Out of GAS

haha--wow! I didn't know it would go that far! I guess it depends on the charge. Good to know...glad you're not still stranded.

Eric

 

My sales guy told me to never run out of gas, now I know what to expect when/if it happens to me.

Good info to know, thanks

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Clubford00 @ May 23 2007, 07:28 AM) [snapback]448140[/snapback]</div>

I can't believe you actually went 12 miles on the batteries alone. What was the terrain? All downhill?

Dave M.

 

Clubford, do you know how many miles between when the fuel gauge started flashing, and the engine stopped?

Electric-only travel of that distance almost certainly implies downhill, or a stiff tailwind.

I hope our readers do not conclude that fuel exhaustion is risk-free in Prius. Possible damage both to the HV battery and the fuel pump (hidden within the tank assembly). Glad that it seems to have turned out well in this case, but it would be wiser to avoid this 'unusual operating mode' if at all possible.

 

Fun story.

I'm curious as to why you didn't just walk the four blocks back up the ramp to the Hinsdale Oasis ( 41.783985071869395,-87.90708303451538 ) when the car "kicked and started slowing down" ( 41.796056068633796,-87.90810227394104 ). I assume you just wanted to see how far you could get on battery?

I'm also curious why you didn't exit at Ogden Ave ( 41.818782008320696,-87.9141452908516 ) and get gas at the Shell ( 41.81638523885823,-87.92494654655457 ) ot the BP ( 41.816665099801114,-87.92631983757019 ). Again I assume that since it was still running on battery, you must just have been curious as to how far you'd get.

I'm really surprised, after the car shut off on you once, just before the toll ( 41.85329233505722,-87.91890621185303 ), that you made it as far as you did ( 41.93979697591854,-87.89781332015991 ). I wonder what made the first shutoff come so early, and why restarting allowed access to so much more battery.

After the car came to a stop the first time ( 41.85329233505722,-87.91890621185303 ), if I got it started again, I definitely would have exited at Roosevelt ( 41.86224611104738,-87.91818737983704 ) to look for gas ( 41.86296124033902,-87.90174007415771 ). You sure were determined to see how far that battery would carry you.

I'm glad to hear that you managed to walk safely to the O'Hare Oasis ( 41.950593837682646,-87.88187026977539 ) once it wouldn't start anymore.

I've included GPS coordinates that can be pasted into the search box on google maps for those who are curious as to the locations of some of the things mentioned. If you use the "satellite" image setting in google maps you can see that this was certainly not all down hill. I'd describe it as mostly flat, with frequent small climbs over (or out from under) various overpasses (underpasses).

While wind in this region predominately blows out of the west, it can vary with local weather conditions. I assume on this day there must have been quite a strong wind, this is the "Windy City" you know, out of the south.

All in all, I doubt the veracity of the story. On the other hand, the distances over road and the locations described certainly match the map. You'd have to have your mind pretty well set on running your battery all the way down to pass up so many exits.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ May 23 2007, 09:13 AM) [snapback]448221[/snapback]</div>

BTW, Norm just (I don't know how long ago, actually) posted his document on PHEV conversion. I don't know if it's done yet, but he does point out that when out of gas the computer will let the SOC% drop to 0. I still would doubt much more than 4 miles distance. I can only go 1 to 2 miles in dropping from 70+% to the 40% where it kicks me out of EV mode. Some of that distance is downhill also. I've rarely gotten my SOC% as high as 80%.

Oh. I almost forgot. For people not knowing, the link is http://www.hybridinterfaces.ca/stockNIMH.html.

Dave M.

P.S. I forgot to add. Dropping the SOC% to 0 is almost certain to reduce the battery life (probably significantly).

Second P.S. (as of 7:45 p.m. PDT). In an email with Norm he indicated I have probably misinterpreted the dropping to 0% on SOC. I'll clarify later, after I hear from Norm again.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Danny Hamilton @ May 23 2007, 01:59 PM) [snapback]448319[/snapback]</div>

Did... Clubford... I do not know... kill your puppy or something?



Good God...

 

I ran out of gas once, but only had to go about a mile on battery to fill up & move on. I made it 70 miles after the first add fuel warning & blinking pip. Obviously that will vary. With Gas everywhere I don't usually risk it.

 

"after the last bar beeps and starts flashing on the gas guage you have about 35 or 40 miles left"

Not true. You have no idea how far you can go. It can be as little as one mile if you climb a hill.

Didn't you learn by your mistake? When the car says get gas, get gas. Or do you like walking?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bigmahma @ May 23 2007, 06:53 PM) [snapback]448579[/snapback]</div>

Nah, I was bored, and since I live in the area I was curious about the distances he mentioned. I started checking on them in google maps.

While verifying that the distances were accurate I noticed the exits he'd have to pass up. Like I said, I live in the area, so I realized how many gassing oppurtunities he'd have to pass while on battery.

Others were already posting their doubts about the likelyhood of covering 12 miles on battery, some claiming that he misjudged the distance traveled. I figured since I had the information I'd share it. All in all it took a little less than 10 min. to look up the locations and get the coordinates from google maps and maybe another 5 min to put together the post.

For that matter, the info I posted actually lends some suppot to the story, in that the distance from the toll to the oasis is indeed about 10 miles, and the location he claims the car finally died was on a long incline to an overpass over a railroad yard.