"Old" Gas in the Tank

Assuming that you always fill the tank completely, the 'swirl' of the new fuel as it enters the tank probably blends the 'old' fuel with the 'new'.

I never considered this with automobile gas, only lawnmowers, chainsaws, etc., and of course, diesels in winter.

Do you not drive for weeks on end or store a car for say, 12 months or so (when I was overseas, we just put some Stabilizer in the fuel tank and filled it full.)

 

I bought a Prius that sat for a year. I just had a new hybrid battery installed tonight and the car will not stay running. The mechanic said it has bad gas in it. What should I do. I’m at a complete loss.

 

Does the car stay in READY mode? READY showing on your dash and you see the speedometer at all times?

 

are there any dash trouble lights on?

 

No. It starts and smells like old gas. Then it shuts down. I just put in a can of seafoam

 

No. It just shuts down. I just put a can of seafoam in it. And will try again tomorrow.

 

when it shuts down, can you drive it?

 

No

 

is there any gas in it?

 

Yes 7 gallons

 

how much of that is old?

 

2 gallons

 

what is todd at tampa hybrids saying?

 

So, if you place your foot on brake pedal and press the power button, the car goes into it's startup routine. The READY indicator lamp should illuminate almost immediately, and then about 10 seconds later, the engine will start. The engine runs for a short time and then turns off as part of the startup routine. Although the engine turns off, the car is still READY and can be driven at any time. You're saying that your car starts the engine, it turns off, but doesn't stay in READY and doesn't give any faults?

 

It should be fine.

But you could pump all the gas out (by removing the fuel line and running the fuel pump) and then refill with all new.

Or try to see if you can get it to start using starter fluid.

What is the state of charge of the hybrid battery?

I would clean the MAF, the throttle body and sop up the excess oil on the intake in order to have a good clean starting point.

 

Your gas should be fine but if you want to remove it go to Harbor Freight and buy one of their cheap red pumps and pump the tank out, it is really easy to do.


Multi-Use Transfer Pump

It takes a while to use up the old gas in the fuel lines then it should run better.

 

I am not using him.

 

I'm confused. I read back through your original postings from October 2017. You mentioned a few times that all maintenance was done by the dealer, the car "runs like a top", etc.

Has the car actually "run" (been driven) since you purchased it? Did you drive it home or tow it? What is your previous experience level with Prius vehicles? Can you respond to post 16?

For some reason, I just have a gut feeling this is all due to misunderstanding how the car works.