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Hybrid Vehicles Toyota Prius New Prius Owners - Give Us Your Report
541 messages, Last post on Oct 14, 2009 at 6:10 AM
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..but there's WAY too much concern about the fuel bladder issue. My guess is that they will do away with it on the Next Gen simply because of the annoyance it causes. Also the TCH and the HH don't have a bladder. Now that being said, ignore the damn thing. It's a minor annoyance at worst. Common sense should prevail. If you drive 100,000 miles or 200,000 miles and you keep accurate records of the fuel you purchased and the miles you've driven you will come to this unstartling conclusion....your fuel economy will be about 47.5 mpg over the life of your ownership. Obsessing over one tankful vs another is an an extraordinary waste of emotion. In looking at the Greenhybrid.com database and the EPA databases of owners reporting their fuel economy the middle 50% of the population is right at 47.5 mpg, Some are significantly higher and some as much as 15% lower, but that's a normal distribution curve of any population. Specificially regarding the fuel bladder issue if one tank seems to be far 'too short' then common sense should come into play. If a driver has driven 450 miles and used 9-10 gal of fuel and the auto shutoff clicks off at 2 gallons then obviously the tank is nowhere near full. It may take some 'babying' of the nozzle to get it to take another 6 or 7 gallons but it will do it. Common sense. You've used 9 gallons, you need to put about 9 gallons back into it no matter what the nozzle says. What annoys some drivers obsessing over their tank-by-tank results is that underfilling seems to inflate the fuel economy of the prior tank; 450 miles driven but 'only' 7 gal pumped gives the extra ordinary result of 64+ mpg...'Hot D***!!! Am I good or what!!' However after driving only about 350 miles on the current 7 gallon fillup and then filling to a normal 10+ gallons seems to drop the fuel economy into the low 30 range. 'Stupid defective car!' However combining the two tanks..............800 miles / 17 gallons = 47+ mpg. What a coincidence. In the long term one or two tanks just don't matter.
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Replying to: kdhspyder (Jun 18, 2008 7:28 am) |
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Replying to: gfr1 (Jun 18, 2008 8:19 pm)  kdyspyder ... gfr1 has it TOTALLY correct!!! This tank discussion has NOTHING to do with fuel economy. This is a SAFETY issue and HAZARD to the driver, passengers in the Prius and other drivers if the car runs out of fuel! So those of you that do not understand this serious safety issue, please quit telling the owners that ARE concerned to be happy that they get great fuel ecomony ... again fuel ecomony is NOT the issue here!!! A driver HAS to know that when a fuel gauge registers FULL that means FULL, not 1/2 a tank of gas, not 3/4 tank of gas ... but a FULL tank of gas. Not everyone drives in urban areas. This is a great little around town and short trips car. This is not a dependable or reliable long road trip car ... in rural areas where gas is not avaible 24/7! (Which is exactly I bought this Prius for ... I thought ... hey 10 gallons  45/mpg - boy - I can drive 450 miles/tank with gas to spare ... NOTTTT going to try that!) The faulty tank design along with the faulty gauge ... makes this car a safety hazard. (I have had my fuel gauge "fixed" three times ... it still does not work!) Anyway ... SAFETY is paramount ... Consumer Reports was VERY interested in this gas "tank" design flaw, expecially with Toyota Corporate OPENLY admiting the flawed bladder design, that 6-7 gallons is a "normal" fill up, not the 11.9 noted or 10 or 9 ... and that there is NO fix for this fuel tank safety hazard ... 
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Replying to: priusdar (Jun 18, 2008 9:29 pm) You're vehicle will get about 45-50 mpg on every tankful. Those are the stats. OK you drive 475 miles and the last flashing bar comes on saying fill up. This means that you've used about 10 gallons of gas. That's common sense. So you go to the pump and it shuts off early at 6 gallons....so you add 3 or 4 more gallons. Helloooo, you've just used 10 gallons going 475 miles. You need to put 10 gallons back in it. This is common sense. C'mon people common sense overrides everything else. At 79000 miles I've had a few 'early shutoffs' even after adding 1-2 gallons. Did I think that somehow magically those 2 gallons filled the tank??? No I just added 8-9 more gallons. Common sense. Or...you can continue to complain and whine about something that's so minor it's laughable. You use 9 gallons you have to put 9 gallons back in. What's so hard to figure out about that?
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Replying to: kdhspyder (Jun 19, 2008 9:10 am) Reply: In response to concerns about fuel capacity and safety, I operate my vehicle in very remote areas under severe environmental conditions. As a career driver, I take precautions to ensure my safety with any vehicle. Whether driving in the flatlands of Texas or the summits of Colorado, I recommend that an operator take rest breaks more frequently than a full tank of fuel. With a rest break every 4 hours at a safe 60 MPH, an operator travels 240 miles. At a more frequently fatal crash speed of 70 MPH, that means 280 miles. Even at 300 miles, that is associated with 6 gallons of fuel. Fill the tank slowly, patiently, and there is no problem with being unable to add 6 gallons of fuel and getting out of the vehicle to circulate oxygen to the brain to ensure safe operation of the vehicle. Furthermore, if you are concerned about safety, then you certainly always travel with emergency food, clothing, a sleeping bag, water filter, water bottle, cell phone, first aid kit, extra battery jump kit and 12 volt power source, air pump, magnesium fire starter, knife, multi-functional tool, maps, GPS, LED trail light, yellow strobes or fusies, and other gear to be prepared for your personal safety in the event of any mechanical failure or environmental condition. I do. I have never needed my emergency gear on the road, except to help others less prepared than me. I use my gear regularly on wilderness trails. I always have it in my vehicle. I know people who have died without it. If you need a list of survival gear that should be in your pack, refer to: Greatest Hikes in Central Colorado, pages 44-46. |
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Having owned ours now for less than 2 months, I have to say that so far it's great. The worst mileage was on the first fill and that hand calculated was around 48mpg. Since then each time I fill up, it calculates out to 50+. So far the Average MPG reading in the car is fairly close to what I hand calculate. I have noticed what people are calling an issue with filling the tank and so far my observations have been that it varies dramatically from one station to the next. One station that I was at had the pump pressure up so high and the trip mechanism in the handle was so sensitive that It took about 10 minutes to get it full. So far I've had one station that I could set the handle to the first click and let it run, the rest I've had to work the handle by hand to get it full. I have not had any that I couldn't get it full on, however at the one I already mentioned, I was almost ready to give up and go somewhere else. I guess it does go along with what has been said that sometimes you just have to be patient. Anyway, I love this car and enjoy driving it. It's very roomy and comfortable to drive. Steve. |
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The writer above is correct, we will all get about 50mpg.. +/- a bit. You drive 500 miles, you have used about 10 gallons of gas, so you should put 10 gallons in if you fill up. For me, I like to know how much gas I have in my tank when I get down to 1 bar left, or 1 increment on other cars I own. I just like to know this. For the first 3-4 months I thought I had 3 gallons left in the tank, based on a 9 gallon fill-up when I reached the last bar.. and the tank being 12 gallons. I thought I could drive another 150 miles when my car hit the last mark on the fuel gauge. My ASSUMPTION was that I had 12 gallons in the tank.. this is clearly NOT the case for must cars. If you have read my recent posts.. my last 'fill-up' was a true fill-up, with gas overflowing out the fuel inlet... not much, but it came out. I have now driven 600 miles on this tank of gas and my last light has not started blinking yet (indicating I need to get gas). So, I put in a bit more then 12 gallons in the tank on this last fill. I will know soon how many gallons, or less, I have in the tank when I'm no the last mark. For me, this will be useful information. I really like my car.. I just want to know the above info for my own sake. sc |
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I'm sorry to admit this one is a no-brainer.  When you fill up, park your car so the fuel door is on the highest corner of the car, not the lowest (you may have to circle around and stop in the opposite direction) to let air escape instead of getting trapped in a high corner of the tank. I find that there's often a little dropoff on the concrete that lets me lower the front of the car slightly -- even a little bit can make a big difference. Eyeball the ground to see which way it slopes, and put the driver on the high side. Next, set the pump handle on the slowest 'locked' setting. When it shuts off, pull the nozzle out to let any compressed air escape. (The rubber seal between the filler hole and the pump nozzle seems pretty airtight.) Resume pumping slowly. I can always put a few more dollars in -- gradually. I stop the pump at $xx.52, since I was born in 1952. When I look at my VISA bill, I can pick out fuel purchases in an instant (since they all end in .52).  Expect the bladder to be stiffer during cold winter weather, so it will be far less forgiving. You're more likely to get a pint of gas splashed on your hand if you pull the nozzle out quickly, so, barely pull it out and let the air escape gradually. Unfortunately, this means I spend more time outside pumping fuel in cold weather. I put my hands in my pockets while I wait. The bladder is part of the system that practically eliminates fuel escaping to the atmosphere, so I don't have a problem with that.  Be gentle, use your head, take your time. My mileage runs from 50-52 in warm weather and around 40-45 in the winter (I drive conservatively, watch ahead for red lights and slow for them). Part of that loss is winter-blend fuel, some is slipping on the snow, running the engine to pump heat into the cabin, and the emissions system trying to keep the engine warm. As far as the fuel gauge showing 'full' longer than it should, that's a 'feature' found on all cars. The gauge can either be 'most accurate' when the tank is full, or when it's nearly empty. It's more important to know how much fuel you have when the tank is nearly empty than when it's full. Again, use your head and determine if you have driven too many miles to make it to the next station by using the 'trip meter' on the center display (if you reset it, you're on your own). If you've traveled 300 miles, and it's 300 to the next town, maybe you should fill up here . . . If you don't know how far it is to the next town, next time get the Navigation System and it will tell you. 
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Replying to: snowboarder4 (Jun 17, 2008 7:31 pm) I completely love the Prius. Toyota way to go! I order the package 5 and can't get enough of the blue tooth, stereo, and nav/fuel info screen. Driving has never been so fun and affordable. I gotta wear shades. I remember that video when I was a kid. Peace to Prius owners. I waited two months here in Michigan to get mine, payed a about 1500.00 too much for it but I don't care.....I'll make that up in the first year with these gas prices.
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