- #70 of 90
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Re: Prius and filling the tank [whitey9]
by stevedebi
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Aug 06, 2008 (4:04 pm)
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Replying to: whitey9 (Jul 26, 2008 4:32 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.
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- #71 of 90
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Bye ... bye ... Prius ... no more hybrids for me!
by priusdar
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Sep 27, 2008 (7:29 pm)
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 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 ... 
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- #72 of 90
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Re: Bye ... bye ... Prius ... no more hybrids for me! [priusdar]
by yermell
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Sep 29, 2008 (3:52 am)
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Replying to: priusdar (Sep 27, 2008 7:29 pm)
Well I am sorry to hear that the previous poster had such a bad experience with his/her Prius. Since having trouble filling my tank last winter it did cure itself as the weather got warmer. I have also kept track of all of my mileage since the first fillup. I now have 52,000 miles on an '06. My car's recorded mileage and my hand calculated mileage are usually within 1-2 mpg and neither is one or the other routinely higher or lower, they vary. The one new thing I'd like to publicize is that when I needed new tires this past spring, I reviewed this and other websites and ended up buying the Nokian (althoughI had never heard of them before.) Since putting on the Nokian's filled with nitrogen my mileage calculated either way has been 53-55 mpg with every fill up. Prior to this my mileage was 48-52 mpg (non-winter).
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- #73 of 90
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Re: Bye ... bye ... Prius ... no more hybrids for me! [yermell]
by jjohur
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Oct 26, 2008 (7:27 am)
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Replying to: yermell (Sep 29, 2008 3:52 am)
I have an '09 which I just purchased. Having purchased and driven other cars without tank problems(lol) I drove 400 miles on my first tank and was assuming I should get roughly 450 miles since the gauge told me my average mpg was 45. That would leave me roughly with 1.9 gallons since the tank holds 11.9. So at this point I'm at the 1 bar level according to the gauge. I get to the gas station and I can only fill 5.3 gallons. I keep trying but I can't add more so I think to myself that this is very strange (not having heard of this gas bladder problem). I proceed to call the service advisor at Toyota only to be told the most ridiculous answer. She said I should never let the tank get below 1/3 empty (about 3-4 bars) and if I do it could take 3-4 refills to bring the tank back to normal. I almost busted out laughing at this highly technical response. What a load of %$%$# BS. I said to her if that were truly the case Toyota would have the early early very early running out of gas light come on to notify the driver. I did not hear or see anything at the 1/3 level. I looked at the manual and didn't find any reference to this absolutely stupid statement. In my opinion, this tank issue is a clear product defect and bad design at best. I can still only fill 5-6 gallons of gas in this tank even though I have 1 bar showing. I'm going to start documenting this deficiency during my next few visits to the dealer and then I will proceed to check with a lemon law attorney (they are free by the way) if the dealer doesn't fix this problem. I want to be able to use and fill up my tank completely any time, any day, and at any gas station and not worry about if it's warm or cold, if it's gas station x vs y, and if it's a blue moon as the service advisor continued to tell me ...
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- #74 of 90
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By By [jjohur]
by railroadjames
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Oct 26, 2008 (8:48 pm)
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Replying to: jjohur (Oct 26, 2008 7:27 am)
I've owned over 50 cars in my life and very few had a gas gauge that I'd trust with certanty. With new technology (ie: bladder-tank) comes unique issues. I have over 91K miles on an '04 Prius and I can honestly say that the filling of the gas tank has usually been uneventfull. Very cold weather has been troublesome but every Prius owner knows that. I actually think it's nit-picking abit to make such an issue but perhaps there are some owners that are experiencing more irregularities with filling up. Lastly ...If you can't deal with this quirk.....Sell it and get almost most of your cash back.
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- #75 of 90
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Re: Bye ... bye ... Prius ... no more hybrids for me! [jjohur]
by kdhspyder
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Nov 01, 2008 (2:59 pm)
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Replying to: jjohur (Oct 26, 2008 7:27 am)
The Cliff Notes (TM) is that in the beginning the fuel bladder can be somewhat variable. Simply ignore it. If it only wants to take 5.5 gal you might try to gently bleed in a little more but if it keeps shutting off the pump it might also be the pump! Just recap it and drive away.
Almost assuredly you will have a less than full tank but over the long haul, meaning 1-5 yrs, this one short tank will be inconsequential. On the following tanks you'll very likely be adding 10 gal as you expected.
Now if you can only add 5.5 gal on every tank then there might be a problem in the filling. BUT.... if you can only add 5.5 gal and you're getting 400+ miles on 5.5 gal then you've gotta tell everyone how you're doing that.  
The fuel bladder issue is well-known and well-understood ever since this Gen2 arrived. It is different and it's been an intentional design parameter. The vast majority of owners have no issues or can work around them. Over 93000 miles I've encountered it about 3 times. I just ignore it and enjoy the vehicle. It's the most minor of inconveniences.
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- #76 of 90
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Re: By By [railroadjames]
by jjohur
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Nov 01, 2008 (7:49 pm)
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Replying to: railroadjames (Oct 26, 2008 8:48 pm)
Well, if you have owned over 50 cars in your life you must have owned quite a large number of crappy cars or you have too much money to waste and as such you might want to make a more objective response next time. If the car manufacturer advertises 11.9 gallons and I can only add consistently between 5 and 6 gallons there's either a design flaw or you're smoking some shit in which case please let me know what it is. You might want to check but there was a TSB with this particular issue and it's nothing I'm dreaming up. With regards to your statement that "every Prius owner knows" that' there's a problem with cold weather that might be the case where you live but NOT in Southern California. I've had the air conditioning on at home for the last week because it's so hot and today is November 1. This weather comment is for the birds ... Come on, face it there's a problem with the design. Don't get me wrong I love the car but the tank is certainly putting a damper on the whole thing. It's not just a quirk as some people besides me have made much more detailed comments about this particular issue. Mark my words, if Toyota doesn't address this problem it will become a larger issue.
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- #77 of 90
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Re: By By [jjohur]
by kdhspyder
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Nov 02, 2008 (1:01 am)
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Replying to: jjohur (Nov 01, 2008 7:49 pm)
Every once in a while some one on one site or another 'discovers' this minor annoyance and goes sem-ballistic about it. It's been present since the Gen2's first arrived and it comes and goes in nearly every vehicle.
It's an intentional design parameter.
Now because it is intentional and since it does annoy some owners, apparently Toyota has modified the fuel tank design for the TCH and the HH. Whether the Gen3s will have the same design or still have the bladder will only be known in several weeks. For the present in the Gen2's it is what it is - intentionaly - and hundreds of thousands of owners enjoy the vehicle every day with little or no annoyance.
As I noted after 93000 miles I've encountered it maybe 3 times and one of those was due to the pump I'm certain.
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- #78 of 90
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by jimlockey
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Nov 09, 2008 (4:40 pm)
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Filling up your tank is not the only problem.
If you leave your Prius at an airport for two weeks you will come back to a dead battery. That is, unless you disconnect your battery.
The highway mileage is based on 55 mph UNDER IDEAL CONDITIONS. So don't expect to get highway mileage as posted on the window sticker. That is, if you want to stick your neck out on a interstate at 55 mph. No me.
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- #79 of 90
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Filling, Mileage & Durability
by railroadjames
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Nov 09, 2008 (7:55 pm)
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Replying to: jimlockey (Nov 09, 2008 4:40 pm)
Look folks. There are various factors that are part of the big picture. I too have well over 93K miles and have experienced the fill-up issue. More often than not it was because the fuel pump was excessive of flow. When I squeezed the nozzel to a slow fill it worked much better. I've never been able to fill to the max (11.9 gallons) The most I ever put in was 11.2 gal's. That was after 26 miles on flashing "E". As to mileage I just know that it varys. I get as good as 51 mpg's in summer and 43 mpg's winter. Head winds even reduce it to upper 30's sometimes. What I think is the most important highlight of the Prius is the overall trouble free hybrid that it has proven to be. I've owned over 50 cars and never had such success and worry free transportation before.
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