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Ran out of gas, I want the tank/bladder replaced. HOW?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by scoot, Feb 23, 2007.

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  1. scoot

    scoot Member

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    First of all, I apologize for the long-windedness of this but I think that there are enough data points that it is worth the read (and hopefully worth you providing me with suggestions for solutions) that I'm typing it anyway. With 3000 miles on the '07, it ran out of gas last night in the carpool lane of the freeway. Here's the relevant (and irrelevant) data:

    1. I filled the tank a week ago, outside temperature was 70 degrees F, I rocked the car and tried to add more gas, etc. I filled it as full as I could. Gas guage read full.

    2. I immediately drove the car about 200 miles

    2a. Interesting datapoint - gas guage continued to read full until I had driven 90 miles, at which point one PIP disappeared from guage. This REALLY made me confident that I had actually filled the tank.

    2b. Second PIP disappeared after another 40 miles. This really made me confident that the gas guage is very non-linear.

    3. My partner drove the car for the rest of the week and was driving home last night in the carpool lane and I get a phonecall saying "Hey, what do I do if this thing runs out of gas????" Car was going 65 in HOV lane and starting to slow down. He said that all the lights on the dash lit up (not sure what he meant but doesn't matter). He managed to get to the roadside and have it die there. Oh, did I mention that it was raining and dark out?

    3a. Miles since I filled tank: 460
    3b. MPG since I filled the tank: 46
    3c. Assumption: there is still gas left in the 11.9 gallon tank EVEN if the pip is blinking since the range should be > 460 miles
    3d. Conclusion: assumption was wrong -- gas tank was never full and gas guage is even MORE non-linear than imagined, and that blinking pip DOES mean to buy gas.

    4. I brought exactly 2.5 gallons of gas to him and dumped it in the tank. Car started fine and battery guage read 1 purple bar.

    5. Followed him to the gas station where we added 7.5 gallons to the 2.5 that we had added 1/2 mile earlier. Rocked car, tried to top it off, etc. Outside temperature about 60 degrees F.

    5a. Conclusion: it is only possible to put about 10 gallons into the 11.9 gallon tank in this particular car.
    5b. Manual says that the capacity may be as much as 1.3 gallons less at 17 degrees F. It was not 17 degrees F _either_ time and even if it were, we are still missing a half gallon of gas.

    Summary Conclusions:

    Items 1, 2a. 3a, 3b indicate that the tank was full at a time when the weather was not cold and that the tank provided about 10 gallons of gas.

    Item 5 confirms that the tank holds about 10 gallons of gas.

    Bladder in gas tank is defective (?)

    So HELP! Am I correct? Can I get this fixed/replaced? I realize that I will probably live with the non-linearity of the guage but I would really like that extra 2 gallons of capacity in the tank. And I think it's just plain wrong to say that it's an 11.9 gallon capacity when it is a 10 gallon capacity. I think my tank/bladdar are defective, what do you think? I think my data points are pretty solid and that I have a good argument for the dealer. What do you think?

    Thanks for the help.
    --------------
    Added edit after repeated replies providing me with not what I need:

    OK People, PLEASE stop providing me with the advice to fill the car up when it has a quarter tank left, etc. Sure it's safer that way but I'm not the primary driver of the car and HE tends to drive closer to empty. I'm sure that from now on when he has one pip he will fill up. BUT THAT ISN'T the advice I am seeking -- I want suggestions if there are any concerning CAN THE CAPACITY BE FIXED by the dealer!!!! Not the helpful suggestions for how to avoid this in the future. Thanks.
     
  2. Dan-Wolfe

    Dan-Wolfe Member

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    The simplest solution is to fill up when it's convenient, not when your predicion says you should. I fill up when I can, but never make it to the blinking pip. If I see the blinking pip, I give myself 5 miles. What "should" be is immaterial if you are left on the side of the road. You burn the same about of gas regardless of how often you fill up. So there's no sense in stretching the range.

    I note that you are in California as well. Earthquake preparedness dictates no less than half a tank in your car in case of a serious earthquake. Seems like good advice in this case.
     
  3. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I'm sure if you have money to throw away you can get a different tank put on somehow...I'd estimate $3000 just guessing by the time you pay the labor, find a suitible replacement, figure out how to override all the emissions warnings and other connections to the ECUs, etc.

    Best to not ignore the "Add Fuel" warning when it comes on and fill up at the last pip or immediately when it starts blinking. You'll have a little higher capacity in the warm weather as the bladder has more ability to stretch/expand.

    This is much less a problem with the car than the fact that your partner failed to add gas when the car told him to. I've never added 10 gallons to mine in over 55k miles of driving...you get used to the fact that the 11.9gal stated capacity is essentially fictional...figure on 9-10 gallon capacity and you'll be perfectly happy.
     
  4. mcbrunnhilde

    mcbrunnhilde Opera singin' Prius nut!

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    You will not be able to get the bladder removed...it is in there as part of emissions control. It is widely known as a "guess" gauge, because filling the tank is dependent upon weather AND the whims of the particular pump you're at (which can make a BIG difference).

    Unfortunately, you never know when the Prius is really full, but you absolutely DO know when it's approaching empty. That's why the last bar on the gauge blinks and the MFD sounds and reads "add fuel". There's no telling *exactly* how many miles you'll get once the bar starts blinking, but you usually have 30-100 miles before you have to stop for gas (I have gone over 60 miles on the blinking bar).

    If you ignore the warnings to add fuel, then you run the risk of running out of gas. Yes, it's a pain not to know just how full the car is, but ignoring the warnings you get about low fuel is not a smart idea.
     
  5. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    first... do a search for "guess gauge" and another for "bladder" and you'll see that you're far from alone.

    i say you've got the same situation as all the rest of us. when the last bar on the gas gauge is blinking it is a good plan to get some gas... in fact the car will beep and a message will show up on the MFD saying "add fuel" and i don't know how much clearer that can get.

    your dealer will tell you the same thing.

    i don't intend to be harsh or anything, but this story pops up all the time and some basic common sense would have saved you both some trouble.

    though i do like your numbered conclusions, it looks like my lab notebook ;)
     
  6. scoot

    scoot Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dan-Wolfe @ Feb 23 2007, 11:01 AM) [snapback]395328[/snapback]</div>
    Thanks, but this doesn't remotely address my concern. My concern is that I think that the tank/bladdar are defective and I want them fixed. I _know_ it's not clever to drive down to empty but that's not relevant -- this is my partner's car and he runs out of gas once every year or so (I don't) so he will probably be more careful in the future. At the same time, he wants to go to the gas station as seldom as possible. Regardless, if I'm supposed to have 11.9 gallons of capacity I want 11.9 gallons of capacity.


    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Feb 23 2007, 11:04 AM) [snapback]395333[/snapback]</div>
    1. I'm considering this a warranty (free) item and I have seen that others have had their tanks replaced. 2. I'm not perfectly happy with 9-10 gallons if 11.9 gallons is an option. Thanks anyway.
     
  7. kimgh

    kimgh Member

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    Hmm, I would NOT want to request such a "fix". I'm sure Toyota would not countenance it under warranty UNLESS you can prove the tank is leaking.

    I've never driven until the last pip is blinking. I fill it when it gets to 2 pips mostly. I recently waited until 1 pip showed, but the #2 pip had just disappeared. I had logged about 410 miles for that tank by that point.

    So: I assume I have a 400 mile range for city driving, and I don't let it worry me that I only got 8.9 gallons in at that point.
     
  8. NuShrike

    NuShrike Active Member

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    With a gas station pump that lets you, I've been able to drip up to ~12 gallons into my tank (if the pump isn't lying) during summer with ~500mi on 47MPG. I'm closer to ~10-11gal during these cold months of winter, and this is a very well broken in Prius.

    I say wait until summer, or just drive normally and fill when you need to. As long as you drive consistently, your fillup should be the same.

    On a 14 gal tank in a Kia Spectra, I can only get ~380 mi, so count your blessings.
     
  9. scoot

    scoot Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Feb 23 2007, 11:07 AM) [snapback]395336[/snapback]</div>
    I realize that I am far from alone, and I have read other threads about the guess gauge and the bladder. I also realize that the blinking pip is for real. But I think that I have also seen that there have been replacements by the dealer for this problem in the forum. Is that not correct?
     
  10. Marlin

    Marlin New Member

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    What makes you think that any of your previous cars has had a linear fuel guage or allowed you to travel until the last drop of gas left the tank? I would bet that with your previous cars, once the gas guage got somewhere under a quarter of a tank, you would fill it up. I doubt you would have waited until the needle dropped below "E" and the "Add Fuel" light came on, and then look at the odometer and decide you should be able to get another 100 miles out of it.

    So, the moral of the story is that when the gas guage gets down to 2 pips, then go fill it up. Do this and you will never run out of gas.

    All of the cars that I've owned with needle gas guages have a little peg above the "F" mark. When you fill the tank, the needle would advance past the "F" and stop on the peg. On my Ford Explorer, it would take a significant amout of driving before the needle came off the peg and dropped below the "F" mark. And once it got down to about the half full mark, the needle would move faster. Just like the Prius.

    The biggest difference, however, was that there was no ongoing MPG calculation on the Explorer. So there was no way to second guess the gas guage. You had no choice but to simply fill the tank when the gas guage read low. Do that with the Prius and you'll never run out of gas.
     
  11. slvr_phoenix

    slvr_phoenix Tinker Gnome

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    Here's the thing about dummy lights: they show just what a dummy you are if you ignore them. :p
     
  12. scoot

    scoot Member

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    OK People, PLEASE stop providing me with the advice to fill the car up when it has a quarter tank left, etc. Sure it's safer that way but I'm not the primary driver of the car and HE tends to drive closer to empty. I'm sure that from now on when he has one pip he will fill up. BUT THAT ISN'T the advice I am seeking -- I want suggestions if there are any concerning CAN THE CAPACITY BE FIXED by the dealer!!!! Not the helpful suggestions for how to avoid this in the future. Thanks.
     
  13. withersea

    withersea DNF is better than DNS

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin @ Feb 23 2007, 03:15 PM) [snapback]395345[/snapback]</div>

    The dealer that I bought from actually told me this when I picked up the car.
     
  14. Marlin

    Marlin New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(scoot @ Feb 23 2007, 04:19 PM) [snapback]395348[/snapback]</div>
    I guess we are suggesting that you fix your partner and not the Prius.

    Or how about this. Tell your partner that you were wrong and that the Prius really has a 10 gallon tank and not an 11.9 gallon tank. Therefore, when he tries to do the MPG calculation, he will realize that he is about to run out of gas and will fill it up.
     
  15. Charles Suitt

    Charles Suitt Senior Member

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    <_< Funny... With all the postings about the "guess gauge" inaccuracies, seems like it is unwise to push the tank's ultimate range. I usually re-fill with one "un-blinking" pip regardless of the miles driven, or sooner at my convenience. I rarely pump over 8½ gallons.

    The Prius is a unique combination of machine and computers and as such does not lend itself to ordinary logic such as: "The fuel capacity is 11.9 gallons, therefore if I'm getting 39 miles per gallon I should be able to drive 464.1 miles before running out of gas." In addition, fuel consumption is NOT LINEAR but depends on traffic, terrain, temperature, etc. All this tells me, add fuel at my convenience without pushing the issue to an extreme, especially with the Prius.

    My 2¢ worth...
     
  16. Earthling

    Earthling New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(scoot @ Feb 23 2007, 01:52 PM) [snapback]395318[/snapback]</div>
    :rolleyes:

    Harry
     
  17. MegansPrius

    MegansPrius GoogleMeister, AKA bongokitty

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    I'm sorry...but what previous car were you getting more than 460 miles a tank in? How did you handle your gas fill-ups then?
     
  18. Tom_06

    Tom_06 Active Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(scoot @ Feb 23 2007, 02:19 PM) [snapback]395348[/snapback]</div>
    According to the "Master Diagnostician" at my dealer's service, no. His statement to a bunch of us Prius owners at the service center's open house was that we should consider the Prius as having a 10 gallon gas tank. Occasionally you might get more out of it, but he didn't understand Toyota's spec. He felt that the only way it was 11.9 was in very hot weather with filling the filler neck to the top - and that risked destroying the characoal canister.

    You have proven your tank is an effective 10 gallons. It is not unusual that the effective capacity of a car's fuel tank is less than stated. I "proved" that my Audi's 18 gallon tank was only 16.5 in a similar manner.

    Deal with it. The other posters have given you excellent advice.

    - Tom
     
  19. gupchurch1349

    gupchurch1349 New Member

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    Sorry for respondng in a rude manner. It is your fault it ran out of gas. When it gets down to 1 or 2 bars, fill the tank. Anyway, running any car on nearly empty is not good. Sediments from the bottom of the tank can be sucked up into into the internal parts of the combustion engine. Not good

    Trade your Prius in and get a nother car withou a bladder

    Trade your Prius in and get a nother car withou a bladder
     
  20. aaf709

    aaf709 Ravenpaw of ThunderClan

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    One other thing to consider, the bladder is still new, adding to the stiffness.
     
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