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My 2010 Prius would not fill to 10 bars :(

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Mare1083, Mar 24, 2012.

  1. Mare1083

    Mare1083 New Member

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    2010 Prius
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    III
    Please let me first apologize if this has been covered elsewhere. I'm familiar with vBulletin forums from COTH and know the search function leaves a lot to be desired. But I ran a few different search terms and used google and I can't find this issue relating to a Gen III.

    Let me also apologize if I put this in the wrong area. I wanted it to be seen by some of the most knowledgeable folks who have lots of Prius experience so I figured the main forum would get me that.

    Tonight, I filled up at a gas station I have never used before with my Prius, but I have used before with cars I had before the Prius. Never any issues with filling up.

    I bought my 2010 Prius used on December 30, 2011 with 43179 miles on it. I bought it from a Toyota dealer who had sold it directly to the first owner.

    In the roughly 4k miles I've put on the car, I've never had this happen before. My mileage for the tank was 422.8 and my estimated (by the car) MPG was 48.4.

    I filled up setting it on slow (I'm pretty sure, but honestly it was pouring rain and I was really tired after getting up at 3:30 for a horse show) and stopped filling when it clicked off. It took 6.994 gallons. I got back in the car thinking that was really, really low because my other tanks had been around 350-390 with estimated MPGs between 42-47 and those tanks took between 8-9 gallons. I got in the car and sure enough...the car had only filled to 9 bars.

    I got back out and pumped again. It shut off almost immediately, but I kept pushing a few more times. I put another .652 gallons in it. I got back in the car and it still only read 9 bars. I decided not to put anymore in it because I didn't want to risk overflowing the tank not being able to tell which was right and which was wrong.

    Has anyone had this happen before with a Gen III? I've read lots of issues on the Gen II, but not the Gen III. I thought the tank bladder had been removed on the Gen III. Hubby is a Saturn/GM mechanic and he thought maybe it was a vent issue?

    I do have an extended warranty with a $100 deductible, but I'm not sure what I should do. I hate to waste $100 for them to tell me there's nothing they can do.

    Any suggestions?

    Please and much thanks in advance!
     
    #1 Mare1083, Mar 24, 2012
  2. mad-dog-one

    mad-dog-one Prius Enthusiast

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    I don't know if this helps, but our Gen 3 Prii show 10 bars (full) for the first 50 miles (about a gallon) after a fillup.
     
    #2 mad-dog-one, Mar 24, 2012
  3. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    Was this the only incident? If so, something might have been wrong with that pump at the gas station.

    I once filled a rental car in Florida and the pump was going crazy slow. However, it was really late at night so I figured the gas station was closing or I had a retarded pump. Took it to a different one and it filled up just fine.
     
    #3 32kcolors, Mar 24, 2012
  4. SuperchargedMR2

    SuperchargedMR2 Diehard Rams Fan

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    It could just be that pump. I would go to another station & try filling it up & see if it fills up normally.
     
    #4 SuperchargedMR2, Mar 24, 2012
  5. Mare1083

    Mare1083 New Member

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    Ok, I will try a different station today. Disappointed as this was my best MPG tank since purchase and I've been accurately tracking my numbers. Since I didn't get a full fill my numbers will be off. :(
     
    #5 Mare1083, Mar 25, 2012
  6. Big Steve

    Big Steve ramblin wreck

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    The numbers for THIS tank will be off but it will be set right at next fill. The average will be perfect.
     
    #6 Big Steve, Mar 25, 2012
  7. cnbmis

    cnbmis Junior Member

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    Model:
    III
    I've had a couple pumps short-fill and refuse to continue -- I think each pump's auto-stop has a tolerance and can sometimes be set a little too low. Also the angle of the nozzle in the neck can sometimes matter, if skewed too far it seems to cause enough back pressure to trip. Each pump varies, so I avoid the stinkers and try to use the same "good" pumps at the couple stations I frequent.

    +1 w/Big Steve - tracked over lifetime, total miles / total gallons = truest MPG you can get, and that smooths any variations from tank to tank.
     
    #7 cnbmis, Apr 3, 2012
  8. B. Roberts

    B. Roberts Hypah Milah! Ayuh.

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    Yup, it's gotta be the pump. Had that same thing happen on a trip south in our '05 Prius a few years ago. Only had 2 gallons left, and just got a little over 5 gallons into the tank. That was it. I was about 2 gallons/bars from full.

    Next fill up was fine. I've had the same thing happen in other cars once or twice. Go fill up someplace else or use a different gas pump if you want to use the same gasoline station.
     
    #8 B. Roberts, Apr 3, 2012
  9. d2mini

    d2mini Active Member

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    Sometimes in our cars I can't even get the darn pump to start pumping, it clicks off so fast. It's something to do with the fumes and the sensor in the pump. I wouldn't worry about it.
     
    #9 d2mini, Apr 4, 2012
  10. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    OK, circumstances are confusing you. First, the pump shut off early. No big deal, it happens. IF you had then "topped up" none of this would have happened. But you turned on the car. The fuel gauge computer then took a reading of the tank level. You shut off the car and put another 0.65 gal in the tank. This probably would have triggered the last bar -BUT- the Prius fuel gauge computer won't respond to fills of less than a certain amount (and I'm not sure what that amount is as it varies with how full the tank is), so you wouldn't see the last bar until you use enough fuel to add enough for it to respond. So your -gauge- is a little low. Be aware your gauge won't move until the fuel level actually drops -below- its' reading. So it will auto-correct itself as you use fuel from that fill.

    Bottom line, there is nothing wrong, your fuel tank was probably full after you added the final amount (or as full as that nossle could get it). I find very big differences between pump nossles even at the same -pump-. Some will fill the Prius easily, some require coaxing, some won't do it at all! Such is the state of technology in filling stations. ;)
     
    #10 David Beale, Apr 4, 2012
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