, I stop at the next gas station, even if it's during my morning commute.

I don't think I've ever gotten to the flashing bar or seen the "Add Fuel" on my Prius. However, I have seen it on my wife's Prius. She's a lot more lax about getting gas.

 

I've done 3 fills so far and I have done them with 3 pips left... only because I've seen so many people here run out of gas. I don't think I've had to pump more than 7.5 gallons. With my '88 Stanza, I had it for so long that I knew exactly how much gas I had left at any time, so I could run it right down to the warning light. There are so many gas stations in close proximity in the boroughs of NYC that I've never had much cause for worry. I would never let it run down that much on a road trip while in unfamiliar territory.

 

I fill-up at the next opportunity when the last pip is flashing. I generally put in exactly 10.0 gallons. This makes calculating tank and cumulative fuel economy easy. I don't "push it," knowing that 1 to 2 gallons remain in the tank.

Because I get asked so often how the Prius genuinely performs, I often pull out the current paper spread sheet. People seems to understand more easily when things are divided by 10 (The US system of measurement, SI, is based on 10). I have greater confidence in my numbers and can look to other explainations when fuel economy goes up or down (cooler or warmer ambient air temperature, seasonal fuel formulation, unusual driving conditions such as more or less city or highway driving and my own driving).

 

I usually add gas shortly after it goes down to 1 pip. On my commute the nearest gas station is no more than one or two miles away. I have only had the blinking pip and "Add Gas" warning twice. On road trips I start thinking about adding gas after I have been down to two pips for a while and before it goes down to one pip. On the road trips I have been on it usually is never more than 20-30 miles to the next gas station.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cary1952 @ Apr 13 2006, 06:18 AM) [snapback]239044[/snapback]</div>

I wait until it gets to 2. My reason is....What's the point of having a car that can go 400+ miles per tank when you fill it earlier? Now, sometimes I fill earlier, either because gas is cheaper that day or I'm about to go on a long trip.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Apr 13 2006, 08:24 AM) [snapback]239047[/snapback]</div>

Be careful... the forums are riddled with posts from people who ran out of gas after making that same assumption.

 

I like to try and watch gas prices in my area and fill up before price hike. www.gasbuddy.com is very handy for that. So be it 7 pips or 1 I try to stay ahead of the bump up.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(landstander @ Apr 13 2006, 10:38 AM) [snapback]239115[/snapback]</div>

Good warning. That is exactly what happened to me last Friday. I had read many posts saying there are about 2 gallons left when the fuel gauge is down to the last pip. Since I have been getting about 47 mpg, I figured I was okay when I drove onto the Causeway, a 26 mile long bridge over Lake Pontchartrain, near New Orleans. Actually, there were 2 pips when I got on the bridge, tho I knew the second to last one was soon to go. Sure enough, it disappeared about two miles or so onto the bridge, and then the last pip starting blinking about 4 or 5 miles onto the bridge. I figured I was still okay, because I only had another 20 miles or so to get to the south shore and off the bridge, where there is a gas station nearby.

Man, was I wrong. About 4 or 5 miles before the end of the bridge, my system started to shut down, then came to a complete halt after a mile or less of running just on the battery. This is a very dangerous bridge because there is no shoulder. If you stop, there's no where to go but in the lane where you stop. Just since January, two men and a little boy have been killed because they were rear ended after stopping and pushed thru the side rail and into the lake. A few days before I ran out of gas, another man was also pushed into the lake, but he survived. Thus, I had no choice but to let the Causeway police push me to the end of the bridge (because of the serious risk to people's lives, they will not let you wait for a tow truck if your vehicle can be pushed).

Anyhow, I don't intend to let my fuel gauge ever again get below 2 pips. Also, I wonder how people come up with the calculation that there are 2 gallons left at the last pip, unless the tank has more gas at the last pip relative to the amount for each of the other pips, which I realize many cars do. But my experience makes me think that maybe it is more evenly distributed for a Prius, and that, dividing 11.9 gallons by 10 pips, the last pip has closer to 1.2 gallons, tho even that appears according to my experience. Even if I only had 1.2 gallons left when the last pip started blinking, I should have easily been able to make it another 20 miles.

Gary
2006 Super White

 

I wait until im at 2 pips

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cary1952 @ Apr 13 2006, 06:18 AM) [snapback]239044[/snapback]</div>

I try to be refilled before I get to the second pip. In my previous car (Honda Accord), if you got down to within what looked like a tenth of a tank, you are just about out of gas. I suspect that the Prius gauge is similar. Better safe than sorry.

 

In almost 20,000 miles of driving, I have never refueled the car before the last bar started flashing. I have yet to run out of gas. The car took anywhere from 9.25 to 10.75 gallons when I filled her up.

 

I usually refill at the 2 bars remaining level. My commute is about 90 miles round trip and I like to use my local gas station whenever possible. Refilling with 2 bars remaining ensures that I won't have to fill up at a higher priced stations across the state line.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AlphaTeam @ Apr 13 2006, 10:10 AM) [snapback]239135[/snapback]</div>

Ditto for me! But, I don't use gasbuddy.com since our town is so small. Once you see a gas increase at one station, you'll see it at all the others in a matter of hours. I can say though, I rarely drop below 3 pips...don't want to run out of gas in the middle of the desert. B)

 

I fill at one pip. That way I get an idea of my mpg on a 'tank'.

I certainly fill when the pip starts blinking. I have no idea how much gas is left, although I have trouble putting in more than 9 gallons. I still don't want to take any chances, based on others experiences of running out of gas.

 

I hate gas stations. I try to go there as little as possible so:

I fill up at 1 blinking pip, or within 15 miles of it whenever possible.
If I am right at a Shell or other favored gas station I might fill up at 1 pip, to save a trip.
When traveling and I am not sure where the next open station is going to be I may fill up early at 2 or 3 pips when I am way in the country.

I might fill at 2 pips when local, due to forecast weather conditions so I don't have to do it in a snowstorm etc.

And if my car takes less than 10 gallons I feel like an idiot for filling so early! This happens a lot since I get 10 gal in guaranteed only when I get to 1 pip flashing!

 

About halfway down for me, timed for when I'm in one of the other towns with better fuel prices (about 30c/gallon better!). Those towns are 20, 25, and 35 miles away. If I can put in five gallons or more, I'm happy.