my '05 broke down

Heck, 10 gallons is more than I can usually get into that tank and I also have an 05. Maybe due to the low fuel condition something went awry?

 

I'm guessing you've read all the posts about fuel gauge variability and variable tank size due to the bladder. If your low fuel light went on, and it took 10 gallons, it really is possible you ran out of gas. When my car is down to 1 bar, it takes anywhere between 8 and 10 gallons. Was the dealer able to read any codes? That would probably point to what happened.

By the way, the only time I ran out of gas in a car was in my last car, a 1996 Audi A4. Your description sounds just like what happened to me. The dash lit up like a christmas tree and it felt like someone threw out an anchor. I was doing 75 in the left lane and was lucky to get to the shoulder. Of course I was stranded and since the gauge read 1/4 full I thought something in the engine management had failed. The I looked at the number of miles I had driven on the tank and thought maybe I should put some gas in before I call for a tow. It turns out there was a known problem with A4 fuel gauge senders, and when they fail they get stuck at 1/4 tank. Nice, huh?

 

When a car runs out of gas, often the first thing that happens is the intake draws some air into the lines and the car dies. If you end up uphill or downhill the fuel may slosh into a different position in the tank and you may be able to get started again.

Just don't discount the possibility until the dealer checks it out. Get the codes read.

 

I'm not sure how the bladder work, but I know in my older cars, during especially hot days the gas in the tank would vaporize. If I ran to low, not enough of the gas would remain liquid to keep my engine running. When the car cooled down again I would have enough gas to drive again... At least, this is what I guessed was happening.

 

I don't think you broke down because of a low fuel problem. It sounds to me like you have one of the Priuses that has the software glitch Toyota was talking about that makes the engine cut out at highway speeds. The pattern fits...the lighting of the entire dashboard, the sudden drop in speed, the ability to restart after shutting off. There's an extensive post on the subject here, and MSN also put out an article about it today.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(\"remaxmanager\";p=\"90628\")</div>

Welcome...no use taking it in to the dealer for code check until Toyota issues a formal service bulletin about what needs to be done. You can call to check with the dealer on that, though.

 

I think you ran out of gas. Neither of my Prius have ever had 10 gallons of fuel pumped into them. http://www.w8kc.com/priusmileage.htm

When you stopped on the hill, for whatever reason, the system allowed enough fuel to hit the pump to get you to the gas station - which you didn't mention how far away that was.

There have been folks who claim that they ran out of gas with a bar or even two still showing.

Tollhouse to Las Vegas (great desination, BTW!) is about 430 miles so at 45 MPG, you could have ran out but should not have.

See what the dealer says about the "guess gauge."

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(remaxmanager\";p=\"90638)</div>

I'm not surprised the salesperson never heard of the problem; the announcement only came out Monday on a few specialized websites, and was only just widely publicized today. What I meant was that Toyota usually sends out general service bulletins that should reach the files of any dealer connected to the internet that some repair is needed, so even if they don't know the problem specifically, they should know something needs to be done. But so far, Toyota has not done that...you might check again in a week or two.

I would have agreed that you did in fact run out of gas, if you hadn't also said the whole dashboard lit up, as well as being able to restart later. The fuel tank is 11.9 gallons, and while that does vary some depending on temperature, unless it was REALLY cold, it shouldn't have shrunk that much.

 

I think it depends on the dealer...

Unfortunately to most the Prius is still an enigma. Our salesperson could show us all the features and how to drive it and etc. But hubby's a Toyota tech and already knew that stuff.

 

Eww, I would have hesitated to buy from that dealer if someone said something like that!

That was really unnecessary of them...

Fortunately there's a ton of info here on PriusChat, so hopefully you won't have to go uninformed.