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2005 model, gas tank inaccurate?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Phantommeance309, Jan 7, 2023.

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  1. Phantommeance309

    Phantommeance309 New Member

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    First post!!! So I just bought a 2005 (to my knowledge base model) Prius with 121k miles. After putting about 6,000 miles on the car, I’ve noticed that either there is something wrong with the fuel gage or the bladder inside the gas tank. I’ve read that they all have the 11.9 gallon tank with around 11.4 gallons useable fuel space. But I’ll drive the vehicle quite often between 600 mile each way trips to the state my family lives in and also I use the vehicle for Uber eats as a side job. The fuel light will come on usually at about 250 miles since full fill up. I drive the car in electric mode until about 20mph, never really speed usually staying 5 under the speed limit to heighten MPG’s. The dash says I’m getting over 50mpg typically for the average.

    That’s a little back story and side information.
    My issue: when I refuel after the gas light blinking. At max I’ve only ever put 6.5 gallons in the tank. Even when on long hauls home I’ll stretch it out to almost 400 miles with the gas light blinking for the last 150ish. Is the easiest way to fix this replacing the fuel bladder, or is this common if something else is wrong? Any tips on replacement and common prices of parts is appreciated. Thanks
     
    #1 Phantommeance309, Jan 7, 2023
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome!

    i think you can try recalibrating the gauge, but idk how. you can search here for instructions.

    if that doesn't work, you'll probably have to replace the whole tank.
     
    #2 bisco, Jan 7, 2023
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  3. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    The procedure that most people are thinking of here does not "calibrate" the gauge. The procedure resets the inclination meter. If your gauge is truly unreliable, you can either ignore the gauge altogether and use one of the trip meters to keep track of the miles driven on 'this tank' and figure how many miles you can drive based on the average MPG currently showing on the MFD. Your second option is to replace the entire fuel tank because the NA Gen 2 fuel tank is a sealed unit due to the flexible fuel bladder design and neither the fuel pump nor the fuel sender is separately replaceable.
     
    #3 dolj, Jan 7, 2023
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  4. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    The US spec Gen2 Prius does have a "flexible -ish" fuel bladder in the gas tank. It feels like a plastic-y resin material (I wouldn't call it rubber).

    What happens is as the bladder material ages, it gets less flexible, especially in colder weather. So the bladder can't fully expand when filling up. I typically get around 8-8.5 gallons fill up from full to flashing in summer, and 6-6.5 gallons in winter.

    The only "fix" is to replace the entire fuel tank- the bladder, fuel pump, or gauge level sensor are all part of the "1 piece sealed" tank assembly.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #4 mr_guy_mann, Jan 8, 2023
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