Run out of gas.

You could try switching to the "Energy Source" screen, the one with the Prius spinning wheels, and see if arrows no longer leave the ICE. Even going down hill, you should be able to momentarily floor the throttle and see if the ICE engages (red arrows).

 

I was going to say that it keeps chiming, from my 1 experience of running with the light blinking. That's the closest I've ever come to running low, and only did it once. I am almost sure it chimed more than once, but it was last year so I can't recall for sure.

That happened to me on the PA Turnpike, and one of the rest areas was closed, leading to the next one an additional 60ish miles down the road. Needless to say, I typically fill up with no less than 1/4 tank. I figure I'm usually stopping anyway, so what's another 5 minutes during that stop when I'm stretching my legs

 

The chime does not repeat while the car is on, so if driving a long distance, you will hear the chime once and if you keep driving, you will not hear it again. However, you will hear the chime each time you put the car into Ready mode, once the fuel has reach that threshold that causes the initial chime.

 

well, that's something anyway. better than the gen II. maybe they could have a programmable chime. so us mentally inferior types could have more reminders and not have to come on here for a mia culpa and submit to verbal abuse.

 

My numerous experiences, going as far as 60 miles past the initial blink, match DetPrius' description. The repeat chimes are just once per startup into Ready mode.

New! Improved! Once step forward (the chime), two steps back (loss of out-of-fuel light, loss of Christmas Tree dashboard indication when ICE runs out of fuel but traction battery still has enough capacity to limp to safe parking).

 

I thought Bob Wilson reported that with the Gen III, when you are actually out of gas and on battery, the dash did light up, at least with a power steering failure warning if I remember correctly.

 

^^ but not until the traction battery was essentially depleted. When driving in conditions needing the power of the ICE, the driver might notice severely sluggish behavior when the ICE starved. But in places where EV had enough power, the only clue was a rapidly declining SOC gauge, easy to miss. Only when SOC reached two bars and traction shut down did the Power Steering failure light up.