Nervous I'll make a mistake

[orracle]

Originally Posted by Sufferin' Prius Envy

Welcome to PriusChat Fawn's Mom.

One word of advice while reading PriusChat . . .

DON'T LET THE HENNY PENNY TYPES SCARE YOU INTO DOING THINGS YOU DON'T NEED TO DO WITH YOUR PRIUS.

Example #1: There is no need to fill the tank early! The last pip is there for a reason. It will also flash for a reason. THAT is a good reason to fill the tank . . . but do realize, even after that last pip starts to blink, many of us have driven the car for fifty miles or more without running out of gas. There is no need to panic and dive into the nearest gas station.
And why would you wish to defeat one of the best features of owning a Prius? Doing early fill ups only means you have to visit a gas station much more often. Refilling with two pips probably equates into 10 or more extra trips to the gas station for the average driver. Who needs that.

Example #2: The "B" mode is not "pretty worthless" . . . "because it gets overwhelmed on a steeper hill."
The "B" mode does exactly what it is designed for. I have taken my Prius down some very steep grades in San Francisco and in the Sierra Nevada. "B" works "B"EAUTIFULLY! The engine can and will rev higher and make more noise . . . but that is what it is designed to do!

Godiva said it best. "Don't worry. Just drive it like a normal car." . . . even though we know it is better than a normal car, it still drives like a normal car.

This should be helpful to you . . .
http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-ma...-glossary.html

Amen to the fill up advice! No need to be paranoid about it. You'll get a feel for what you need to do as time goes on. I've never filled up fwith more than 1 pip and I've never had less than 1.9 gallons left.

[Prius Prime]

Congratulations on a very wise decision! Hope it comes soon!

Just like everyone suggests, Relax and get used to driving your Prius THEN try for good MPG.

It's hard not to be overwhelmed when you first start driving this car! You will want to watch the energy and fuel consumption screens instead of the road. Just try to take quick peeks, you don't want to run into anything!

About the gas--just don't run out of gas. I start looking for good prices when I get down to 2 or 3 "pips"--previous posters have already explained pips.

If you've never driven an hybrid before, they make some really weird sounds at times, especially after you turn the engine off! Don't worry about the battery--it will charge when it needs to, you don't have to do anything! The car is alot smarter than we are

Search this site for info about battery charging, steps of engine warmup, etc. They were written by people who really know the Prius. (like when you are at Stage 2B of engine warmup, you get that real shakey engine shutoff, all the rest of the time, it's smooth--once you know this, it seems normal!)

One more recommendation--it's kinda cool to track your gas mileage--greenhybrid.com, fueleconomy.gov, cleanmpg.com all have online tracking tools. But PriusChat has the BEST information and most experienced people!!

Relax and have fun!

Prius Prime

[Bob64]

Word of advice: Don't try to drive it on battery power. It'll improve your mileage this way, however counter-intuitive it may seem.

[Danny Hamilton]

Originally Posted by Fawn's Mom

Should I be concerned about running out of gas - and what does PIP mean? I see that I should fill up when I have 2 left?

Originally Posted by footprintx

Filling up at 2 bars is a good way to prevent that, but if you're like me and live where there's a gas station every 2 blocks, you can just fill up when it beeps at you.

Originally Posted by realale

Filling up at two eliminates the possibility of running out of fuel.

Originally Posted by Rae Vynn

when you get down to a couple of PIPs, for safety's sake, just fill it up

Originally Posted by Sufferin' Prius Envy

There is no need to fill the tank early! The last pip is there for a reason. It will also flash for a reason. THAT is a good reason to fill the tank

Originally Posted by judymcfarland

I usually try to fill up when I have 2 pips left.

Originally Posted by orracle

I've never filled up fwith more than 1 pip

Originally Posted by Prius Prime

I start looking for good prices when I get down to 2 or 3 "pips"

As several have mentioned, the only concern to have about running out of fuel is to remember to put fuel in the gar before it runs out. There is a reasonable gauge, so this isn't very worrisome. If you should happen to forget to put fuel into the fuel tank before the tank runs out, it's more of an inconvenience than anything serious. Simply get the vehicle safely off the road, turn the vehicle off, and find a way to add fuel (carry a spare gas can? walk to the nearest gas station? call a friend or family member on the phone to bring you some fuel? wave down a kind stranger and have them bring you to a gas station? call AAA or some other roadside assistance?) Repeatedly driving the vehicle extended distances with an empty fuel tank may reduce the lifespan of the battery in the vehicle, and as such may give Toyota reason not to cover the cost to replace/repair the battery if it should fail during the warranty time period.

When to add that fuel is a personal decision based on one's personal risk aversion. You'll need to make that decision for yourself. Many people recommend 2 pips. As you've seen in this thread, some like to push it until the last indicator on the fuel gauge ("pip") is flashing on and off at them. I haven't seen anyone mention it in this discussion yet, but if you don't mind the inconvenience of stopping at the gas station a bit sooner, there is no reason you can't add fuel when the gauge indicates that the tank is half full, or even three quarters of the way full. If you really like stopping at the gas station, you could even add fuel every 30 miles or so. Just think, you could tell all your friends that ever since purchasing the Prius, it has never cost more than $3 to fill your tank!

[McShemp]

The only thing I can add to the fueling recommendations is that, when you're done fueling the car, tighten the gas cap until it clicks a few times.

It's a car ... a great one ... just drive it and you'll be fine.

[Dan-Wolfe]

Take the time to read the entire owners manual when you get the car. Just about everything you need to know is in there! And it's included in the cost of the vehicle.

You don't need to get crazy and highlight it, but reading through it will give you the chance to see what Toyota recommends before you go overinflating your tires.

Makes for great toilet reading!



Congratulations on your superb choice of transportation! You won't be disappointed.


Dan

P.S. Regarding filling up your gas tank, when I lived in Alaska and California, I made it a point to keep my tank as full as reasonably possible in case of unexpected bad weather or earthquake. If you should have an unforeseen emergency which requires you to evacuate immediately, knowing you have adequate fuel is a plus. I believe that to be good advice with ANY vehicle. I rarely go below about a half tank. In fact, painful as it is, I keep my 31 foot RV full as well just for contingencies.

[miscrms]

Originally Posted by orracle

Amen to the fill up advice! No need to be paranoid about it. You'll get a feel for what you need to do as time goes on. I've never filled up fwith more than 1 pip and I've never had less than 1.9 gallons left.

To the OP, relax it will all be fine!

To the above,
Arggghhhhh! Here we go again

You have no idea how much fuel you had left, because you have no idea how big your fuel tank is. The volume varies between about 9-10.5 gallons as best we can tell depending on temperature and age. If you assume you had 1.9 gallons left because you have never put in more than 10 gallons and you "know" the tank is 11.9 gallons because that is what the manual says you are just begging to run out of gas (as many with the same idea have) and are now giving other advise that will put them at risk to do the same. If you read the manual in a little more detail, you will discover that it even says that your fuel tank volume will be less than 11.9 gal depending on temperature but does not say how much less.

All that being said, people do tend to over react to the situation. Its really pretty simple. If you put 9 gallons in, you know you have a minimum of 9 gallons in the tank. On a bad day this will take you ~360 miles (40mpg), and on a normal day it will take you about 430 (48mpg). On a really good day it will take you 500 miles or more (55+ mpg). For all the ragging that the "guess gauge" gets, its actually the one thing you can trust. Barring some type of rare component failure or calibration problem, pretty much no one who has just trusted the gauge and filled up when it says to fill up has ever gotten into trouble. The people who don't trust the gauge and fill up when they think they should based on how much gas they "know" they should have and how many miles they "know" that should take them are the ones who frequently end up getting in trouble.

At the same time we should not over react, its also important not to under react. Running out of gas in any modern car is a very bad idea that can cause serious damage (fuel pumps, injectors, catalytic converters, emissions sensors etc). The Prius has an added level of complexity, in that the car will give you the option to keep going after you run out of gas. This is a wonderful safety feature, as it can get you out of a dangerous situation. However, if abused to avoid the inconvenience of calling for help this option can do serious damage to the hybrid battery pack. Adding to that the variability of the bladder causing some uncertainty about exactly how much fuel you have at any given time you can get yourself into trouble as several people have.

All that being said there is nothing other than common sense that needs to be applied to driving the Prius. Drive it like a normal car and let it worry about electric motors and batteries and internal combustion engine. When the last pip on the gas gauge blinks and the screen says "Add Fuel" do what it says. Find a gas station and put gas in it. If you are worried about being able to find a gas station right when it says "Add Fuel" you can always just fill up when you get down to 1 or 2 pips. Some people have been able to drive 50 miles after the last pip starts blinking. Others (particularly in hot weather like here in Phoenix) have run out after 5-6 miles. Why chance it? Along the same lines don't try to keep putting more gas in because you think it should take more. If you are down to 1 pip and you put in 8 or 9 gallons and the pump stops, just let it be. Over filling can cause gas to go where its not supposed to and cause damage. This also seems like common sense to me. When the pump says its full, its usually pretty close to right. Why risk damaging your car to squeeze another 1/4 gallon in?

Most of all ENJOY you new car, and the knowledge that you are putting out 1/2 the CO2, 1/3-1/10th the smog emissions and spending 1/2 as much money on gas, sending 1/2 as much money to the government on fuel taxes, sending half as money to unfriendly foreign governments, contributing half as much money to obscene oil company profits or whatever other motivation floats your personal boat! Best of all enjoy discovering that all these benefits come with little to no real sacrifice on your part. Most of us end up loving this car more than our previous one, regardless of whether that was an SUV, a sports car, a luxury car or what have you.

Rob

[didnotwantaprius]

Hey mom take it from me i drive my prius to death to nyc every day
and it just keeps going, 42-47 mpg

good luck its a good car.

[hummersnubber]

Hello! I have 104K+ miles on my 4yo Prius. I was curious about the battery and did some imprudent testing when I got my car. I see that this is not advisable, but I was curious! I carried 3 gal of gas with me, and drove until I ran out of gas, just to see how far the battery would go (about 100 feet...). I put gas back and off I went. One other time I accidentally ran out, replaced and went on. The moral is that my Prius now "has my number". It doesn't sound sane, but my fuel indicator light starts flashing now when I still have about another 150 miles of fuel left! It does not trust my judgement!
Until two months ago, I drove 50 miles a day at highway speeds, and averaged 46 mpg. I am now driving in town, getting same. I'm hoping it will increase with the extra battery charging.
Do not worry. This is the best car. There is nothing about it I would change, unless it would increase mpgs. Enjoy!

[Rokeby]

Fawns Mom,

Fundamentally the Prius is a very solid car, that is; very safe, very clean,
very economical, and very easy to drive.

Because our community is so large and diverse, we encompass the range of
vehicle owning experience and expectations; from the most conservative
old-timers to the go-for-broke, most radical. At times we get "wrapped
around the axle" discussing subjects that are rare occurrences, or have been
induced by inattention, or risky behavior... or some times just plain silly.
Don't let that put you off. Somewhere between the extremes is the reality; it
is hard to see how you could go wrong buying a Prius, so long as you don't
put yourself in financial jeopardy doing it.

That said, I think the only real mistake you could make is to shy away from
the Prius due to some vague fears. Go for it!

I am confident that in even a short time, you will be glad that you did.