Low fuel warning light question

There is no light in the Gen 2.

The last bar blinks just before you run out. (somewhere between 7 and 30 miles after it starts blinking in my experience)


The North American Gen 2 Prius has a flexible bladder inside the metal tank. How flexible varies by temperature. In MS in summer I could get 11 gallons in it. In Winter, 8 gallons was full. (Your winters are likely colder than mine)

For this reason, the safest way to drive a Gen 2 is to always get gas at 2 pips, unless you have a station every block to push it to.

In summer you may drive 160 miles before the first pip disappears, in winter 40. While the bladder did an excellent job of pollution control, it makes knowing when to refuel difficult. It also can make slow to refuel, my advice is to open the gas cap before paying, the 3 minutes will help.

 

what jim said^ it sounds like you're getting the most from your bladder, so i wouldn't push it. the manual is correct in a perfect world, but not in the real world.
my gen 2's always started blinking the last bar after it was done, accompanied by a very quick, quiet short beep. and then they would take around 10 gallons, so i figured there were about 2 left. i guess i was lucky.

unfortunately, with such a poor notification system, the burden is on the driver to know when to fill up. maybe toyota doesn't like to advertise that a prius can ever need gas.

 

You really don't need a "low warning" light. The one bar you're showing is a pretty good indicator to fill up.

When I get to the point where my 1 remaining bar starts blinking, it usually has about 80 miles left on it before it runs empty. However that is not always accurate, the bladder tank is very unpredictable. Best to fill up when you get to about 1 bar on your gauge.

 

@MontyB

Jimbo and Bisco pretty much summed every thing up IMO. The only thing I might add is to fill the bladder SLOWLY and try not to top off. If you do sooner or later you will take a bath in gas. And I do mean bath, as that thing will burp and throw up if you overfill it.

Best of luck to you and "Welcome to Prius Chat"!

 

Especially in Michigan, you shouldn't pass a station after being down to the last blinking bar. The Prius manual states, once the bar is blinking, you have "3 gallons, or less". Usually less. I've found about 1.8. Those in cold climates have reported none, within a mile or two they were out.

 

Total agreement.