TSB Released on Fuel Gauge Innacuracies

Note: If I recall correctly Evan didn't have much luck with his update. Kinda glad we sat tight and took advantage of Evan's experience. Have had enough issues of our own.

(To date SC 40D, 40E, HV computer replacement twice, the first replacement was "not the right one" though the car still ran. And a traction battery rebuild. Do I wish we had chosen a different car. NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!!)

 

- I 'chickened out' on the Fuel Gauge TSB for now. Turned out the Dealer I called had apparently not done this TSB and I didn't want to be his Guinea pig. Besides, I have 30,000 miles of "cushion" before the warranty expires.

8) Then... there are several other dealers in the Dallas area to consider.

-Charles Suitt- Dallas TX

 

I have a 2005 that was manufactured in October. I only have only burned three tanks of gas. I top off when the last bar blinks. I am able to get between in 9 and 9.5 gallons on a top off.

 

that would be about normal

 

Pardon me if this was asked earlier in the thread - I didn't catch it, anyhow.

Are parts & labor for the TSB covered under the standard warranty?

 

i would think that they are. its a manufacturers defect which should be covered in the 3yr/36,000 mile waranty

 

i had mine done a while ago, almost no improvement re fill-ups. or ease of filling. waste of time and toyota's $.

but, anyone had this problem? now the maintenance warning lite comes on at a weird mileage, instead of at each 5K, it comes on at 1832, for example, guess something needs to be done.

 

Maintenance warning light comes on at 5K from when it was reset. Shouldn't come on at 1832, not anywhere's near 5K. Try resetting it, and it should sync up at your next maintenance at around 5K.

 

My latest experience with the fuel gauge came in somewhat of a different route. Over the last several tanks I had decided to leave things as they were - bars not coming off until around 220 miles, a high rate of decline until 360 miles before refilling. I had not seen the blinking last bar due to running out of gas back in October and not allowing myself that fate again.
Last week while driving home we heard a strange sound (a kind of clanking, what sounded like a pulley rubbing something and finally a snap). No evidence of parts leaving the car, no sign of anything after checking under the hood and the sound never returned during the rest of the drive home. We took the car in the next day to have it checked out.
While the car was in the shop they performed an oil change at 13000 miles, the 40L brake light switch replacement and ordered the GPS Map update DVD for the 40J TSB. They did not find anything wrong under the hood.
We got the car back Tuesday afternoon and everything was functioning fine. Driving to work the next day I noticed the fuel gauge dropping like a rock and I only had 270 miles on the tank! By the time we got into town the last bar was flashing and the "Add Fuel" warning came on - an odd indication since we were getting an average of 40 mpg! We decided to wait until we could refill the tank and see how much fuel it would take before calling the service department again. If it only took around 6 gallons I knew it was a problem with the gauge and if it took more than 8 gallons it could be a gas leak. Well, it took 9 gallons so I called service and scheduled another appointment.
We did not see any indication of fuel loss the rest of last week and took the car in yesterday for the DVD change and fuel system check. They could not find anything and the service guy said the gauge will "act a lot differently with the tank and gauge repairs" (which were done back in October). I asked him that if the gauge is functioning properly, why would I need to put in 9 gallons of fuel at 275 miles when I was getting 40 miles to the gallon? Now I'm not accusing anyone of anything but the fuel had to go somewhere. He said "I don't see any reason why we would siphon any fuel out...". I reiterated on how sensitive I am to the fuel issue after being stranded on the road and left it at that.
I'll be keeping an eye out for those gas stealing gremlins in the future.

Happy Holidays!!!

 

sorry but anytime your gauge drops rapidly initially, and then drops normally after that with no signs of fuel leakage, you should not be looking at the car...

do you park your car on the street at night?, have any kids? a leaking gas tank is so blantantly obvious. if you have doubts, go fill up and drive around the block in front of your house a few times. check for a cookie crumb trail.

but with gas prices the way they are and you missing 3 gallons...

 

As it turns out, in my short sightedness, I failed to look at my previous fill up. I had only put a little over 5 gallons in with 328 miles and had not made a mental note of it. It must have been a cold day where the bladder caused the pump to shut off prematurely. Duh...

 

My VIN subjected me to the fill pipe modification only. Had it done in early December. Two fills since and I can not say it has made a huge difference. I think the 'increadible shrinking gas tank(bladder)' syndrome is the real problem and affects the ability to evaluate the fill pipe fix. I was able to squeeze over 10 gallons into the tank last night, which is the most since hot summer weather, but I had been driving 70+ miles since the last bar started to blink. I ran out of gas last fall during our first cold snap when I was sure I still had 2-3 gallons. In the summer I could go 550 miles with no problem. The last bar starts to blink at 420 miles in cold weather.

 

Ok guys and gals. Just so you all are aware on ANY TSB the dealer is REQUIRED to cover all parts, labor, rental charges, gas charges or anything your local dealership can think of. If all you get done is that TSB then no charge can be made to you. Secondly the TSBs are released into website depending on your geographical location ALL dealerships fall under these geographical locations and all are released at the same time but it takes the employee's initative to read the new TSBs and the manager has to update the computers(done on average monthly) for the computers to make the service advisor aware of the TSB if you are not. I work for Toyota and am a very proud prius owner and am now breaking in my second one(had to give the first on to daughter, sigh to old)

 

Thanks!! Gosh is this bug annoying! I'm going to ask about getting this done at my 10000 mile checkup.

Anne

 

I have an '05 that I picked up December 28th and I have been experiencing this problem like many others. I read the TSB and it seems as though I don't qualify for the fix. Has anyone done the Fuel Guage TSB on an '05? In any case, I doubt that I will do it even if I could. It seems like others who have had it done are no better off (and in the case of some, far worse off)

It seems to me that Toyota should take a long hard look at this problem because frankly I didn't spend this much extra money to go 370 miles (~40-43 MPG) on a tank of gas. Although I am concerned about the environment and I do appreciate that I am spending less at the pump, it is the inconvenience of filling up exactly the same number of times (in my case once a week) with this car as I did with my VW Jetta. I mean really, the specifications say that I have an 11.9 gallon tank but I am never able to put in more than 9 gallons even when I drive with Mr. Blinking 'E' for 20 or so miles. In fact, the most I have EVER put in the tank is 9.5 gallons and I have the receipts to prove it.

I understand that Toyota doesn't want us running out of gas everywhere and that they have to put in a cushion. From readig this message board, I am wondering if I even have the nearly 3 gallon cushion that the specs would indicate. If it weren't for the fact that I pass about 15 gas stations on the way to work I would probably be filling up at 1-2 bars, but then my miles per tank would be REALLY aweful. Anybody have a suggestion (short of driving around with a spare gallon of gas in a can) as to how I can know how much gas is left in the car. Anyone got a syphon? Is there a standard for the amout of fuel that is supposed to be in a gas tank when you reach empty? I have read about people running out of gas and it makes me wonder when the Prius is on the reserve. Is that the Blonking 'E' bar?

 

I believe all Prius after May or so no longer need them, so no '05 would need them.

One of the reasons for the TSB was that people were running out of gas when the guage said they had plenty. So, I suppose Toyota had to add more caution cushion to the guage.

Attila has been able to read the tank data directly off the CAN, and believes he has more reliable data, so I suppose it is possible to do. To him, the problem seems to be that if the guage detects even a momentary dip, it drops the reading and stays there.

You really should be able to get more miles than 370 though, but even 11.9 gallons is a small tank. I think my Saturn SL2 had a 12 or 13 gallon rating.

 

I just purchased a 2005 Salsa red Prius Pkg.6 here in SoCal and can say only that the tank can NOT possibly be 11.9 gallons. I know this because just last week I ran the tank dry and went to fill it up. After a careful topping off I managed to get 10.9 gallons in the tank. So that is the figure I use to calculate fuel remaining, (why there isn't a mileage countdown meter in the car I don't know.)

I do a lot of high speed freeway driving so have averaged about 45-47 mpg. I already have 2300 miles on a 3 week old car. Can you see why I got the Prius.

Hey has anybody else run this thing out of gas? Is this bad for the car? i noticed I couldn't accelerate until I dropped below 40 mph, I read elsewhere this has something to do with the gearing between the MIG and the drive wheels. It's kind of cool though when EVERY light on the dash goes on, and even some that I haven't seen before. Also, How far can this thing go on battery power. Possible a breakdown by how many miles per Bar, or bars per mile as it may be?