Fueling Issues

Graz · 03-27-2007, 11:20 PM

Hey Everyone!

I wait till I get a flashing PIP on my fuel gauge, then I set the Trip A meter to count how far I have gone on "reserve". I have never run out of fuel. I have gone as far as 43 miles on Trip A. I assume that I have 1 gallon of fuel and I use the tank average to estimate that I will get one gallon of distance on reserve. This logic has been derived from reading your experiences here on this forum.

Last week, I had 10.5 miles on Trip A when I found myself near my favorite gas station. When I fueled up I was only able to get 5.5 gallons into the tank. I thought that odd, but the gauge promptly reported full. I usually round UP to the next even dollar when fueling. In this case it was something like 15 cents.

I drove off and hummed down the road. I had a 300 mile highway trip last weekend, and my tank began flashing just before I got home. I fueled up 17 miles later when I was in the neighborhood of my favorite gas station again. This time I only put 8.1 gallons in. I purposely poured over a dollar into the tank.

To say that this is driving me crazy is an understatement. OK I have a "favorite gas station" and it drives me nuts to only need 5.5 gallons to fill my tank. I am certifiable. Commit me.

I have put just over 11 gallons into this car. I have gotten over 550 miles in one tank. NOW!!! I can't seem to be able to hold enough fuel.

Dear Abby... What am I to do???

Signed - Confused

**Tideland Prius** · 03-28-2007, 12:29 AM

Dear Confused,

unfortunately, the Prius comes with a flexible rubber bladder (as you may or may not know) inside the fuel tank. The usual trick of assuming 10 litres in reserve (which is a typical Toyota number) cannot be applied to the Prius because of the bladder. I find it odd that you have such variances given your location but it does happen. Also, the fuel pump may shut off early if the pressure builds to the preset level prematurely. My advice is to remove the nozzle, wait 10 seconds, then reinsert and pump at near full velocity. If it shuts off again, well then you have a full tank or the car simply won't allow the pump to put any more in. If it does continue fuelling, monitor the gallons to make sure the pump wasn't fooled or faulty (and thus resulting in overflow of the fuel filler pipe).

Just think that the bladder is helping the environment by preventing gasoline fumes from escaping the fuel tank. This also means you burn every drop of fuel that you bought.

I'm also surprised that you didn't mention it before given that you have a 2005 (unless you bought used. If so, I must've missed your introductory thread).

In short, just enjoy the car and its foilbles. Put in fuel when it asks you to. It may not be the range you were expecting but it's gonna be a heck less fuel than any other car on the road in the US.

Signed - Abby (haha.. ok.. signed Tideland Prius)

qbee42 · 03-28-2007, 09:55 AM

Try a different pump or a different station. All of the fueling problems I have ever had came from bad pumps (not really the pump, but the auto-shutoff nozzles).

Tom

JimN · 03-28-2007, 11:49 PM

Dear Confused,

Pop the top off a cold one and relax. It's weird that the guess gauge showed full with only 5+ gallons pumped. Even in the colder weather here I have not seen this happen. One occurance is a fluke. Twice may be evil spirits. Try a different pump at the station and keep in touch.

An Abby Columnist

dogfriend · 03-29-2007, 01:15 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ Mar 28 2007, 07:55 AM) [snapback]413507[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Try a different pump or a different station. All of the fueling problems I have ever had came from bad pumps (not really the pump, but the auto-shutoff nozzles).

Tom
[/b]

Speaking of which, I have been filling up when I get to 2 bars on the gauge. Tonight was the 4th fill up since I got the car. The previous fills were about 8.2 gal, 7.4 gal, 7.6 gal. I had traveled 355 miles since the last fill so I was expecting to put in about 8 gal.

I started the pump on the slowest rate and went ahead and washed the windshield and checked the oil level. When I finished with that, the pump was still going, but it was on a really slow flow rate so that was ok. I watched it go to 7 gal , 8 gal, 9 gal (hmm, shouldn't need that much....) 10 gal (wow, I never got that much in before....) At 10.2 gal, fuel started to spray out of the vapor control nozzle. Luckily, I got it shut off pretty quickly without getting too much on the car.

The auto-shutoff nozzle didn't (auto-shutoff). Never had that happen before with any vehicle.

qbee42 · 03-29-2007, 09:32 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dogfriend @ Mar 29 2007, 02:15 AM) [snapback]414009[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

At 10.2 gal, fuel started to spray out of the vapor control nozzle. Luckily, I got it shut off pretty quickly without getting too much on the car.

The auto-shutoff nozzle didn't (auto-shutoff). Never had that happen before with any vehicle.
[/b]

I have. One time I got nailed on my way to the airport to fly out of the country. So here I am, four hours of driving, two hours in the airport, seven hours on the plane, and I reek of gas. It's hard to get rid of that smell. Diesel is even worse.

Tom

dogfriend · 03-29-2007, 11:17 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ Mar 29 2007, 07:32 AM) [snapback]414123[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

I have. One time I got nailed on my way to the airport to fly out of the country.

Tom
[/b]

Was that with the Prius, or a different car? I'm wondering if I'm going to have to watch the fillups carefully to avoid this in the future.

With my other vehicles, (Ford Explorer, Toyota Pickup) I usually have the opposite problem; the pump shuts off as soon as I set the handle to autofill so I have to stand there and hold it the whole time.

qbee42 · 03-29-2007, 02:02 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dogfriend @ Mar 29 2007, 12:17 PM) [snapback]414186[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Was that with the Prius, or a different car? I'm wondering if I'm going to have to watch the fillups carefully to avoid this in the future.

With my other vehicles, (Ford Explorer, Toyota Pickup) I usually have the opposite problem; the pump shuts off as soon as I set the handle to autofill so I have to stand there and hold it the whole time.
[/b]

That was a Ford Aerostar. I had a lot of trouble with it at one particular station. They have since replaced their pumps and I have no more trouble. As for the Prius, I have never had any fueling problems. I set the nozzle at the low speed click and let it do its thing. When it clicks off, I'm done. I don't try adding any more fuel.

Tom

dogfriend · 03-29-2007, 02:28 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ Mar 29 2007, 12:02 PM) [snapback]414356[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

I set the nozzle at the low speed click and let it do its thing. When it clicks off, I'm done. I don't try adding any more fuel.

Tom
[/b]

I think this is the best approach. Thanks for the reply.

brick · 03-29-2007, 06:35 PM

For what it's worth, I've been going to my local Shell mostly for the last three months and refueling every 250 miles because I can hardly ever get more than 5 gallons in when I refill at 2 or 3 pips. Yesterday I stopped by one of the many Sunoco stations since it was "cheap" ($2.75 is cheap) and managed to get nearly 7 gallons in without going past the auto shut-off. All this tells me is that the Shell pumps are more sensitive, and don't work as well with the tank bladder. So don't sweat it. Different pumps allow for different fill levels.

03-27-2007, 11:20 PM	#1
Graz Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 105 My Car: 2005 Prius Package: #6 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Hey Everyone! I wait till I get a flashing PIP on my fuel gauge, then I set the Trip A meter to count how far I have gone on "reserve". I have never run out of fuel. I have gone as far as 43 miles on Trip A. I assume that I have 1 gallon of fuel and I use the tank average to estimate that I will get one gallon of distance on reserve. This logic has been derived from reading your experiences here on this forum. Last week, I had 10.5 miles on Trip A when I found myself near my favorite gas station. When I fueled up I was only able to get 5.5 gallons into the tank. I thought that odd, but the gauge promptly reported full. I usually round UP to the next even dollar when fueling. In this case it was something like 15 cents. I drove off and hummed down the road. I had a 300 mile highway trip last weekend, and my tank began flashing just before I got home. I fueled up 17 miles later when I was in the neighborhood of my favorite gas station again. This time I only put 8.1 gallons in. I purposely poured over a dollar into the tank. To say that this is driving me crazy is an understatement. OK I have a "favorite gas station" and it drives me nuts to only need 5.5 gallons to fill my tank. I am certifiable. Commit me. I have put just over 11 gallons into this car. I have gotten over 550 miles in one tank. NOW!!! I can't seem to be able to hold enough fuel. Dear Abby... What am I to do??? Signed - Confused __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Graz '05 - Tideland Pearl - Package 6 $3.13/G (02/22/2008) 43343 miles of smiles Lifetime: 47.00 MPG Highest Tank: 57.9 MPG Highest Miles/Tank: 559 P185/65R15 Continental Pro Contact Tires LRR: .00825 47.0/45.0 psi Limit your funding of international terrorism!

03-28-2007, 12:29 AM	#2
Tideland Prius Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 13,920 My Car: 2005 Prius Package: B Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 11	Dear Confused, unfortunately, the Prius comes with a flexible rubber bladder (as you may or may not know) inside the fuel tank. The usual trick of assuming 10 litres in reserve (which is a typical Toyota number) cannot be applied to the Prius because of the bladder. I find it odd that you have such variances given your location but it does happen. Also, the fuel pump may shut off early if the pressure builds to the preset level prematurely. My advice is to remove the nozzle, wait 10 seconds, then reinsert and pump at near full velocity. If it shuts off again, well then you have a full tank or the car simply won't allow the pump to put any more in. If it does continue fuelling, monitor the gallons to make sure the pump wasn't fooled or faulty (and thus resulting in overflow of the fuel filler pipe). Just think that the bladder is helping the environment by preventing gasoline fumes from escaping the fuel tank. This also means you burn every drop of fuel that you bought. I'm also surprised that you didn't mention it before given that you have a 2005 (unless you bought used. If so, I must've missed your introductory thread). In short, just enjoy the car and its foilbles. Put in fuel when it asks you to. It may not be the range you were expecting but it's gonna be a heck less fuel than any other car on the road in the US. Signed - Abby (haha.. ok.. signed Tideland Prius) __________________ 2005 Tideland Pearl Premium Package as of 25th Oct 2004 VVT-i Emblem, Sport Pedals, OEM All-Weather Mats, Cargo Mat, EV Mod, JDM Prius Interior Footwell Lighting, DICE iPod Integration Kit, LED licence plate lights, Phillips Vision Plus 2008 smart fortwo passion coupé as of 28th Apr 2008 Foglights, dash pods, leather seats, OEM rubber mats, BRABUS alum. handbrake, LED licence plate lights & dome lamp

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03-28-2007, 09:55 AM	#3
qbee42 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 5,690 My Car: 2006 Prius Package: #7 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 6	Try a different pump or a different station. All of the fueling problems I have ever had came from bad pumps (not really the pump, but the auto-shutoff nozzles). Tom

03-28-2007, 11:49 PM	#4
JimN Certified Prius Advisor Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: South Jersey Posts: 2,199 My Car: 2006 Prius Package: #3 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Dear Confused, Pop the top off a cold one and relax. It's weird that the guess gauge showed full with only 5+ gallons pumped. Even in the colder weather here I have not seen this happen. One occurance is a fluke. Twice may be evil spirits. Try a different pump at the station and keep in touch. An Abby Columnist

03-29-2007, 06:35 PM	#10
brick Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 700 My Car: 2007 Prius Package: #2 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	For what it's worth, I've been going to my local Shell mostly for the last three months and refueling every 250 miles because I can hardly ever get more than 5 gallons in when I refill at 2 or 3 pips. Yesterday I stopped by one of the many Sunoco stations since it was "cheap" ($2.75 is cheap) and managed to get nearly 7 gallons in without going past the auto shut-off. All this tells me is that the Shell pumps are more sensitive, and don't work as well with the tank bladder. So don't sweat it. Different pumps allow for different fill levels.