Ran out of Gas!!

Look at it this way - now you *know* how much gas is in your tank, exactly. There was none - now you added 10.834 gallons, so there is now 10.834. No excuses for next time ..

As others have pointed out, and as you noticed, pumps tend to click off quite a ways before the tank is 'full'. This tends to throw off people's idea of how much gas is left, just as it threw your numbers off. You assumed it clicked off at 12+, it probably clicked off at 10+ or so, and there's your missing gallons.

The second time, yours clicked off early, and you were able to push it up to 10.8 gallons - probably because your fuel bladder is new and stiff. Mine (a year + old) usually clicks off at 10.5 gallons. And it varies from car to car, pump to pump, bladder to bladder, and by temperature. Many folks force in a gallon or more after the pump clicks off, but it's not wise to push it. Overfilling can be very, very bad for the car.

When the last pip starts blinking you have (usually) less than a gallon left. You're not gonna make 100 miles on that - to be safe I wouldn't push past 20 (and others would recommend even less). It really is the car's Idiot Light, and it means go get gas, NOW!. Mine tends to start blinking with about 0.85 gallons left, my first few minutes of driving can be 30mpg or so, so I could well be dead 25 miles from the blinking pip.

And don't make a habit of it. Pushing the hybrid battery down to purple, and below, is really not good for it.

-Ken

 

the way the bladder works, you need to think of the prius fuel tank as being of variable size - not a fixed size like in traditional cars. e;g., every time you fill up the tank size is slightly different.

when you get down to 2 pips, fill that baby up.
or wait, and push your luck, giving the GF reason to say something to you

 

Alex, welcome to the "Guess Gauge". Thank you for the valuable story. It probably won't deter the "next one".

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JimN @ Jun 17 2007, 09:58 PM) [snapback]463737[/snapback]</div>

There's no guessing if you choose to accept the blink.

For me, that usually happens around 8.25 gallons. Isn't that per-tank range enough?

 

Obviously, you didn't have over a gallon left.

 

wait till winter and it shrinks another gallon.

 

Girlfriends are almost always right, if not, listen to them anyway.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(chitown guzzler @ Jun 16 2007, 10:09 PM) [snapback]463249[/snapback]</div>

Fuel management is where the Prius differs most from conventional automobiles. The bladder in the fuel tank is designed to keep gasoline fumes from escaping from the gas tank. The capacity of the tank varies considerably depending on the ambient temperature because that affects the flexibility of the bladder. My 2001 Prius has over 90,000 miles and I have found that when the gauge begins to blink I need to head for the nearest station. I usually fill up before that situation occurs, usually when the second to last bar disappears. In the summer time I can drive over 100 miles before the first bar goes away. In the winter time it may disappear at less than 50 miles. The bars are inconsistent too. I consider the tank to hold 10 gallons and when my miles approach 400+ I begin looking for the next good gas station.

You will adapt as you get more experience with your Prius.

 

I got a quick question. Does the 2002 model Prius have a bladder? I was under the impression that all of them do, but after putting in over 11 gallons in my tank a couple of times, only once during the summer, I'm beggining to wonder. I've never gone more than 20 miles on a falshing pip, so it's not like I've been pushing it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(subarutoo @ Jun 18 2007, 12:16 PM) [snapback]464177[/snapback]</div>

Right or wrong - if you argue, you lose. Smile, nod, and take your beating like the <strike>dumb***</strike> man that you are....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(subarutoo @ Jun 18 2007, 03:16 PM) [snapback]464177[/snapback]</div>

Reminds me of a plane that crashed in the woods on approach to our local airport years ago. It was a single-engine Cessna piloted by an elderly man with his wife riding shotgun. The cause was determined to be running out of fuel. Miraculously they survived. I imagined the cockpit conversation could have been, as they nosed down into the trees, "I told you we should have gotten gas in Fredericksburg!"

 

Unfortunately, a lot of aircraft fuel-exhaustion accidents happen at night. One contributing cause is that many small airport fuel suppliers close at night. This makes it much harder for a pilot to find fuel after dark.

It's still no excuse for trying to tempt fate. I was taught to only believe the fuel gauges when they said "E." Any other time, you compute fuel burn to be sure.