Fuel gage

[Tadashi]

My current tank is at 519 miles and still have 2/10 bars left. At first I was estatic about the good mileage, but now I am worried the guage is screwy and I will run out of gas on the freeway on day. Does the fuel guage check for fuel levels or does it only check when you refill then use consumption calculations? If I run out of gas i would not hear the end of it from my coworkers.

[Marlin]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tadashi @ Jun 15 2006, 01:36 PM) [snapback]271707[/snapback]</div>

My current tank is at 519 miles and still have 2/10 bars left. At first I was estatic about the good mileage, but now I am worried the guage is screwy and I will run out of gas on the freeway on day. Does the fuel guage check for fuel levels or does it only check when you refill then use consumption calculations? If I run out of gas i would not hear the end of it from my coworkers.
[/b]

You could always fill it up to find out how empty it is.

[brandon]

Yeah, I think I'm going to be in the same predicament. I have about 200 miles on this tank, and I've only lost 2 pips. Maybe the gauge will start dropping faster. I did notice on the last fillup, however, that it let me put in over 10 gallons (gauge showed one pip prior to fueling), so maybe I just have a really full tank this time.

[San_Carlos_Jeff]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tadashi @ Jun 15 2006, 12:36 PM) [snapback]271707[/snapback]</div>

My current tank is at 519 miles and still have 2/10 bars left. At first I was estatic about the good mileage, but now I am worried the guage is screwy and I will run out of gas on the freeway on day. Does the fuel guage check for fuel levels or does it only check when you refill then use consumption calculations? If I run out of gas i would not hear the end of it from my coworkers. [/b]

Since the consumption screen can be reset at any time I'm assuming the guage is checking the level. For some reason (maybe the bladder?) this guage seems to have a harder time than on most cars.

[sharkmeister]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tadashi @ Jun 15 2006, 01:36 PM) [snapback]271707[/snapback]</div>

My current tank is at 519 miles and still have 2/10 bars left. At first I was estatic about the good mileage, but now I am worried the guage is screwy and I will run out of gas on the freeway on day. Does the fuel guage check for fuel levels or does it only check when you refill then use consumption calculations? If I run out of gas i would not hear the end of it from my coworkers.
[/b]

I fill mine every two weeks, need it or not. Last time it was 145 miles travelled over 2.28 gallons, so clearly it was not needed.

The computer said mileage was about 50 mpg instead of the calculated 63+, so I guess the bladder was cool and contracted when I filled it. If I add a half-gallon to make it 2.78 gallons, it is much closer to computed.

I do worry that I will fill the tank completely and then the weather will get cold and I'll burst the bladder. Has anyone ever had happen??

With my short commute, I can go a long time without refilling, so I'm mostly just topping it off.

BTW, had some horrible traffic here and normally that's good for mileage, but it was on an uphill portion of I-395 and my battery ran out of power after a while.

That meant it was starting the engine for every 20 ft. and 50 ft. forward creep. The mileage seemed lousy, the computer was showing the bars at 15-20 mpg. Perhaps the actual mileage was not so bad but the extend creep and a few dozen quick engine starts and stops threw the computer off.

[Porridge]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin @ Jun 15 2006, 01:43 PM) [snapback]271711[/snapback]</div>

You could always fill it up to find out how empty it is.
[/b]

Ditto here. 180 miles and only one blip gone. It's flakey for sure, has a definite s-curve characteristic. I think it should have a reserve tank like a motorbike. For the Prius, based on reports, it's akin to the small tank on some of the Harley bikes; it's not a case of when you run out of gas but where you run out of gas.

At 519 miles, I would be looking for a gas station. I would really appreciate it if you let us know how much gas you put in it. And, the temperature when you did it.

[galaxee]

there is a float with a magnet attached to it to measure the fuel level in the gas tank.

if you filled up last time and your car was on an incline, your inclinometer might be off. but typically people are running out of gas with 3+ bars when that's the problem.

you can't burst the fuel bladder. it maintains a low air volume above the gas to prevent vaporization, not to make it more sensitive to vaporization. don't worry about that.

[Tadashi]

I filled up this tank in the morning, approx 70 deg, flat surface, last month (been a slow month). I am just trying to see how much I can get on one tank, which translates to drive until it blinks or the end of the month whichever comes first. Plus I am waiting to see if the gas prices will dip a little between now and next wednesday. They just went back up 10 cents. I feel better knowing it a magnet float in there.

Yeah normally i am blinking at 500 miles but only get about 8.5-9.4 gal in it.

I feel like I am having a staring contest with my cat to see who will blink first. :P

[tochatihu]

An image from the NHW11 tech manual might help? The new one cannot be very different.

I have driven 30 miles past "ding" (2001 Prius), but not comfortable doing that.



[attachmentid=3825]

[klaux]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tochatihu @ Jun 16 2006, 01:22 AM) [snapback]272080[/snapback]</div>

An image from the NHW11 tech manual might help? The new one cannot be very different.

I have driven 30 miles past "ding" (2001 Prius), but not comfortable doing that.
[attachmentid=3825]
[/b]

Hmm. Would overfilling, to the point of overflow, throw off the fuel gauge?

This morning I had trouble getting the pump to continue pumping gas when filling up from a 1/4-tank state. I carefully held the pump handle in a half-depressed state to get it to continue pumping. As a result, there was overflow--in fact, I was surprised to find that a small amount of gas gushed from the orifice after I removed the pump, as if the bladder had contracted slightly.

I then drove home, a little over 200 miles. Even when pulling into my garage, the fuel gauge had not changed from the full-tank reading...!!

Out of curiosity, with the engine off, I removed the gas cap, then replaced the gas cap, and started it; the fuel gauge dropped one bar.

Am about to take it out for a short drive. I hope my Prius begins to admit to being a little more thirsty than that....