Fuel filling problems persist

you should also have an idea how much gas should be expected

if you are getting 40 mpg and have gone 400 miles, us used around 10 gallons.

so if the pump shuts off at 8 gal. you maybe want to round to the nearest dollar and stop pumping

if it shuts off at 4 gallons, i would continue to pump.

 

dwp-wa,

Go read this string . . . you may be part of the problem . . . and you may be able to fix the problem when you run into it again.

Prius Refused Gasoline
http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-refused-...ine-vt7172.html

 

I had the filler/gauge surgery done a couple of weeks ago, and spilled gas on my first fillup due to not hearing the change in gurgle in time. No rubber gasket anymore.

I also had to reset the car to fix my driver's window issues, so I have no idea how many miles into that tank I am. So I have to trust the new gauge and fill immediately after it starts blinking and hope for the best. After I know what's in there, I can relearn how to deal with gasoline. I'm hoping a delay in refilling will leave me near cheaper gas just when I need more...

 

i dont think i would be much help, the pumps where i live are clickless. if you squeeze a little it flows a little. so if you squeeze the lever a bit, it will continuously pump gas at a slow rate and never "click" off

 

By holding the rubber gasket off the filler neck you are defeating the vapor recovery system. Not as bad as spilling liquid gasoline, but still bad! By doing so, you are likely polluting more that you will by using that entire tank of gas.

That is exactly the symptom of a vapor recovery return line that is full of gasoline.

Even though the Prius has a bladder system, it is the weight of the gasoline that stretches the bladder, not the build-up in pressure . . . because any build-up in air pressure will trip a vapor recovery type nozzle which uses a rubber gasket system.

 

Ummm, it wasn't MY idea to remove the gasket. I just took the parts specified in the TSB. If it's such a bad thing, then why did Toyota go and do it?...

 

Oops, sorry mikepaul, wrong rubber gasket.

I thought you were talking about the rubber gasket on the gas nozzle.

 

I think I've been having exactly the problem you describe. There don't seem to be alot of "bites" on your post--I wonder if much of anyone else is having it--or noticing it. Here's the details (the LONG answer), if that helps.
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I’m having periods when I can’t fill the tank normally. The fuel filling automatically shuts down at the gas pump—short of the tank being full. (You drive off, and the gas gauges doesn’t show full).

At least, that’s the worst case. It happened last summer, just before I was taking off for some long trips. My Toyota service department—always very competent and helping—couldn’t find anything. It kept doing this for the first part of the trip, then just “self-fixed.â€

The only “work around†was to nurse in a full fuel load, with 101 tiny spurts of gas, each one followed by the pump stopping—auto shut off.

I’d had the car since March, and everything had been working fine.

Just this last month, it seems to have cropped up again. Normally, I drive 250-300 miles before the fuel gauge drops down the first notch (maybe that’s highway mileage—but ball park).

Now, I can’t drive more than 30-40 miles without that happening. I think this means the tank is not filling again.

Anyone else had this problem? Any thoughts?

Toyota has not “contact us†on it’s website. How did you get in touch with them??

Thanks!

 

I just had the pleasure of putting in my first tank of gas, it filled with ease, and shows all bars in side.

Considering the miles on the car that amount of gas was about right.

 

First remedies to try:

0. Set the pump handle to run slower. Full bore is often problematic.
1. Use a different pump. Nozzles are often defective.
2. Use a different gas station. Some stations let all of their nozzles stay defective.

Remember that you will never, ever get 11.9 gallons of gas into the tank. If you try you will get gas on your shoes.

 

There is no need to calculate your MPGs. They are calculated and displayed for you, more accurately than you can do by hand.

This is because the amount of gas you put in usually does not equal the amount of gas you burned since the previous fillup. This is true in all cars but more so in the Prius because of the flexible fuel bladder.

 

Richard,

Thanks. Different stations had crossed my mine. There's one that's very convenient that I often use--but I'm pretty sure there have been stretches when the problem did NOT occur--even at that station. Will so some more checking, switching.

The "flexible fuel bladder" comment makes me wonder about weather/temp. etc.

Steve

 

Are you saying this is fact or just conjecture? You're assuming that the "trip computer" is accurate to begin with. I can tell you that my 02 Maxima's trip computer almost always reads 2-3 MPG above my actual calculated MPG, sometimes even as much as 4 MPG too high. This w/almost an entire tank of gas (reducing the amount of error), not tiny amounts. Everyone else on maxima.org who's checked reports the same thing too.

On my 04 350Z, its trip computer is much more accurate, usually within 0-1 MPG of my calculations.

I just got my 06 Prius and the first "tankful" w/the dealer having filled it resulted in a calculated mileage of ~38 mpg while the MFD said ~45. I suspect he hadn't filled it completely. I'll have to see over a few more tankfuls how close they are.

FWIW, the salesman described to me the bladder, variation and the possible difficulty of filling it (having to turn the nozzle and so on). He mentioned he had to fill mine w/the nozzle upside down. When I had to fill up, I got it filled w/o any problem and no twisting.

 

I'm afraid that is not true.

That's because the car calculated MPG is NOT ACCURATE. Repeatable yes, Accurate no.

It will vary between cars, but on average it seems to be between 1.5 and 2 MPG optimistic.

The repeatablility of the MPG Display means that it will always show the same number for the same fuel consumption. This does mean that you can, in fact, use it to determine your mileage, but only after you have determined the error correction number to apply.

This means that if you record a sufficient number of tanks, and compare the overall calculated mileage by actual gallons/miles to the tank weighted average of the display (the weighting is very important for accuracy in this case), you can determine the correction factor you need to apply to the displayed mpg average to get your actual.

In my case, after about 30K miles of records, the correction has flattened out with the display being 1.7 mpg optimistic (actually, 1.685, but who's counting )