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

What To Do When Out of Gas and Batteries are Drained ...

Discussion in 'Prius c Main Forum' started by KaliforniaKid, Nov 13, 2012.

  1. KaliforniaKid

    KaliforniaKid 2013 Prius v Five 2012 Priuc c Four

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2012
    184
    63
    0
    Location:
    Nuthern Kalifornia
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    .
    For unspeakable reasons I ran out of gas on the highway and drained the batteries getting to an off-ramp and onto surface streets. By sheer luck I wound up in front of a Scion dealership where forum member SquallLHeart happened to working - you know him, he was the first to black out the center portion of the front bumper with vinyl wrap. He's a Toyota dealership mechanic and happened to be at that Scion dealership.
    .
    Anyway, when the C is out of gas the READY light for start-up will NOT come on until there is enough gas back in the tank. Everything electrical was working - windows, radio, navi, OBD dash lights... just no READY light.
    .
    I had called AAA and they poured in 2 gallons of gas but the READY light would not come back on. SquallLHeart removed the battery cover under the rear seat for one of the AAA guys to hook up a jumper box while the other called their dispatch to report the situation. I was ready to tow the C to Toyota when the AAA guy said they were advised to pour in two more gallons of gas and to rock the car. Sure enough that did the trick - the READY light became available. I guess sloshing the gas about the tank either activated a vaccum, a sending unit or maybe floated a float? (AAA had poured in enough gas to half fill the tank).
    .
    The lesson learned is:
    1. Fill up the tank prior to that blinking bottom bar on the fuel gauge.
    2. Don't rock your rear bumper too vigorously, the bumper cover popped out of its clips from the quarter panels but did go back into place with a couple of well placed slaps.
    .
    Thanks again to SquallLHeart and AAA.
    .
     
    #1 KaliforniaKid, Nov 13, 2012
    PruisAz, ftl and bwilson4web like this.
  2. ewaboy

    ewaboy Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2012
    693
    205
    0
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Good info and you must be a lucky person to end up with a mechanic nearby who's a forum member and the AAA guys who got the correct procedure to get the car going.
     
    #2 ewaboy, Nov 13, 2012
    RocMills likes this.
  3. PruisAz

    PruisAz Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2012
    140
    34
    0
    Location:
    Mesa, Az
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I thought I heard running out of gas in these forums was an expensive ordeal. And does this trick work on the other Prius models....?
     
    #3 PruisAz, Nov 13, 2012
  4. KaliforniaKid

    KaliforniaKid 2013 Prius v Five 2012 Priuc c Four

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2012
    184
    63
    0
    Location:
    Nuthern Kalifornia
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    In speaking with SquallLHeart, he recounted other versions of the Prius which ran out of gas and required a battery jump in addition to gasoline.
    .
    I probably drove the batteries to exhaustion getting off the freeway and drained every drop of gas out of the tank and lines trying to restart the car. Come to think of it, the OBD of the battery icon was empty of bars and there was no longer a blinking lower bar on the fuel gauge. I guess I had put the little Prius into 'C'oma mode.
     
    #4 KaliforniaKid, Nov 13, 2012
    RocMills likes this.
  5. jqsmooth

    jqsmooth Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2012
    41
    18
    0
    Location:
    NJ
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    I always go to the blinking light but I guess I'll stop doing that. Glad you were able to get it going again.
     
    #5 jqsmooth, Nov 13, 2012
  6. ftl

    ftl Explicator

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2009
    1,812
    790
    0
    Location:
    Long Island NY
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    When I had to queue for gas last Friday (about thirty minutes wait on the first day of odd/even rationing on Long Island) the blinking bar started while I was on line. I filled up until the pump clicked off and it took just under 8.5 gallons, so there had been almost a gallon left in the tank when the light came on.
     
    #6 ftl, Nov 13, 2012
  7. ariel stock

    ariel stock New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2012
    1
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    II
    Probably not a great idea to go below a gallon, there are fuel inlets, pumps, etc. which may not like air very much...
     
    #7 ariel stock, Nov 13, 2012
  8. oberkc

    oberkc Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2012
    22
    10
    0
    Location:
    Ohio
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    One of the things I do NOT like about the Prius C is the instrumentation. While I like digital and LCD displays, I find the instrumentation lacking readouts of basic things such as RPM and engine temperature to be disappointing. I also find that gas quantity is something easy to miss. Most of the time, that little beep is the only thing that keeps me from being stranded on the road somewhere.
     
    #8 oberkc, Nov 13, 2012
  9. WD0AFQ

    WD0AFQ Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2012
    619
    152
    20
    Location:
    Dexter, Mo.
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Good story. Must have said your prayers this morning to end up right there where a forum member could be of assistance.
    One good thing about the Ultra Gauge, and there are many, is that it tells you how many gallons of fuel one has left in the tank. I watch it a lot.
    Dan
     
    #9 WD0AFQ, Nov 13, 2012
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    55,878
    38,883
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Just fill if it's anywhere between 1/2 and 1/4 tank remaining, when it's convenient.

    I can't understanding "stretching tanks", no benefits, lots of potential problems.
     
    #10 Mendel Leisk, Nov 13, 2012
  11. jqsmooth

    jqsmooth Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2012
    41
    18
    0
    Location:
    NJ
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Yeah, I filled up this morning just after the blinking started. It only took in 8.3 gallaons. So, there was a little more than a gallon to go still. This even/odd thing works, BUT I couldn't fill the gas when there was absolutely no one at the pumps. Is that retarded or what? The law is getting lifted today. Hope you LIers are recovering from power outage and other troubles.

    Good point. I got close to empty once, but I'm not gonna let that happen again.

    Hm, I can think of one benefit. Not having to go the gas station often, wasting time. I used to own a Nissan Pathfinder as my DD. I drive a lot for work, so I used to fill up 3x/week. With the PC, I fill up once every 5-6 days. I love it.
     
    #11 jqsmooth, Nov 13, 2012
  12. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2004
    14,487
    2,999
    0
    Location:
    Fort Lee, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    What to do? Well, don't do it again because it shortened your HV battery life.
     
    #12 usbseawolf2000, Nov 13, 2012
  13. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2006
    7,028
    1,116
    0
    Location:
    South Jersey
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Historically 3 gallons need to be added. I don't know if the jumping & rocking were necessary.

    I filled up yesterday & pulled right up to the pump. Going home the PA commuters crowd into the Citgo in Burlington. Turns out the Shell in Delran was also cheaper.
     
    #13 JimN, Nov 13, 2012
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    109,323
    49,704
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    jersey has the cheapest gas in the nation.:)
     
    #14 bisco, Nov 13, 2012
  15. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2006
    7,028
    1,116
    0
    Location:
    South Jersey
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Not always and there is a wide variance across the state. On occasion I've seen cheaper gas in western PA & SC. Sometimes you want a bigger battery. Sometimes you want a bigger tank.
     
    #15 JimN, Nov 14, 2012
  16. CMJAnew

    CMJAnew Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2012
    87
    17
    0
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Long story short - that 9.5 gallon tank is a disappointment. Granted, it takes less time to fill up, but I'm doing just as often as when I was getting 25 mpg. Oh Well - can't have everything. And, I'm liking this car so far. Two weeks and 2500 miles.
     
    #16 CMJAnew, Nov 18, 2012
  17. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    55,878
    38,883
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    What's wrong with that?

    The bigger the tank, the more dead weight you're taking along, and the more the tank structure needs to be beefed up. Toyota had to make a size decision; they sized smaller, by a factor to make the fill intervals comparable with a regular mpg car. Not a bad decision: (as you say) your fillup goes faster, and they've saved a little weight, helping with mileage.
     
    #17 Mendel Leisk, Nov 18, 2012
    RocMills likes this.
  18. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2004
    14,487
    2,999
    0
    Location:
    Fort Lee, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Isn't that filling up every 450 miles?
     
    #18 usbseawolf2000, Nov 18, 2012
  19. CMJAnew

    CMJAnew Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2012
    87
    17
    0
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two

    Probably. If I knew exactly how many miles I'd drive any particular day I might stretch it a bit. For example; tonight I filled up with about 220 miles in anticipation of driving another 200 or so tomorrow. If there wasn't a 10 to 15 cent differential in gas prices between the two states I would just fill up at 400 miles or so. As it is, I like to filling up with the lesser priced gas.

    As for dead weight - with a couple gallon larger tank, I'd be back to the starting point in half a day.
     
    #19 CMJAnew, Nov 18, 2012
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)