Urgent advice needed from PriusChat - should I fill up or not?

I say fill-up because 500-miles on a Gen3 should be easy another day. But my understanding is Gen3 the EV battery will not take over when the gas tank is empty, so you probably don't have the risk of hurting the battery. In a Gen2, when the gas tank is empty the battery keeps moving the car until the EV battery is depleted, which is very bad for EV battery life.

In a Gen2, I can approach 500 miles (480) only in summer when MPG is good and the bladder tank will accept more gasoline.

 

You'll make it, no problem.

Be sure to write later to tell us if you made it.

 

I routinely went over 500 miles on my Prius IV so I'd say you can easily make it, but fill up if you have any angst about it. If it was up to me, I would decide to drive the 32 miles to save the 30 cents/gallon. I don't like paying more for something that I know costs less elsewhere.

 

go for it! you've only used 9 gallons, there's plenty left. no need to worry at all. notch that 500 mile tank on your belt!

 

My experience says that should be an easy cake walk. But I would never make a first test of it in a bad area where you don't want to run out. Test it first under benign circumstances, where the cost of failure is low and tolerable. My first car, many decades ago, would not have made it to the next station.

 

No, you've gotten all the warning you're going to get.

 

i don't think so. at least not on my 08, the last segment started blinking on my way to work. i figured i would fill up on the way home, forgot all about it and a few days later i ran out of gas.

 

Just fill up... I'm sure you saw the 800 or even 1000 mile clubs before. You will never stop at 500, besides it is not all that uncommon... not worth getting stuck on the side of the road. If you really have time to burn just find a loop and drive slow, it would only take you 20 hours or so to get unbelievable mileage. Do it next time after you buy a 1 gallon fuel container and keep it in the car....... common sense The container also helps you to FILL your tank without overflow.

 

The next warning comes after it is already out of fuel and the traction battery is essentially exhausted. It is not as 'friendly' as the Gen2, which warns before the traction battery is exhausted.

 

Glad you found a solution. But if you were stuck between achieving 500 miles and being stuck in a bad area, then just fill up. There's plenty of time for you to reach 500...First world problems

 

Good News: He didn't run out of gas.
Bad News: The inside of his car now smells like a gas station.

First of all....I have a work car that's a G3. I drive it like a rental car and the only way I can NOT get 500 miles out of a full tank of gas would involve a siphon, or lengthy idling. In other words....as the other posters have pointed out you still have the better part of two gallons of fuel remaining when you get the first (or the last) warning beep.
If your tank average is anywhere above 45 you shouldn't have any problem seeing the (not so) magic 500 miles per tank.
However (comma!) remember that we're also dealing with Priuses...Prius drivers..and basic human nature.
Priuses have inaccurate fuel efficiency guestimations...at least my G3 does and I've heard a lot of other folks fuss and cuss about it too. Guess what? The MDF always gets it wrong in favor of the house (read: intentional bias)
This means that unless Toyota has fixed this problem - you should always presume that your ACTUAL fuel efficiency is about 3-5 MPG less than it really is. Still.....if your tank MPG is notrh of 45? You can't help but get 500 miles out of a tank.....unless you leave the car booted up and go inside your house for a weekend or so.

OK...now we get to Prius DRIVERS and basic human nature.
Priuses have a TWO GALLON reserve because the folks in Aichi Japan aren't morons!
They know how we think.
If I can get 500 miles out of THIS tank....then I can leg the next one out to 510....
If Joey Bagadoughnuts can get 800 miles out of HIS tank...then why not me too?
Basic human nature sometimes overrides common sense at times. That's why a the one gallon gas can that's rattling around in your car has to meet GOD knows how many federally mandated safety regulations and probably costs north of $15 when other containers are less than a buck.

Whether or not it's wise to carry a filled one gallon container of fuel in your car?
Your car....Your call.

Me?
I apply a -3 MPG bias to Goofy's fuel efficiency readout and get gas when I think that I can fit about 10-gallons exactly into the fuel tank plus or minus a gas station or two. At 46,000 miles...I've put more than 11 gallons in the car once when I wanted to make it to a better gas station.

I'm an unofficial member of the 600 mile club, and I wouldn't want to deprive anyone that all too human joy of running out of gas trying to get to 800 or having a fuel can leak in your car!
Just be careful...and have fun!

 

Just filled up a few days ago a little shy of 500 miles, ~20 miles til "empty". Only put 9.1 gal in. Mfd said 57.1 mpg, calculated 53.3 mpg. Obviously I could have easily made it another 15 or 20 miles to 500. Probably could have made it to 600 miles. Just as obvious, the mfd reads about 5% higher than reality

 

Great old person's story!

 

your car but sure you can make it IF it was real full tank at last fillup ! But my experience is when the car say 0 mile left you have at least 1 gallone more like 1.5 gallon left !!! I went 50 miles after 0 ...but your car your risk