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

Ran out of fuel AND battery!!

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Yuval Legendtofski, Mar 9, 2013.

  1. Yuval Legendtofski

    Yuval Legendtofski Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2012
    20
    1
    0
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    N/A
    SO I'm notorious for driving my cars when the fuel gauge is in the red, but NOTHING prepared me for what happened with the Prius C tonight...!

    SO the bottom fuel bar is flashing, but the car seemed to trundle along OK, I knew I could get an extra km or two to the next petrol station, so I'm driving along, the car beeps, lurches, and I have to pull over, it all happened very suddenly, but seemed to have enough juice to park on the cub, I mean SHEESH! isn't the battery meant to give you the extra km or two?

    Anyway I called the RACV to put in petrol and then the real shock, the whole bloody thing WONT START!! The mobile mechanic mentioned that the hybrids are known to have big issues when they run out of petrol, that it's really bad for the car and electronic etc.., he also commented on the venting for the battery causing problems...

    The radio worked, the lights worked, but the 'Ready' light didn't come up. I went through the manual and the mechanic jump started the battery under the seat, but still the car would not start!!!!

    ANYWAY he basically disconnected the seat battery and car battery - essentially doing a 'hard reset' - the BURNING ISSUE HERE is twofold:

    1. That pretty bad design logic when the car runs out of fuel and battery that there is no redundancy or fail-over

    2. With all the 'smart electronics' you'd think the electronic fuel gauge would have a FINAL warning (something like 'less than 5km please refuel'), much like the battery on an i-pad! I mean lets be honest here, the Prius is like a computer with wheels on it, I mean it fires up like a bloody Mac or Laptop FFS!!

    SO there is my two-bobs, maybe Toyota will issue a firmware update to fix this problem!!!
     
    Leith Mudge likes this.
  2. 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
    I found the problem. Get gas at two pips if you never want to run out again. There is nothing Toyota can do to protect you from yourself.

    If you DO run out, pull over and turn it off immediately.
    Then get at least 3 gallons in it before you try to start it.

    If you try to start it without gas, it set a code the dealer needs to reset before it will start.

    If you drain the HV Battery, not even your dealer has a charger for that, they will have to borrow one from Toyota Regional.
     
    privilege, KK6PD, Corwyn and 5 others like this.
  3. Yuval Legendtofski

    Yuval Legendtofski Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2012
    20
    1
    0
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    N/A
    that's a pretty serious design flaw. The mechanic put in about 5 litres of petrol (about 1.5 gallon!), it went up to two bars but didn't start!!!!!!
     
  4. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2005
    3,831
    1,825
    1
    Location:
    Trumbull, CT
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius
    Model:
    LE AWD-e
    You not only failed to learn about your car but you have shortened the life of your HV battery. If I were Toyota and your HV battery failed, I would say that the battery warranty is void due to abuse.

    JeffD
     
  5. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 14, 2009
    6,722
    2,120
    45
    Location:
    North Yorkshire, UK
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    You're given a book with the car and in it there'll be a section on what to do if you run out of fuel.
    How is that a design flaw? There is a fuel gauge so you know when it's getting low. Not only could you have damaged the HV battery, but running out of fuel can also damage the expensive catalytic converter - and that applies to all petrol cars. The fuel gauge and range remaining have safe guards built in to prevent running out. I believe that when the range indicates 0 miles left, that in fact there is about half a gallon.

    I think you may have learnt a very expensive lesson here.
     
  6. 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
    I am sorry you are flawed, I doubt you can get your creator to fix it, as I said 3 gallons before you try.

    "I am an idiot" is not equal to "The car is flawed".

    I did not put "People who have running out of gas as a lifestyle" in my post about who should not own a Prius, I should.

    considering a Prius | PriusChat
     
  7. sfv41901

    sfv41901 Masta S

    Joined:
    May 5, 2010
    4,591
    5,291
    0
    Location:
    Palmdale, Ca
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Im sorry but why do u think the beep & last bar was flashing......let's think for a min........oh yeah......"Final warning"

    The prius has a failsafe.....why do u think it won't start anymore. The computer still doesn't see enough gas. Put in at least 3 gallons & disconnect the neg bat lead. When u reconnect it, put ur foot on the bake peddle & power up. Car will turn on but not in ready. Now power down & power back up....it should now be in ready mode.
     
  8. B2FiNiTY

    B2FiNiTY Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2012
    979
    226
    0
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    I like the OP's first line in this thread.

    Anyways, hope it's a good lesson learned. I'll make sure I don't run out myself as it seems pretty serious. :cool:
     
  9. 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
    If you run out of fuel, pull over as quick as is safe. Put 3 gallons of gas in the car before you try to restart. Then it may need to be power cycled once, my Gen 2 did. (The Gen 2 had a variable sized gas bladder that made it very hard to predict when you were going to run out of gas, other Prius are much more predictable)
     
  10. Yuval Legendtofski

    Yuval Legendtofski Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2012
    20
    1
    0
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    N/A
    people don't have to get so offensive just becuase they think they are 'smart' because they drive a Prius!! The fact that a car is so venerable to damage because it runs out of petrol is a concern by any standard, but you would think a car so technologically advanced and full of 'smart' technology would improve on it's fuel guage mechanism!
     
  11. 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
    I am sorry, was it not on empty?
     
  12. sfv41901

    sfv41901 Masta S

    Joined:
    May 5, 2010
    4,591
    5,291
    0
    Location:
    Palmdale, Ca
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    What's wrong with it?

    The beep & flashing bar was its way of saying ur about to run out of gas (petrol). The fact that u kept going is a fault of ur own......not the Prius or Toyota.
     
  13. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,795
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Firmware update. :LOL:
     
    mertechperformance and Blu-ray like this.
  14. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2005
    12,544
    2,122
    1
    Location:
    SF Bay Area, CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Then don't do it.
    No.

    What happens if you run totally out of gas in a regular car?
    Yep.

    I will admit that needing to possibly add 3 gallons for it to register is goofy. OTOH, I don't know the behavior or minimal amount needed on the Prius c.

    FWIW, the official response from Toyota back when the Gen 3 was new at [WARNING] Running out of gas (Gen III) | Page 10 | PriusChat
    She's now the Prius Product Manager.
     
  15. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,795
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Because you know, the car runs on gas. Swear to god.
     
  16. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2009
    17,039
    10,013
    90
    Location:
    Western Washington
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I would also love to see more accurate and detailed fuel gauging. But the gauging uncertainties and huge fuel consumption variations (depending on conditions) don't mix well with our surplus of product liability and personal injury lawyers, and rural highways with "Next Gas -- 100 Miles (or 150 Kilometers)". Precise gauging will tempt some drivers to reply on the gauge, push closer to the margin, get caught by changing conditions, get stranded far from assistance, and sue.

    Our industry norm of vague gauging with a large but uncertain safety margin doesn't guarantee that customers never run dry, but does leave them with no basis for blaming the car maker.
     
  17. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 14, 2009
    6,722
    2,120
    45
    Location:
    North Yorkshire, UK
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    It's not just a Prius that's vulnerable to damage. All petrol cars with a catalytic converter are. Also, and this might not apply in the US, but it's not good for the modern diesel cars to run out of fuel as it can really knacker the high pressure diesel pump (think $2,000) and also get air in the system which can be hard to bleed out.

    The Prius fuel gauge will go to 1 bar, then it'll beep and start flashing, then the miles remaining indicator will work its way to 0 miles, and you will still have a tiny bit of petrol left, but ignore all the warnings and pay the price. Not just paying the price for possible damage to the car, but if you break down in a bad area; anything could have happened to you!
     
  18. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    9,083
    5,795
    0
    Location:
    Undisclosed Location
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Why should I pile on?
    It's been said.
    Not too much sympathy for the OP here. Uneducated decisions about how to handle the vehicle and invalid perceptions about how it should work.
     
  19. Lutchenko

    Lutchenko Will Perrin

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2011
    307
    211
    21
    Location:
    Milton Keynes England
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    If you drove in EV mode with out availability of the petrol engine you run the risk of over speeding MG1 so the car did you a big favour by not allowing you to drive.

    If you have a habit of running very low, why not carry a gallon of fuel in a can at all times
     
  20. Blu-ray

    Blu-ray Blizzard Brigade #215

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2012
    471
    198
    0
    Location:
    TampaBay, FL
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Sounds like you have the design flaw. How does one let their car get THAT low on petrol? REALLY!? HELLOOOO!? Common sense comes into play here. Why do people like to run their tanks down to fumes? Zeesh... SMH