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Refueling problem poll for all Prius owners

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by qbee42, Jun 30, 2008.

?
  1. I always have problems

    10 vote(s)
    4.8%
  2. I frequently have problems

    16 vote(s)
    7.7%
  3. I sometimes have problems

    18 vote(s)
    8.7%
  4. I occasionally have problems

    46 vote(s)
    22.2%
  5. I never have problems

    117 vote(s)
    56.5%
  1. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    18,058
    3,073
    7
    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    There have been long running discussions about refueling problems for the N.A. Prius with the fuel tank bladder. Let's see if we can get some real data about the problem.

    Tom
     
  2. tasker109

    tasker109 New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2008
    147
    1
    0
    Location:
    Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    never....but we follow the guidelines regarding slow filling and not overfilling.
     
  3. freshmtt

    freshmtt Dachshund Addict

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2008
    532
    4
    5
    Location:
    Chicago Suburbs
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Never, so far,, keeping fingers crossed.

    I usually fill up at 2 or 3 pips and can put 7 gallons in. I have never let it get down to 1 blinking pip as all the talk on PC has made me afraid to even try to get it down to 1 blinking pip. So, I am assuming that with 2 or 3 pips left I have around 1/4 of a tank about 3 gallons or so.
     
  4. Zhe Wiz

    Zhe Wiz Member

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2008
    128
    6
    0
    Location:
    Ithaca, NY
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Two Prius family here - both 08's. Only occasional problem we have is pump shutting off too soon. Seems to be pump dependent though, and doesn't happen often.

    Zhe Wiz
     
  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2006
    19,011
    4,080
    50
    Location:
    Grass Valley, CA.
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I've never had a problem fueling up the old girl.
     
  6. charansr

    charansr Member

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2008
    107
    0
    0
    Location:
    Concord CA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Never had issues with the tank burping. However i cannot get more then 9 gallons in one shot.. and i never complain about it.
     
  7. judymcfarland

    judymcfarland Queen of Moral Indignation

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2006
    578
    4
    0
    Location:
    Glendale, WI
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    The only issue I've ever had is that if I put more than 6-7 gallons in, I have trouble getting the hose out of the filler tube when I'm done. It seems like Fiona wants to suck down every last drop. . .
     
  8. ilusnforc

    ilusnforc Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2006
    404
    14
    0
    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I've always followed the "unofficial" guidelines of slow filling (usually set pump to first notch) and have never really seemed to have a problem until recently. I don't believe it to be any fault of the Prius, but rather the pump I suspect to have been the culprit however I've never been able to reproduce the situation at the same pump.

    I was filling at a pump (set to first notch as usual) and turned my attention away while filling and when I turned around at the sound of the pump shutting off it was reading 12.881 gallons!!! :eek:

    The bill was $45 when prior to that I had never spent more than about $33 on a tank of gas. I didn't have the time to argue with the station that my car only has an 11.9 gallon tank and I was driving to get there so yes there had to be some amount of fuel in the bottom of the tank so I wanted to know where the rest of it went? Suspecting I had been a victim of some scheme to rip customers off on gas I reported the station to Department of Agriculture - Weights and Measures who is going to investigate and test their pumps. Haven't heard anything back yet... Aside from that, no problems... So I selected "occasional" from the survey.
     
  9. misslexi

    misslexi Member

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2008
    130
    0
    0
    Location:
    Renton, WA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Only with older, mostly rural gas pumping equipment, never (yet) with newer pumps.
     
  10. jjksutton

    jjksutton New Member

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    97
    3
    0
    Location:
    Tampa
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    I fill up full blast at 2 pips or less. When the pump automatically stops, so do I. No issues with either the 04 or 08.
     
  11. seasalsa

    seasalsa Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 29, 2004
    1,278
    20
    0
    Location:
    Kent, WA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I don't consider it a problem, I have never been able to put more than 10 gallons in my tank.

    The specs do say that the tank capacity is 11.9 gallons however that was before they put the bladder and enviromental stuff in it.

    I normally fill up when I get to 2 pips though ocasionally I have seen the blinking pip. I've never run out of gas.
     
  12. Rokeby

    Rokeby Member

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2008
    3,033
    708
    75
    Location:
    Ballamer, Merlin
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    I voted "I never have problems." But... there's always the next fill-up.

    I would have preferred to have this choice: "I have not yet had a problem,"
    which admits to the possibility that things might change in the future.
     
  13. Huntceet

    Huntceet Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2008
    85
    2
    0
    Location:
    Chicago area
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Ok, I've never had a problem fueling. But I've only got 4800 miles on the car. I just know that the next time I fuel up it's going to geyser all over the place. All on account of me replying to this poll.

    Rod
     
  14. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    18,058
    3,073
    7
    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    I like this answer. Here we have a car with as much technology as NASA, but it doesn't pay to tempt fate. :D Technology is like that. Even when you understand it thoroughly and use it all the time, it still feels like black magic.

    Tom
     
  15. doubleg2005

    doubleg2005 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2007
    236
    1
    0
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    i have twice. the first time i set it on the first notch and was cleaning the windshield when i heard and then saw gas spilling all over the place! apparently the shut-off never registered. the second time it was nearing 10 gal and i decided to manually shut it off to prevent a repeat of the previous event, causing the gas to burp back up a little... :(

    other than those two issues (the first at a Valero and the second at a Brookshire's) everything's been great!
     
  16. Rokeby

    Rokeby Member

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2008
    3,033
    708
    75
    Location:
    Ballamer, Merlin
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
  17. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
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    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two

    Put one more choice there:

    It only happened once

    Ever since then I let the tank vent before fueling. Open up the gas cap..go inside..get soda...wait a little bit. And it then fuels up fine.Haven't had a gusher since.Fingers crossed. :fear:
     
  18. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,795
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Yeah my first was at 5500 miles. Was flawless till that event. Always on slow slow fill too. Man, almost a gallon of gas shot out of the tank. Now I have had good luck venting. Emphasis on luck.
     
  19. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2006
    7,028
    1,116
    0
    Location:
    South Jersey
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    In two years I had one "no shut off" problem and one brief "premature shut off".
     
  20. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2007
    7,512
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    Location:
    Carmichael, CA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    I have had 2 BGT (barfing gas tank) events in 20K miles. The last time it happened was over a year ago. In retrospect, both times may have been caused by not getting the nozzle far enough down into the filler tube. The tip of the nozzle must be below the rubber seal inside the filler.