Yet another blinking pip low fuel question?

The most I've done is drive 50 miles after the the DTE says 0. I filled up 9 gallons. I roughly estimate 2.5 gallons in the tank when the DTE says 0.

 

Bob Wilson, who likes to test these sorts of things for fun and sport and nerdy engineering knowledge, has already run this test for us. Read the first post of [WARNING] Running out of gas (Gen III).

Beware that your car won't be identical to his, and without actually running dry, you won't know just how different. I have taken mine 90 miles past the blinking pip without running dry, that was enough for my purposes.

 

yes, mine always has 2.5 gallons left when dte hits zero. all you have to do is subtract gallons pumped from tank capacity.

 

There are numerous threads dealing with DTE and "when" to fill up.

I'm usually driving in the suburbs which means gas stations are usually nearby and plentiful. So what I do, is drive my Prius until the DTE says zero. The last 20 miles on the DTE I watch very closely, because the gauge is not 100% accurate. I've had it suddenly drop to zero, way quicker than the advertised miles left. But once it hits zero, I don't panic, because my experience is that I have a gallon, almost 2 gallons left. Once it hits zero though, I pretty aggressively look to fill up.

Using this method, I don't feel I'm risking running out of gasoline, I think it's a good safety cushion. My only warning would be, make sure you are not on a long road trip that puts you in a isolated area that might NOT have a gas station nearby, and when you get 20 miles or less to empty, keep your eye on the gauge.