1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

gas gauge down 4 bars after only 71 miles?!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by prof.curnon, Nov 12, 2014.

Page 1 of 5
  1. prof.curnon

    prof.curnon Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2014
    41
    5
    0
    Location:
    portland, or
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    hi everyone,

    I just bought my second gen 2007 prius a week and a half ago and it's been performing like a champ. however, I am a wee bit/a LOT freaked out that after only 71 miles the gas is down 4 bars!! now I know there's been much discussion about mpg's and the inaccuracy of the tank reader, but when I drove my new car home it was practically full (2 bar shy), and now it's at half a tank! should I call the repair shop asap??
     
    #1 prof.curnon, Nov 12, 2014
  2. prof.curnon

    prof.curnon Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2014
    41
    5
    0
    Location:
    portland, or
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    oops, that's *1* bar shy of full above
     
    #2 prof.curnon, Nov 12, 2014
  3. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2014
    1,612
    1,144
    0
    Location:
    Franklin TN
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Do you have an average mpg for those 71 miles?
     
    #3 Aaron Vitolins, Nov 12, 2014
  4. prof.curnon

    prof.curnon Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2014
    41
    5
    0
    Location:
    portland, or
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    um, no. but at this rate, the tank will be empty after only 142 miles!
     
    #4 prof.curnon, Nov 12, 2014
  5. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
    12,470
    6,862
    2
    Location:
    Greenwood MS USA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    1) get gas when you have 2 pips left.

    2) join fuelly.com and start believing the numbers after three tanks. (never stress over any one tank)
     
    #5 JimboPalmer, Nov 12, 2014
    uart and prof.curnon like this.
  6. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2014
    1,612
    1,144
    0
    Location:
    Franklin TN
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I would go ahead and fill up, and reset the average mpg. When you go to fill up, open the gas cap and wait at least a minute before filling your "tank" (the 2004-2009 prius actually has a gas bladder) at the slowest fueling setting your pump offers. Hope this helps! Keeps us updated
     
    #6 Aaron Vitolins, Nov 12, 2014
    prof.curnon likes this.
  7. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    11,627
    2,530
    8
    Location:
    Southwest Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    No reason to wait a minute to fuel up.

    OP:
    Fill up the tank
    Reset the trip meter so that you can follow MPG
    The tank reader is very non-linear, plus you do not know 'where' in each pip you are/were. This might be a total of just over one pip drop. If pips had decimals, you might have gone from 6.1 to 4.9

    Take it easy for now, and follow a tank from full.
     
    #7 SageBrush, Nov 12, 2014
    prof.curnon likes this.
  8. prof.curnon

    prof.curnon Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2014
    41
    5
    0
    Location:
    portland, or
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I haven't even looked at the trip meter yet; will do that post haste. it did occur to me that I was on the tail end of the 9th bar before it dropped down to 8, but it seemed to drop precipitously down to 6 practically overnight. most alarming!

    nothing in the maintenance records from the previous owner shows any problems with the gas gauge, so I do not know what is going on... since I drive so little, I was fully expecting the bars to stay at almost full for a good long while. how disappointing!!
     
    #8 prof.curnon, Nov 12, 2014
  9. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    11,627
    2,530
    8
    Location:
    Southwest Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    Try not to jump to conclusions.

    I was able to drive way close to 150 miles on the first pip (meaning full tank) in our Gen2, but then I would see a rapid fall in subsequent pips to for the next few. Simply a non-linear tank meter. You also might be seeing an effect of tank angle knowing Portland.

    Just fill a tank and follow along. Much to0 premature to be worried.
     
    #9 SageBrush, Nov 12, 2014
  10. prof.curnon

    prof.curnon Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2014
    41
    5
    0
    Location:
    portland, or
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    aaron -- thanks for the suggestion to let the tank breathe first before filling up slowly... I'm in oregon, where filling up your own tank is outlawed, so I'll be sure to ask the attendant to do as you advise.

    does anyone know if there has been a fix for the inaccurate tank reader? considering all the technology in this car, one would think knowing how much gas one has in the tank would be anything *but* a guessing game!
    a
     
    #10 prof.curnon, Nov 12, 2014
  11. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    11,627
    2,530
    8
    Location:
    Southwest Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    • 10 gallon tank
    • Accurate MPG meter
    • Accurate trip meter
    Result: anything but a guessing game, but you do have to be able to perform a division calculation. I hear calculators are pretty cheap these days if needed.
     
    #11 SageBrush, Nov 12, 2014
  12. prof.curnon

    prof.curnon Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2014
    41
    5
    0
    Location:
    portland, or
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    yeah, I was expecting that "150 miles on one pip" phenomenon you are describing, hence the disappointment!

    by tank angle, do you mean climbing hills? cos I am way too poor to live (or traverse) the hills! pretty flat in the city where I am. :)
     
    #12 prof.curnon, Nov 12, 2014
  13. prof.curnon

    prof.curnon Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2014
    41
    5
    0
    Location:
    portland, or
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    sheesh, what's the point of having a gas gauge then if one has to do long division?!
     
    #13 prof.curnon, Nov 12, 2014
  14. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    11,627
    2,530
    8
    Location:
    Southwest Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    NOT every pip -- just the first one from a full tank.
    If a linear meter drops one pip every 50 miles or so, but in actual practice the first pip lasts 150 miles, then in order to 'catch up' the next 3 pips will last 50 miles. <<shrug>>

    It is really not important, but if you are feeling obsessive then perform the calc.
     
    #14 SageBrush, Nov 12, 2014
  15. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    11,627
    2,530
    8
    Location:
    Southwest Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    So that you have an alert when to fill up.

    BELIEVE one or two pips as time to get fuel.
    Don't use 6,7 or 8 pips to accurately infer fuel left in the tank, and certainly do not try to estimate fuel economy from their transitions.

    When you read that the fuel meter is non-linear, that is what it means.
     
    #15 SageBrush, Nov 12, 2014
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2014
  16. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2014
    1,612
    1,144
    0
    Location:
    Franklin TN
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Watch "How To: Reset Gas Gauge in a Toyota Prius" on YouTube
    How To: Reset Gas Gauge in a Toyota Prius:
    you might want to go ahead and try this. If you're interested, this lady also has a great video on how to disable the annoying back up beep!
     
    #16 Aaron Vitolins, Nov 12, 2014
    prof.curnon likes this.
  17. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    1,409
    395
    0
    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    What kind of driving are you doing? Short trips to the nearby grocery store? Go ahead and fill it up, note your mileage and start an accurate, new tank measurement. Who knows how close you were to being down two pips when you bought the car.
     
    #17 kenoarto, Nov 12, 2014
  18. prof.curnon

    prof.curnon Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2014
    41
    5
    0
    Location:
    portland, or
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    thanks for the video, aaron. I thought resetting the trip odometer simply entailed double-clicking on the trip button?
    I kinda like the back up beep -- even though it's just inside the car, I like to think it's loud enough to alert passersby that the silent ninja car is about to roll over them! ;)
     
    #18 prof.curnon, Nov 12, 2014
  19. prof.curnon

    prof.curnon Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2014
    41
    5
    0
    Location:
    portland, or
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    yep, short trips to work (5 miles RT), to the market, and of course some freeway miles to the dealership to cancel the extended warranty. :)

    just read in another thread that short trips don't reap high mpg's cos it takes 5-10 min to warm up the engine. but then the same goes for ICE cars...
     
    #19 prof.curnon, Nov 12, 2014
    kenoarto likes this.
  20. prof.curnon

    prof.curnon Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2014
    41
    5
    0
    Location:
    portland, or
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    ok, sagebrush, I'll start thinking of the fuel meter as being QUANTUM... now if the pips go UP tomorrow, then I will *really* believe it's non-linear!
     
    #20 prof.curnon, Nov 12, 2014
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 1 of 5