Fuel Tank

[pat2762]

I have had my Prius for 10 days now and have been averaging 50 mpg. So my math tells me with a 11.9 gal tank I should be able to run close to 600 miles per tank. Well I have filled up three times now and every time I am on Empty at 350 miles? I am only able to put in 7 gallons when I fill so the 50 mpg is accurate. Is my gauge not working correctly? Or is that just the way this tank bladder works?

[qbee42]

No, you aren't the only one. That's the way it works with the U.S. version of the Prius. The manual states 11.9 gallons for the gross capacity of the tank. The usable capacity is closer to 10, and variation caused by the bladder inside the tank makes it hard to know exactly how much usable fuel you have. I usually put about 8.5 gallons in mine on each fill, but I try not to run it down too close to empty. It's just not worth pushing it if it's not necessary. If you want a lot more information, search on the term "guess gauge".

Tom

[pat2762]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ Nov 19 2007, 11:34 PM) [snapback]541784[/snapback]</div>

No, you aren't the only one. That's the way it works with the U.S. version of the Prius. The manual states 11.9 gallons for the gross capacity of the tank. The usable capacity is closer to 10, and variation caused by the bladder inside the tank makes it hard to know exactly how much usable fuel you have. I usually put about 8.5 gallons in mine on each fill, but I try not to run it down too close to empty. It's just not worth pushing it if it's not necessary. If you want a lot more information, search on the term "guess gauge".

Tom
[/b]

I'm just jealous of these drivers who say they are getting 600 - 1000 miles per tank, and I can only get 350. Other then that I am loving the car.

[qbee42]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pat2762 @ Nov 19 2007, 10:45 PM) [snapback]541788[/snapback]</div>

I'm just jealous of these drivers who say they are getting 600 - 1000 miles per tank, and I can only get 350. Other then that I am loving the car.
[/b]

At 50 mpg you can go 500 miles on a tank, but you might have to coast to the edge of the road when you run out. Some people are hyper-milers, and work very hard to get extremely high mileage. Others like to push a tank to its very limit. The ones getting 600 - 1000 miles on a tank are doing both. I don't see the merit in pushing a tank to its limit, but to each his own.

Tom

[efusco]

Buying a Prius in Minnesota in the winter has the distict advantage of feeling incredibly happen when temps start rising in the Spring! Of course the disadvantage is that it's a MN winter and your FE will be pretty poor thanks to the cold temps...add to that a car that's not yet broken in and a novice driver and you will struggle a bit. Hang in there, be patient and let's see if you're not a much happier camper come May!

[Tideland Prius]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pat2762 @ Nov 19 2007, 07:45 PM) [snapback]541788[/snapback]</div>

I'm just jealous of these drivers who say they are getting 600 - 1000 miles per tank, and I can only get 350. Other then that I am loving the car.
[/b]

That's in the summer. Be patient!

[MikeSF]

I had a similar issue the other day, got really cold here, well cold for San Francisco, went to CostCo, left the store and went to fill up since I only had 2 bars left, I had driven close to 400 miles at this point. I put gas in, and the thing maxes at about 2.7 gallons! Now I know I was hypermiling or anything. I tried a couple more re-adjustments and to put more gas in but nada, I attributed it to a cold bladder that wasn't stretching as it should.

Now the kicker is my fuel gauge stayed at 2 bars! *Grrrrr* and did so for the next hundred + miles!

There definitely is some squirrelly happenings that can occur with that bladder.

[bat4255]

Very few accurate fuel gauges out there. I have learned to trust my trip odometer, (assuming the Prius has one) reseting it at ea. fill up. Once a reliable mpg can be established, I would go by the mileage.

If the tank is a comfortable 10 gal usable, and your comfortable with 50 mpg, that would be 500 mile range, I would fill up @ 400 miles, and work it from there. This would give you a 2 gal reserve. In winter, I would figure closer to 40 mpg. At 10 gal is 400 miles, fill up @ 350, should give you at least a 50 miles reserve.

[icarus]

[quote=Jim O @ Nov 20 2007, 11:07 AM) [snapback]542075[/snapback]</div>

Very few accurate fuel gauges out there. I have learned to trust my trip odometer, (assuming the Prius has one) reseting it at ea. fill up. Once a reliable mpg can be established, I would go by the mileage.

If the tank is a comfortable 10 gal usable, and your comfortable with 50 mpg, that would be 500 mile range, I would fill up] 400 miles, and work it from there. This would give you a 2 gal reserve. In winter, I would figure closer to 40 mpg. At 10 gal is 400 miles, fill up @ 350, should give you at least a 50 miles reserve.
[/b]

Tempature has a large effect on the bladder and it's capacity. If you want maximum range for long trips, I suggest that you drive on "the top half of the tank" routinly, keeping it fully expanded for more of it's time. When you think about it, if you are routinly filling up near the bottom of the tank, and can't get much in, you are still having to stop at about the same interval as you would if you drove on the "top half".

When we drive long trips we drive 4-500 miles or until we need to stop for some other reason. At home we fill up after 3-400. Remember, if you only drive a little, the bladder could be contracted for weeks before you go to fill.

Icarus

PS On another thread, I asked about storing the car with little fuel. When we went to fill (It was almost empty) after six weeks, we could only put in 3.5gal. It took several tanks to get it back to capacity. The problem gets worse when it gets cold.