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Driving on Empty

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Jon, Apr 20, 2004.

  1. Jon

    Jon New Member

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    Just wanted to share an experience that I had in the winter.

    Because the "Add Fuel" indicator turns on when I've used up 4-5 gallons in my tank, I decided to ignore it.

    I drove into Hoboken/Jersey City one evening. It's about 30 miles from here and there's no gas stations until you get to Hoboken. Once you get to Hoboken, there's a couple of gas stations, but after that it's a maze of roads with no parking and no gas stations. I was visiting a friend and I forgot that I had ignored the "Add Fuel" indicator.

    When I was ready to go home, I started up my Prius and about 1/2 a block down the road my car ran out of gas. It was 2 in the morning and the roads were covered with snow.

    The triangle of doom turned on, but unlike my 2002 Prius, the car just kept going on electric. I went about 5 city blocks to the nearest gas station (luckily they were open) and I literally coasted into the slot next to the pump. I turned off the car, but the attendant told me I needed to move the car to another slot. I tried to start up the car again, but it wasn't cooperating. I had my friends get out and push me around to the other slot.

    I was impressed with the distance the car could go on electric alone. I watched as the battery meter on the Info page slowly drained.

    -Jon

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    PriusXM
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    #1 Jon, Apr 20, 2004
  2. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Yikes Jon,
    A couple things worry me here.
    1)The lack of any indication of when you're "Really" low on fuel...been discussed ad nauseum.
    2)That you 'forgot'--I suggest that at the first flashing of the "Add Fuel" that you hit your Trip/ODO and reset the trip button. I find that helpful to keep an accurate record, if you will, of how far I've gone on 'add fuel'. I haven't been gutsy enough to go over about 55 miles yet, but a couple of times I, too, forgot exactly when the add fuel had started flashing and it caused some panic.
    3)Pushing the Prius--NOT a good idea, it would have been better to put the gas in a can and add just enough to start it up and pull in around. I doubt you did any damage for that very short distance, but it is clearly not a good idea every to push/tow the prius.

    Thanks for the story though, probably a good lesson for us all.
     
    #2 efusco, Apr 20, 2004
  3. bookrats

    bookrats New Member

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    A question: if you found yourself in a situation where you needed to push the Prius -- is there a way to do this without causing damage?

    I wondered if there was a way to "disengage" the front wheels from the hybrid system. I.e., putting it in neutral?

    Glad the question came up -- I hadn't thought of the dangers of pushing the car!

    Edited: Faulty info about towing removed!
     
    #3 bookrats, Apr 20, 2004
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Unless you can get the car into neutral (will the 12V let it go into that gear if the HV batt is dead?) I don't see any way to disengage the hybrid system and, therefore, the system would remain at risk when the vehicle is pushed. I bet Toyota has built in a margin of safety (i.e. when the batt dies/disengages the vehicle won't immediately shred the hybrid system), but how wide that margin is I don't know.
     
    #4 efusco, Apr 20, 2004
  5. Jon

    Jon New Member

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    I believe I was able to put the car in neutral even though it refused to start up for me.

    -Jon

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    #5 Jon, Apr 20, 2004
  6. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Can you explain why you think that? I'm not doubting you, but having never been in the situation I don't know how the Prius behaves and would like to know so that I'll be prepared.

    Did you get the car into "Ready" mode, or were you able to just get into IgOn and it shifted into Neutral from there?
     
    #6 efusco, Apr 20, 2004
  7. Jon

    Jon New Member

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    Again, this was a few months ago and that's why the details are not clear to me anymore. If I recall correctly, it was in IgOn (not READY) and then I was able to shift into Neutral.

    Your results may vary from my blurry recollection.

    -Jon

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    #7 Jon, Apr 20, 2004
  8. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    Honestly - even when you're "done" on the battery, it's not truly dead - just at the bottom of it's SOC window. There's probably still enough juice in there to spin up the engine if the ECU would let it.
     
    #8 HTMLSpinnr, Apr 20, 2004
  9. Batavier

    Batavier Member

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    According to the manual (page 254) it's okay to even tow the Prius.

    "Towing in this manner may be done only on hard-surfaced roads for a short distance and at low speeds. Also, the wheels, axles, drive train, steering and brakes must all be in good condition".

    So pushing the Prius from one pump to the should be safe, although I too would try to avoid this as much as possible. :D
     
    #9 Batavier, Apr 21, 2004
  10. bookrats

    bookrats New Member

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    Thanks for getting me to double-check the manual! Specifically, the manual says that it's OK to tow the Prius in these three ways:
    • With a wheel-lift type truck, from the front (i.e., front wheels elevated and car towed forwards).
    • With a wheel-lift type truck, from the rear (i.e., with rear wheels lifted and car towed backwards). but using a towing dolly on the front wheels. The addendum here is:
    • On a flat-bed truck (i.e., car completely on truck)

      • They also specifically warn against having the car towed by a "sling-type" towing truck. Does anyone know what differentiates that and a "wheel-lift" type truck? (Any pictures anywhere?)
        The manual says to call a Toyota dealer first, assuming that they will know exactly what needs to be done when towing a Prius.
     
    #10 bookrats, Apr 21, 2004
  11. Jon

    Jon New Member

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    Here's the two styles of tow trucks (other than the flatbed).

    I think the slingback type is bad because those belts go up against the bumper of the car and cause damage. In this area, they pretty much use flatbeds exclusively now.

    -Jon

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    #11 Jon, Apr 21, 2004
  12. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    A wheel lift truck uses a metal "fork" of sorts which fits below the front or rear wheels, at which point straps are put around the tires to keep the vehilcle in place. The parking brake must be released when the front wheels are listed or a dolly must be used. In the case of the Prius and if the rear wheels should be lifted a dolly must be used to keep the front wheels off the ground.

    A sling hooks more around the bumper and front end of the car and is rarely appropraite for today's fragile front-ends, but worked great back in the day.
     
    #12 HTMLSpinnr, Apr 21, 2004
  13. bookrats

    bookrats New Member

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    Thanks Jon! Just the info I was looking for.
    I found an article on American Towman's Magazine that makes it sound as if slingback tow trucks are dying out. The author (an old-timer in the towing business) mentions that few new tow truck drivers are trained for slingback tow trucks -- which would indicate to me that they're pretty much making either wheel-lift or flatbed.
    You learn something new every day...
     
    #13 bookrats, Apr 21, 2004
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