how far do you drive after it starts blinking?

Less than 10 miles as soon as it starts blinking.

 

I don't usually let it go that far so I fill up at 1-2 pips. I've gone till it blinks twice and I only had the guts to drive 20 miles before filling up. I have better things to do than sit on the side of the road looking like a fool because I ran out of gas in a Prius....

 

I've never let it get to blinking, or even to one pip.

This is quite different from my previous cars, which I routinely let get to "E". But all the stories about the "guess gauge" here persuaded me to change my ways.

 

Just so you know, this is a resurrection of an ancient thread, when people seemed quite intent on pushing the envelope beyond the safety margin. Trying to maximize the miles on one fill-up by overfilling the tank, that kind of thing. Then we learned to be more prudent. Ah, those crazy teen-age days.

That said, I'm on my most-miles-for-one-fillup currently. At 520 miles, and still at 2 bars, but I'll probably fill up this week rather than push it too much. Only hit 500 once before and that time I got off the interstate, drove an extra half mile then back to the station so I could claim it reached 500 instead of 499. Silly yes, I know.

 

I once ran out of gas after 7 miles of blink, so I have a new plan.

Fill up with one pip if solo.
Fill up when I have two pips if my wife is in the car.
Fill up at 3 pips if my mother in law is with me.

There are risks you just should not take. Stranding your mother in law is one of them.

 

I always hit "Reset" on the consumption screen when I fill up. Knowing the gas tank is 11.9 Gal, I would usually go with whatever my current MPG is (ex. 47.5) x 10, and expect at least 475 miles out of the tank. I'll usually try to fill up shortly after hitting that MPG x 10 number, but I know I have around 2 Gal. left in the tank. This also helps when filling up, if I've used my 10 Gal. I expect to put that much back into the tank.

 

I'm with Jimbo for sure. I have always filled up within 50 miles of the blinking pip appearing, and then needed a little over 9 gallons of gas, which leaves just under 2 gallons in the tank. Last Monday, I picked up my wife to take her to a Dr. appointment. We then went to see my mother for a few minutes. We then headed home. The low fuel indicator came on, and thinking I had nearly 2 gallons, I decided to head to my usual gas station, about 10 miles away. I only went 6 miles and the dash board lit up, and the car lost power. So I say to myself, something failed, I still have 2 gallons of gas! I call a friend who takes us home, and later I go back to the car, and it starts up. I start to go, and it dies again. I have AAA, and a tow is free, so I call them to tow the car home. I go to bed (it is now midnight) and I have to fly to North Carolina at 6:20. That night I check the codes, and low and behold, they indicate lack of power, no gas! I get my gas can (1 gallon) put get if filled, and put it in the tank. The car starts, and all the lights go out, except the CEL. Then I drive to the gas station, fill it up, and the CEL goes out too! When I checked the dispay, I saw I had gone 483 miles at 43 MPG, so I used 11 gallons, which If I checked right away, I would have realized I was out of gas. I learned the hard way that the gas gauge is not reliable.