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Prius and filling the tank

114 messages,  Last post on Jan 31, 2013 at 11:16 AM

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Prius, Fuel System, Hatchback, Sedan

Messages Page 8 of 13

#62 of 114 Re: Toyota States NO FIX for Bladder defect [priusdar] by yermell

Jun 11, 2008 (5:20 am)

Replying to: priusdar (Jun 10, 2008 7:16 pm)
Update on Prius tank issue. I wrote in March about only being able to fill my tank to approximately 7.5 gallons, and the Toyota dealership's lack of response and identifying that temperature significantly impacted the bladder. As the weather has warmed I have been getting more fuel in the tank and have been filling more slowly as many have advised. At the end of May we drove 3600 miles from MA to FL and back with stops on the way. Once on the road with warmer weather in the 80's the tank capacity returned to normal (note I have had the vehicle for 2 yrs with 45,000 miles). My fill-ups were back in the 8 gal range with 3 clicks left on gauge. It should be noted that when I filled up, even in winter when the tank shrinks, the gauge always shows 10 clicks so it is full at that time with however many gallons it fits. I don't think you'd run out of gas with 1-2 clicks left but you have to keep in mind that with the lower total capacity your 1/10th clicks represent less. I love my Prius, we will be buying a 2nd one and if this is the only negative, nothing is perfect.
 
On the positive side my avg mileage per tank was 48.8. It was obvious that driving 80 mph the mileage was 44.7 or so, but when you slowed to speed limit of 65-70 the mileage went up to 49 mpg per tank; on two legs of the trip we drove up Hwy 17 from Wilmington NC to Ocean city MD and then to Wilmington DE area and our mileage over this area driving 55-60 mph was 53-54+ mpg for 2+ tanks of gas. It really drove home the point that driving the speed limit or lowering the speed limit to 55-60 as was done in the 70's has a tremendous impact on efficiency.

#63 of 114 600+ miles on 1 tank of gas... by scottc3

Jun 19, 2008 (1:42 pm)

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

#64 of 114 Major system hybrid failure with 5,5 l in the tank by pierre12

Jun 28, 2008 (7:16 am)

Hi all. I've read that the low gas gauge was supposed to show with 11,5 l left in the tank. I ran into a major hybrid system failure 25 km after the gauge started to blink. When the dealer filled it up, there was 5,5 l left in the tank. Now I,ve read about the difference while filling up and I got a copy of a page stating that the tank, made of resine, could compress up to 5 l in cold temperatures. That explains why we cannot consistantly fill up to the 45 l capacity. Has any of you come across this major failure problem with close to 1 ½ US gal in the tank? With suppositely 11,5 l (3 US gal) left, I expect to do a lot more than 25 km (14 miles)....
 
Thanks

#65 of 114 Re: Major system hybrid failure with 5,5 l in the tank [pierre12] by sergelbergeron

Jul 04, 2008 (2:36 pm)

Replying to: pierre12 (Jun 28, 2008 7:16 am)
PIerre - way back in March I posted about running out of gaz with my 08 Prius - this being the first time in my life - anyway I did about 47 miles after the blinking started before the motor stopped - I was on the QEW close to Niagara - going 110Km/H. when oops the big red light turned on - so with the electric motor - I did about 1-2 km and was watching my battery. I decided to stop because the book clearly says don't empty your battery. Everytime - my light started blinking in the past I would go maybe 10-20 miles and tank up and I also saw that I had lots of gaz left - like I could still do at least 100KM and more. Anyway - I now know when it blinks - I find a gaz station. I still love our 2 Prius's (05-08) and I placed an order to get a new 08 for my wife and will have an 05 to sell in September - any buyers around?

#66 of 114 Re: Toyota Prius is a SAFETY HAZARD [priusdar] by kdhspyder

Jul 23, 2008 (6:08 am)

Replying to: priusdar (Jun 07, 2008 7:06 pm)
Just saw your post.
 
You CANNOT trust anything posted over at CA because none of it is verifieable. BTW, Consumer Affairs IS NOT Consumer Reports.
 
CA is a site run by lawyers, look at the fine print deeper in the site, who are trolling for scared and unknowledgable owners of anything who are angry or just don't understand how certain things work. They are trying to gather data from 'reports' in order to see if there is sufficient interest to open a class action lawsuit.
  
This has nothing to do with Toyota specifically. CA wants to sue every manufacturer of any product; drugs, carseats, autos, toys, you name it. Its only purpose is to gather data so that the lawyers can make money by filing class action suits. The one thing that they DONT have is any verifiable proven data on any complaint, it's all 'he said...she said stuff'. In addition and this is most damning, the complainers don't even have to own the product on which they are filing the complaint. A complaint(s) on the Prius can be filed by the Chrysler Marketing Dept. Complaints about Chevy trucks can be filed by a Toyota dealership. And....complaints about the bladder variability issue can even be made by the CA staff themselves to see if this net catches any unsuspecting fish.
 
That's all that CA compiles, complaints. Better you should look at the NHTSA website.

#67 of 114 Re: Toyota States NO FIX for Bladder defect [priusdar] by kdhspyder

Jul 23, 2008 (6:25 am)

Replying to: priusdar (Jun 10, 2008 7:16 pm)
I have my 2005 at 83000 mi plus. I too have experienced the 'bladder variability issue' on rare occasions.
 
But going over the top on such a silly inconsequential issue is silly. HINT: Use your common sense.
 
I'm sure that you didn't have this explained to you when you took delivery of your Prius. If it had been explained to you up front then you'd be able to deal with the variability.
 
Simply put, don't let the bars go below 2. At the 2-bar level you will have driven about 350-400 miles ( MFD indication ). When the bars hit 2 look for a gas station. At that time you will put in about 7-8 gal of fuel ( 380 mi / 48 mpg = ~8 gal ). That's it. It really is that simple. Trust me on this after 83000 miles. I have a friend who's at 205,000 miles on his 2004 and he's never run out of gas.
 
Common sense has a lot to do with it. If you've driven 350 miles and your MFD is showing 50 mpg then you should 'expect' to add about 7 gal. So what if the pump shuts off after 4.5 gal? Common sense. Bleed in another 2.5 gal. It will work it only takes common sense. How do I know this? I've been at 1 bar knowing that I should put in about 9+ gal. However for whatever technical variability the pump shut off after 3/4 of a gallon. Well I know that can't be right. Common sense tells me that somehow I have to put in more than 3/4 of a gallon. I'm sure that I have to put in between 8-10 gallon, 3/4 of a gallon just will not fill the tank.
 
Now if you WANT to blow this out of proportion that's always your choice, just don't expect a lot of love from anyone other than CA. If you're a troll, then enjoy your life as one.

#68 of 114 Re: Prius and filling the tank [jchshade1969] by whitey9

Jul 26, 2008 (5:29 am)

Replying to: jchshade1969 (Mar 06, 2007 12:00 pm)
Stick it in! All the way!
Or maybe try another pump with a different nozzle.
No problem w/my '07.
Sometimes have problem w/wife's '06 Hybrid Mariner. I just reposition the nozzle and go on filling.

#69 of 114 Re: Prius and filling the tank [dgw2] by whitey9

Jul 26, 2008 (5:32 am)

Replying to: dgw2 (Mar 18, 2007 12:04 pm)
What the heck is a T4, 05?
Izit a M.Y. 2005?
T4, does that refer to the latest Terminator model? I thot they were in the 2000s models by now.

#70 of 114 Re: Prius and filling the tank [whitey9] by stevedebi

Aug 06, 2008 (5:04 pm)

Replying to: whitey9 (Jul 26, 2008 5:32 am)
"T4, does that refer to the latest Terminator model? I thot they were in the 2000s models by now. "
 
I seem to recall that the latest Terminator was the the cyberdyne T1000.

#71 of 114 Bye ... bye ... Prius ... no more hybrids for me! by priusdar

Sep 27, 2008 (8:29 pm)

My 2008 Toyota Prius has had challenges with both filling the "tank" and calculating mileage since I purchased the car. I have never expected the car's average mileage to be dead on, but close would be nice. I certainly never expected not to be able to fill up my gas tand wither. I just got back from another lengthly road trip. In the summer, I still have challenges acutally getting the tank filler. Also, the mileage, when calculated by hand, differed as much as 11 mpg ... with the car noting the fuel economy was better than acutally achieved. I was only getting in the high 30's on this trip ... ugh!!! Recently, I took the Prius into Toyota to have the fuel gauge recalibrated (this would have been the third time). Toyota told me that the difference can be up to 15 mpg difference and that there was nothing wrong with the car. While waiting for the car to be taken care of, I looked around the car lot ... I now have a 2009 Toyota Camry SE (my 1992 Camry has over 250K on it). No more worries about all the different issues I experienced with my Prius ... I am looking forward to seeing how my Camry runs! No more Prius issue, no more wondering what else will crop up with the Prisu ...

Messages Page 8 of 13

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