[WARNING] Running out of gas (Gen III)

[bwilson4web]

Originally Posted by Rokeby

Bob,

My previous question was purely information seeking and technical in
nature. It was not meant to be a goad, or otherwise diminishing to your
underlying concern about safety of human life.

My most sincere apology if I came across as insensitive or flippant.

I owe you an apology!

I transitioned from a technical answer to a general reply to those who think it is not important ... 'just don't run out of gas.' Had we all been 'face to face,' my body language would have made it clear that the second part was addressing those who would diminish the importance of this safety feature.

Hopefully I've addressed my NHW11, running out of gas experiences. In over three dozen cases, it has been a bit of a 'crap shoot' on how long the car would go before the engine conked out. It was completely unpredictable and ranged from 25-130 miles. But I always had the safety of being able to pull over to a safe place to refuel.

BTW, this also addresses those who would use fuel starvation to stop the engine. The new mode means the car is going to come to a stop and not proceed. Sorry, but I think losing a safety feature because of a few modifications is wrong, just plain wrong.

Bob Wilson

[wvgasguy]

Originally Posted by bwilson4web

Bob Wilson

Bob, my TCH might have had a different warning system than the Prius. I am interested in the reserve as on daytime trips I really don't see filling up with 100 miles left in the tank when there are gas stations every 10 miles.

So when you are measuring and you say first "flash". Is the miles to empty still reading 30 to 50 and you get the warning light (that's the way my other Toyota's are). Is there more than one flash? My light just comes on and stays on.

Thanks for all the experiments you're doing!

Joe

[bestmapman]

Thajs Bob, good to know the amont of fuel remaining at flash.

[Flying White Dutchman]

mmmm

maybe toyota thinks running down the battery will damage it..
and if you drive off aftere a empty tank like in the prius gen 2 and are able to lose the DTC;s nobody will now there is a maybe damaged battety in the prius.?

or there just needs to be a software upgrade!!!!

even if the prius will not lett you drive on EV.. there needs to be more then the warning you got bob.... not good thing this

[XMAN LIVE]

I ran out of GAS twice in my 06 Prius... I agree that if the 3g car does not work in the same way this is bad. I had told many of my friends about what happens when running out of gas in 2g and they thought it was very cool. You can safely get out off the road when running out of gas in 2g Prius, both times I made it to the gas station.

Fun Thread “How Far would you driving on blinking pip, or Guess Gauge Part 2”

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/62505-how-far-would-you-driving-blinking-pip-guess-gauge-part-2-a-2.html#post861988


My fun story post # 7,

[MaggieMay]

Thanks for this info Bob. I'll be new to the Prius and have been reading lots of warnings about letting the gas go too low. You're tests are proving we all need to be careful not to run it out!

[bwilson4web]

Originally Posted by wvgasguy

. . .
So when you are measuring and you say first "flash". Is the miles to empty still reading 30 to 50 and you get the warning light (that's the way my other Toyota's are). Is there more than one flash? My light just comes on and stays on. . . .

The two times I checked, it showed "0 miles remaining."

Bob Wilson

[djasonw]

Am I missing something? I have a 2004 and I rely on the mileage screen to gauge my fuel level. I look at the MPG I have achieved on a particular tankful and multiply it by 10 (I know there is an 11.9 tank). I use this as a cushion. I've driven to the point of the last pip flashing and usually take LESS than 10 gallons when the hose clicks off. I am sure this discussion has taken place before but there are lots of newbies here that should read this. I for always procrastinate but I've never ran out of fuel. When that last pip is flashing you really need to gas up.

[gene4655]

One of the negatives we see with our new GenIII is that MPG is not continually shown on the screens, as it was on both our GenII and GenI Prii. To find the MPG now (consumption), you have to find the right display, nd then the MGP is present in VERY small figures, a little dangerous to check when you"re 75 MPH down the Interstate.

[yardman 49]

Hello Bob:

Your experiments are hugely beneficial to understanding the characteristics of the new GIII.

But as others have mentioned, running out of gas is now no different than any other ICE powered vehicle. Maybe a step backwards from the GII, but nothing more.

Also, your analogy of saying "don't run out of gas" is like saying "don't get in an accident" is really not a valid comparison. As long as the gas gauge is functioning, you definitely have way more control of not running out of gas than you do of not getting in an accident.

Best wishes,

Frank