Fuel Guage

[MartyG]

Have a Fuel guage reading empty and blinking away. then only put in 7.5 gal. to 8 gals. beings I drive for work at an average of 2400 miles a month this is a real pain. any answers to this problem? <_<

[Bill Merchant]

That's a lot of driving! Get used to filling up often.

The indicator on the dash is fondly referred to by many Prius owners as the Guess Guage, since it's just a guess as to how much gas you have. One thing for sure, when you have one pip blinking, GET GAS! Running out of gas is hard on the car, and at one blinking pip, it could happen at any time.

You'll probably get more range in the summer and as the car gets older. The bladder in the tank, which helps the car be a Partial Zero (isn't that a great concept?) emissions vehicle get's stiff in the cold and more flexible through use.

[efusco]

Does your guage read full after you fill up? How far do you go before the first block disappears?

Some pumps work better than others with the prius as far as ease of filling the tank completely and topping off (I know, you're not supposed, yadda yadda)...try different places in your area to see if you can find one that works better than the others for you.

If the first block disappears <50 miles after your fill up then you probably aren't fully filling the tank.

And like Bill said, things will improve a little in the summer and the '06s seem to do better than my '04 as far as being able to use more fuel before the last bar starts blinking...I think most people with an '06 can get 9-10 gallons in fairly consistantly...I've only gotten over 9 gallons a handful of times in 57k miles of driving w/ mine.

And remember, you'll still be getting around 500-600 gallons/tank...better than almost any other car on the road so even if you know you should get 700 miles it's not really that big of a deal in the big picture.

[moxiequz]

I fueled up for the first time last week. I got about 375 miles on the dealer's tank. I managed to get 8.3 gallons in on the refill. From that tank, the first pip on the gauge disappeared after 71 miles. That seems about right to me - especially since my commute has some hilly terrain in it. I'm hoping to eventually get up to around 400 miles between fillups.

[JimN]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MartyG @ Mar 10 2007, 11:42 PM) [snapback]403631[/snapback]</div>

Have a Fuel guage reading empty and blinking away. then only put in 7.5 gal. to 8 gals. beings I drive for work at an average of 2400 miles a month this is a real pain. any answers to this problem? <_<
[/b]

Marty, welcome to the site. There isn't much you can do about the bladder. At the pump fill up as slowly as possible. I haven't filled up lately as I'm trying to top off as prices rise.

To increase mpg there are a couple of free/cheap avenues. Increase your tire pressure to 42/40. Block your grill until outside temps are 50F.

On the bright side, you are still buying less gas than before you bought the car.

[jackovalltrades]

I filled up yesterday with only a single bar left. Has anyone run out of gas with a single bar (without blinking)? Also once it starts blinking roughly how far can you get before you're SOL? I'm not trying to push it by any means but it's good to know in those rare cases.

[efusco]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jackovalltrades @ Mar 12 2007, 06:30 AM) [snapback]404142[/snapback]</div>

I filled up yesterday with only a single bar left. Has anyone run out of gas with a single bar (without blinking)? Also once it starts blinking roughly how far can you get before you're SOL? I'm not trying to push it by any means but it's good to know in those rare cases.
[/b]

I don't recall any reports of running out of gas with only one non-blinking bar showing, but there've been a handful of reports that within a few miles of starting blinking they ran out.

That said, 50 miles is probably usually a safe range after it starts blinking if you feel like pushing your luck. I usually try to fill within 20 miles since running out of gas sucks big time!

[Charles Suitt]

Another vote of agreement with Bill and Evan. Running a Prius out of fuel {actually ANY car} is most often unnecessary and can be a real drag. The Prius main traction battery CAN give you a very small range but it can't be good for the Prius.

I have NEVER run my Prius {2004 or new 2007} out of fuel, always filling at the one non-blinking pip on the fuel gauge. Seems some Prius owners, especially new owners, use math based on the EPA fuel economy figures and hope to have ~500 mile range before purchasing fuel. I must admit, that'd be nice, but it simply isn't so. The oft used "GUESS GAUGE" terminology is very true on the Prius... and, in fact, true of most cars.