Ran out of gas

I realize it does sound paranoid. On the other hand there is already at least one member on here whose main battery failed early, and Toyota denied his warranty on the replacement because he continued to drive until it conked out after running out of gas. This member was also able to add fuel and drive away with no problems. The extent of the problem did not become evident until later. This is one of the conditions that the computers keep track of so the dealer knows (do not believe it can be reset by disconnecting battery etc.).

Below are a few of the things the pocket guide & owners manual have to say about fuel levels (for an '05 at least)

"NOTE: MAINTAIN GASOLINE IN THE TANK AT ALL TIMES. SERIOUS DAMAGE TO THE HYBRID SYSTEM CAN OCCUR IF THE VEHICLE RUNS OUT OF GAS."

"If the fuel level approaches E or the low fuel indicator blinks, fill the tank as soon as possible."

"It is a good idea to keep the tank over 1/4 full."

"Depending on ambient temperature, the fuel quantity is less than 11.9 gal even at F"

"This light blinks when the fuel level in the tank becomes nearly empty. Fill up the tank as soon as possible."

"Do not drive with an extremely low fuel level; running out of gas could cause the engine to misfire, creating an excessive load on the three-way catalytic converter."

Previous folks that this has happened to have not indicated they needed to do the door trick, so it may have been coincidence. On the other hand if someone is stuck, its certainly worth a try.

Rob

 

Refer to this thread: http://priuschat.com/forums/care-maintenance-troubleshooting/10452-impacts-running-out-gas-3.html

Tom

 

If only Toyota would put one of those hand book things in every Prius they sell, wouldn't that be good? I was lucky, I bought second hand and mine happened to have a hand book. How lucky was that?

 

It would be even better if Toyota got someone to organize it as well. The owner's manual is a disordered mess of information. It's all in there somewhere, but try to find it. As an example, take the entertainment system (radio/CD). There are three models (I think), and the information about them is interleaved. The information is organized (if you want to call it that) by activity instead of model. If you want to set the station presets, you find the station preset section, then wade through it to find your model of radio. Then you want to know how to load CDs, so you find the CD section then wade through that to find your model of radio. You have to do that with every section, even though a given car will have only one radio. Instead of being organized by activity/model it should be organized by model/activity. That way, once you find your model of radio, you never have to look at the other sections again. It's a simple thing, but Toyota's tech writers don't seem to understand it.

Tom

 

Don't believe there are several fuel tanks, when I looked to see if there were any warnings about running out of fuel the index took me right to it.

 

A hit on the first try! Run out and buy a lottery ticket.

Seriously, it's not a bad manual, but it could be a lot better. A company the size of Toyota has access to incredible resources; I expect them to do better.

Tom

 

Maybe there are just too many options in the North American market. Our handbook is simple as there is a basic Prius and the iTech model. that's it. Only 2 versions of the radio, etc.

 

Another problem with the North American market is the overly litigious nature of the U.S. We are so lawsuit happy that most user manuals are one-quarter useful information and three-quarters cover-your-nice person legal disclaimers: "Don't use this television in the shower or bath, or while swimming, or use this device as a suppository..." Most of the disclaimers are so silly that you deserve to die if you are that stupid.

Tom

 

It was somewhat rude, but for those of us who've been with the Prius for some time, we've heard this story several times. And you apparently ignored the blinking pip for some time, when really it's the "Stop what you're doing and get to the very next gas station you see!!!" message.

It does not mean there's 3 gallons left as Penny thought. Figure a gallon/pip plus a little extra on the top (which depends on the air temperature when filling as the fuel bladder doesn't expand as much in cold weather, so you can't put in 11.9 gallons total), but many here call it the "guess gauge" because of the variation in how fast they disappear. You were lucky to have as much warning as you did.

Your information about opening the doors after the battery goes low is useful and could apply to other circumstances as well. I hadn't heard that before (might be a new feature?). But to run your battery out completely, I think you went more than 500 feet without gas. Especially if you had some momentum at the time.

The real problem comes when people apparently restart the car when it turns itself off when the battery becomes depleted. The story goes (since I haven't tried it myself or anybody I know) that you can then continue to drive on depleted batteries. This is what is really bad - you can drastically reduce the lifespan of the batteries in that case - to the point where they need immediate replacement, and this is what the dealers are warning people against.

Hey, a fellow air-cooled volksie fanatic! I've had a '65 bug, currently have a '68 type III fastback in need of engine overhaul (body's in great shape), my sister has a '79 camper and a '68 bug (both parked). They're fun to drive and easy to work on. Not exactly safe in today's world though.

 

Neat, the '65 has a one year only rear licence plate light,
bigger windows, In addition, windshield wipers were more powerful, the engine hatch opened with a push-button handle, the sun visors swiveled, and the rear seats folded down to provide additional storage room, also wasn't this the year they stopped putting the Wolfsburgh crest on the front hood(?) easy to spot for the trained VW eye!
Fastbacks are really a great car, never owned one, always wanted to. Keep an eye on the front fenders, VW put a small block of foam in the rear most upper corner and it soaks up water causing rust and rot. It's best to take them out.
The VW camper are great, lots of fun to use as a camper, gotta love the pop up tops! The older one's (air cooled) do lack power, but that's all part of the fanaticism (dare I say obsession?) of owning and driving one. Vanagon's are a nightmare to work on!
Gotta side with you on the safe issue. My '68 is still running bias ply tires! Man do they slip and slide in the rain. Don't know how us old car guys ever lived with them. One of the biggest problems is that the rear lights sit so low on the fenders. People just don't seem to see them! I've rigged up a third eye brake light that I stick on to the rear window with suction cups, to help people see me, also has a parking light in it.
Another big thing is taking my Bug on the highway's, it just can't keep up with today's car's! 70 is about top speed I'll drive it at.
Don't think I'll ever be without a Volkswagen!

 

Jethro, Thanks for the post and information. Shame you have had to spend so much time defending your actions. I wonder how many people do not post information on the forum for fear of being nit picked to death . Thanks again

 

Well actually we aren't nit picking but there was one member who had a battery replaced under warranty after running out but it was an uphill battle. We would hate to see someone run out a few times, have a battery fail and not be able to get warranty. It isn't good for them or the Prius reputation. I guess that is why people explain, sometimes in a colourful manner or with a tinge of sarcasm that running out of fuel and continuing to drive can harm the battery. Sorry if that upsets anyone.

I guess the message we try to get across is, although people call the fuel gauge the guess gauge it is the best tool you have to keep a usable amount of fuel always in the tank and a lot of us believe the best way to do that is fill when there are 2 bars left on the gauge. There is no benefit in stretching out a tank. Really we just want to help but I can see how it might seem like an angry mob.

I really hope we don't scare anyone away, it's just a chat forum, no one here with a knife or gun.

 

Nice post and thoughts, Pat

 

Just some background on where it all comes from.

 

That's funny right there! ...and completely 100% positively (redundancy intended) true!!