Driving Past The Add More Fuel Beep

[Shawn Clark]

Originally Posted by boppo

I drove my 2006 for a while and the last pip was not yet blinking and I put 11.625 gals so there can't be a gal left when it starts blinking. At least not in mine.

That seems to be pretty rare based on all of the threads I've read on the subject. If I could get 11.6 gals in at the blinking pip, I sure wouldn't want to try running past that for more than a handful of miles. The most I've gotten in after the flashing pip (usually filling within 10 miles) is 9.95 gals, the least is 8.4 (twice). My current average is 9.00 gals at the flashing pip.

[DaveinOlyWA]

i think it all boils down to how much you want to top off the tank. i have driven 100 miles past the blinking bar and have never gotten as much as 11 gallons in. a few times, i got 10.8, couple 10.6's...

overfilling can ruin your vapor recovery cannister which is a spendy replacement, so i stop when i have put in what i took out. or just a few clicks past the auto shutoff point. on the 2010, i am getting over 600 miles on a tank and last time only had to go 20 some miles on the blinking bar to get 622 miles so my range is good enough for me, i dont need to get anything better than that

[richard schumacher]

Originally Posted by CharlesJ

According to the manual it is 3 gal remaining, approx. when it starts blinking.

That's the maximum possible amount that could be left in the tank, with strong emphasis on "could". Someone who continually relies on that assumption is likely to run out eventually.

As Dave mentions and as Galaxee has described in detail elsewhere, topping off can cause expensive damage to the fuel system. Not to mention that it increases hydrocarbon pollution, which is certainly not why anyone bought a Prius.

[morpheusx]

Originally Posted by boppo

I drove my 2006 for a while and the last pip was not yet blinking and I put 11.625 gals so there can't be a gal left when it starts blinking. At least not in mine.

its also possible that the pump you used was not accurate as it would be nearly impossible to add 11.6 gallons in a 11.9 gallon tank that wasn't flashing or empty.

[hill]

Originally Posted by DaveinOlyWA

. . . . . . . . . snip

overfilling can ruin your vapor recovery cannister which is a spendy replacement, so i stop when i have put in what i took out. or just a few clicks past the auto shutoff point. on the 2010, i am getting over 600 miles on a tank and last time only had to go 20 some miles on the blinking bar to get 622 miles so my range is good enough for me, i dont need to get anything better than that

Does the Gen III risk damage to the cannister by over-filling too? Haven't been able to get a response yet from the Gen III forum. Maybe no one knows? yet?


.

[richard schumacher]

At the very least it will still saturate the canister and again add to hydrocarbon emissions. That alone is reason enough not to do it.

[DaveinOlyWA]

Originally Posted by hill

Does the Gen III risk damage to the cannister by over-filling too? Haven't been able to get a response yet from the Gen III forum. Maybe no one knows? yet?


.

it would be great if Toyota had figured out a way to prevent overfilling from ruining the cannister, but considering that it is part off the ventilation system, it would be difficult.

as i stated before, i drove about 25 miles past the blinking bar. so i started blinking at 598 miles...the only advantage to overfilling is getting a few more miles on your tank... to be honest with ya, getting 650 instead of 600 miles between fillups??? what are you willing to risk for that inconvenience of visiting the gas station ONE EXTRA TIME each year???

as for me...not very much

[diamondlarry]

Originally Posted by morpheusx

its also possible that the pump you used was not accurate as it would be nearly impossible to add 11.6 gallons in a 11.9 gallon tank that wasn't flashing or empty.

I have on 4 separate occasions put in over 11.9 gallons in my '07: 6/20/08-12.4 gallons at 1069.6 miles, 08/09/2008-12.4 gallons at 1143 miles, 06/15/2009-12.1 at 1100.7 miles, and 07/13/2009-12.9 gallons at 1184.2 miles. My best tank ever was on 09/06/2008 when if filled with 8.56 gallons at 867.4 miles in preparation for a road trip the next day. On one of those 12+ gallon tanks, I drove ~170 miles after the last pip started flashing. The car is not a PHEV.

[DaveinOlyWA]

Originally Posted by diamondlarry

I have on 4 separate occasions put in over 11.9 gallons in my '07: 6/20/08-12.4 gallons at 1069.6 miles, 08/09/2008-12.4 gallons at 1143 miles, 06/15/2009-12.1 at 1100.7 miles, and 07/13/2009-12.9 gallons at 1184.2 miles. My best tank ever was on 09/06/2008 when if filled with 8.56 gallons at 867.4 miles in preparation for a road trip the next day. On one of those 12+ gallon tanks, I drove ~170 miles after the last pip started flashing. The car is not a PHEV.

Larry;

very very impressive performance you have there... but was the last pip flashing?? after all, that was the only statement made here

oh!! nm, you stated that it was...

[Rae Vynn]

The only possible use of having a "zero-tank" to figure with is to get the vehicle's range... not its MPG.

MPG is determined by dividing the miles driven by the gallons used. Fill the tank completely, drive a few hundred miles, and then fill the tank again. The amount of gas it took to fill it is what is important. Having consistent fills is also important. Use the same gas station/pump for both fills to get closer results.

Speaking of which, I'm down to two pips. Gotta get gas today.