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First 700 mile tank

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by DetPrius, Jul 5, 2010.

  1. DetPrius

    DetPrius Active Member

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    I finally completed my first 700 mile tank, with the following notes:

    Miles on tank: 700.7
    HSI MPG: 60.1
    Calculated MPG: 56.76
    Gallons of gas on fillup, including top off: 12.345
    Gallons at first shutoff: 10.420

    I have used the Fuel Level (FLV) X-Gauge on my ScanGauge II for about 10 tanks and have noted the max this gauge reads after filling up is 11.4 gallons. On this record tank, I drove for many miles after it was reading .7 gallons remaining and I now suspect it doesn't read any lower than .7.

    I don't consider myself a hypermiler but I am continuing to learn how to improve my MPGs. This tank probably had very few miles over 65 MPH, very little A/C, and while it had my usual short trips, many of these miles were at the mileage maximizing longer trips. The highest HSI MPG readout during this tank was at 63.5 MPG. After that I had many short trips, as in 10 minutes or less, and each trip lost 1 or 2 tenths of a MPG.

    I have found some of the non-believers think you're lying when you tell them actual MPG numbers or miles on an 11.9 gallon tank.
     
  2. andino

    andino Senior Member

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    That's quite and impressive tank! Congrats haha
     
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Impressive! Keep it up!
     
  4. Prius42

    Prius42 New Member

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    You are definitely braver than I am. From what I've read here, it isn't pleasant to run out of gas in one of these. However, I'm really impressed!
     
  5. rebenson

    rebenson Member

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    Quite impressive. Still getting used to my new 2010 prius and "rushed" to fill up and was nice discovery to only put 8 gallons in tank.

    I'm looking forward to 500 mile tank (it will be this one).
     
  6. Judgeless

    Judgeless Senior Member

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    Someday I will get a 700 tank. The best so far is 640. The most gas I put in the 11.9 gallon tank was 12.25 gallons. I am not sure how that math works. Some claim expansion, others claim the tube from the gas cap down holds the difference.
     
  7. pikesfish

    pikesfish Junior Member

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    Quite impressive. I am approaching my first full tank and it looks like it will be a little over 600 miles with a combination of city and highway driving. A lot better than what I was getting before and I am keeping an eye on the display to squeeze every last gallon out of her.
     
  8. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Caution, when the last of the gas is burned and the car is under 46 mph, it converts to EV mode without signalling with a 'check engine' or other error light. If the traction battery goes low enough, it can raise a "power steering" error light and remove all traction power regardless of location. Sometimes this can be at a bad place.

    I added a spare gallon of gas and it started right up.

    Above 46 mph, you are likely to detect the loss of engine power and have enough traction battery power to reach a safe place. Alternatively, below 46 mph, you might detect the decreasing traction battery SOC but this is not easy.

    When the tank light begins to flash, I've found about 2.1 gallons remain, ~120 miles @55 MPG. I just reset a trip meter and monitor the MPG and miles to calculate how much is remaining.

    GOOD LUCK!
    Bob Wilson
     
    2 people like this.
  9. eglmainz

    eglmainz New Member

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    Which vehicle is pleasant to run out of gas in? If you could find one that is more fun to run out of gas in, I would love to know. ;)
     
  10. Prius42

    Prius42 New Member

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    Yes, but the GIII may be worse than most. There are several really long threads on this with most of the useful information coming from Bob Wilson who intentionally ran the GIII out of fuel several times. There is some indication that after a few restart attempts you will have to have it towed to the dealer.

    Here is one of the long threads starting with someone who ran out of gas and then had to have it towed. It isn't clear what the final reason for the tow was, whether the traction battery was too low, there was not enough fuel added to the tank, or she exceeded the number of allowed restart attempts:

    http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...rius-v-out-gas-need-clarification-please.html

    One of Bob Wilson's replies has some good info:

    http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-need-clarification-please-8.html#post1085828

    The manual seems to indicate that you need at least 2 gal of fuel to attempt a restart:

    http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-need-clarification-please-8.html#post1086128

    Here is Bob Wilson's longer post on intentionally running out of gas in a GIII:

    http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/64211-warning-running-out-gas-gen-iii.html

    Any way you cut it this doesn't look like a whole lot of fun. That's why running 700 mile tanks makes me nervous. At least one should have a good backup plan when this is attempted.
     
  11. nahtanoj

    nahtanoj New Member

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    makes my 517 mile tank seem worthless... i did get 60.7 MPG on my 140 mile commute home on thursday!!!
     
  12. almypal26

    almypal26 Member

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    So how many more miles can u drive when the gas indicator is blinking? How much gas do u think is left in the tank?:confused:
     
  13. Prius42

    Prius42 New Member

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