Prius and filling the tank
jchshade1969
Member Posts: 3
in Toyota
I have a 2006 Prius and love it. However, when filling up my tank today, the gas pump kept cutting off, only putting 2 gallon in tank that was in need of at least 8 gallon. So I put another 1/2 gal. in and it cut off again. It's cold here in WV, is that my problem?
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Try another pump/station, to confirm which case is the cause.
I felt the same way, BTW, the first time I travelled in Washington State, and attempted to fill up at a station with the "vapour recovery system". Not with a Prius, at that time I had a 4Runner. As I recall, I got 2 gal at a time in the vehicle.
Believe me, I feel your pain.
I tried 3 or 4 times but the gas would instantly overflow. I assumed the tank was full (and the gauge was wrong) and did nothing more until I had driven about 300 miles at which time the tank took 7+ gallons and the gauge read full. It has been working properly ever since. I think it was some combination of the prolonged very cold temperatures and the car wash.
Many recent vehicles have spoiled us with 350 - 400 mile range, but on a day to day basis, why carry around all that weight and gasoline? You get worse mileage because of the weight, plus, the gas starts to age if it takes you two or three weeks to use it all. I can see this being more frustrating for those that put a lot of miles on everyday, but on a day to day basis, if that is one of the bigger issues with this vehicles, I'd say things are going pretty good.
Part of it might be just changing our mindset. We are so used to pumping 12 - 20 gallons into past vehicles, that when we only put in 7 - 10 gallons, we feel like we are barely putting in any gas. The fact that fewer gallons gets a prius owner a LOT more miles down the road than other vehicles takes some getting used to. I had to change my mindset similarly on a recent motorcycle purchase. I was used to 5.5 gallon gas tanks on bikes that only got 40mpg. But I bought a bike with a 4 gallon tank. Every time I fill, I feel like I'm just going to run out of gas right away, but since it gets 70mpg, it's range is actually significantly longer on those 4 gallons than my other bike travels on 5.5 gallons.
And if all that fails, consider what others have mentioned. This is an emissions reduction tool. Make up your mind that it's worth the fluctuation in capacity for the good it does. After all, that mind set is likely a large part of the reason everyone decides to purchase a prius in the first place. "Embrace it" as they say.
I will follow this forum to see what happens with this problem - did anybody write to Toyota Motors?
BTW in Canada we are all in litre and the tank is 45 litres per the book.
IToday I saw that my gas tank was at half full. Last Friday, I picked the new car up from the dealer (Prius 2008) and they had the tank filled upon delivery. Ok, so we are at 1/2 of a tank of gas and the total miles to date is 117. My first concern in that if a half of a tank is approximately 5-6 gallons, and I went only 117 miles, the gas mileage realized was close to 20 MPG. HOWEVER, the consumption meter shows an average of 44 MPG. Ok, I have read that I need to give this time, etc., which I am willing to do.
However, today, on 1/2 of a tank, I decided to fill it up. I started filling it in the usual way, and the gas cut off at under 3 gallons. I had read the above posts last night, so I was sort of expecting this problem to occur. I repeated this several time, trying to fill the tank, but it kept clicking off. I then proceeded to fillit ever so slowly, guessing that I had better stop at approximately 5 gallons. I was very concerned of a back-flow, and didn't want to have a mess of gas on the ground.
I drove right to the service section of the Toyota place where I purchased this car last Friday, and the service Mgr. told me to bring it right in when I get down to 1/2 to 1/4 of a tank, and they would see if their attempt to fill up would be a problem as well. While I was waiting for the Mgr, I asked a fellow who had purchased the same car a few months ago. I asked him if he had the same problem and he said he did not. There is an obvious problem here. I don't think one should "guess" at how much fuel to put into the car. I love the car but I am starting to pray that this is not a lemon situation. I would appreciate any input. Thank you
When you said you put gas in it, did it take 5 gallons to fill it up or only 3 that you put in? There is a problem with the flap in the tank as you are filling up, it cuts off. I haven't had this problem. If that is the case, then your consumption screen with the mpg could be reading wrong. Any way you look at it, something is not right.
Hope this helps you. Let me know what they tell you. Thanks.
After filling the tank, I set the trip odometer to 0 to see track my mileage. Since I have filled up, I have traveled 89 miles, and the gas meter gauge, still displays all the bars, indicating that I have a full tank. The consumption meter is showing an average of 42 MPG. Is this possible that the gas gauge bars have not decreased yet? I am getting sick at heart thinking that between the gas filling up problem and now the gas gauge still appearing full after almost 90 miles, that I have made a big mistake. I hope that there are people here, that know more than I, that can help to ease these fears.
Thank you again for your answer.
When I first started having problems, I asked everyone I saw driving one of these cars if they had had these problems too. When you see people, ask them about it and if they like their cars or are having any problems. This will also help ease your fears.
If this is the worst I have to deal with, it's definately worth learning how to fuel-up the car. I must say that I Love this car, and today, I saw my average MPG at 48.6!
I will bring it to the dealers service people when it needs a fill-up as they requested me to do. I will also keep in mind the "flap" that you mention.. Great Point! My only complaint, is that the "bladder" type of fuel tank is left to us to discover on our own, and worry, perhaps needlessly.
Many thanks again
Linda
When I do as you and fill up immediately at the first station after the bar starts blinking I always put in 9.5 to 10.3 gal. All my records are posted at GreenHybrid, every tankful since day one.
My 'trigger' is the correlation between the miles driven that tank and the average estimate on the MFD. When the miles driven are 10x the average then I know that I have to put in about 10 gal.....then suddenly the light starts blinking .... and I end up putting in about 10 gal, week after week, month after month, year after year.
2005 Seaside 74,890 mile and 47.8 mpg lifetime average
But IMO here is why the bladder issue is somewhat of a tempest in a teapot. It is annoying when it occurs. When you can only add 8 gal when you know you should be putting in 10 gal. But this doesn't affect the fuel economy one bit. It just means a slightly more frequent stop at the pump. One would be getting 45-52 mpg on 8 gal iso 10 gal.
I do love the car itself and the great mileage. My neighbor has a Lexus. Last night I showed him how to check the mpg. It was 13.9 on the screen since his last fill up.
Also, dealer told dh to use "B" to brake at stop lights/signs, etc... for better fuel miliage, from what I am reading here, more like when you go downhill a mountain, not for quick starts, for me it is what is like to put a regular automatic in "low" Seems to me like a waste to go in "B" all the time. No mountains in Houston
sc
The Prius only needs basic clean 87 Octane. Anything else is a waste of money.
The dealer is wrong. That's not too uncommon. Most sales people are as aware of the Prius as they are of the Space Shuttle.....and I sell Prius'. 'B' is only for engine braking in downhill situations so that you don't ride the brakes all the way down. There's no other purpose.
I have concerns about my MPG and I would appreciate any help you might offer.
Here's the deal. I purchases, and love, my 2008 Prius with package #7 3 weeks ago. Since that time, I have gained insight into the "Bladder" type of fuel tank, etc, and understand how to fill the tank, which by the way is very different than filling my Pathfinder, which I do Not miss...
When I bought the car, the gas indicator had all bars lit, indicating a full tank. At 5 bars, I filled it up, with 5.013 gallons and set the trip A odometer to track my MPG. At 3 bars, the next week, I was able to fill it with 6.06 gallons and noted the Trip A odometer at 323.3 miles. I thought that I was supposed to divide the miles driven (323.3) into the 6.06 gallons. I was under the impression that I was getting approximately 53 MPG.
What I am seeing now on my trip odometer is 168.7 miles driven, with now bars indicating 1/2 of a tank (5 bars). My consumption meter is showing today an average of 47.2 MPG at the 47 miles that I drove today.
I am confused and I hope I don't sound a a bit ignorant here. How do I track my MPG, based upon the above MPG information, what does it seem to you that I am getting MPG? Can I be getting only 30 mpg? I don't think so, but the wisdom and knowledge I have see here is impressive.
Many thanks
Linda
If you filled the tank before the fuel level gauge reverted then that might be the cause of your low mpg reading. Absent a major change in driving conditions it is unlikely you would go from 47MPG to 30MPG. Whenever the "quirck" happened to me it wasn't reflected on the elapsed consumption gauge. Hope it makes sense to you.
I just returned from Florida (Ontario - Florida) - so I did about 3,500 miles - - my highest fill-up was 9.559 gallons and I know I was on the low of bar 2 - I never let it go to bar 1, since I ran out of gaz. Most of my fill-ups are around bar 3-4 and I was putting in about $23 - or 6.4 gallons - on my total trip - going between 55MPH and 77MPH - I took 72.7 gallons for an average of 48MPG. I think this is higher than the indicator was showing. On one occassion, I did over 100 miles before the first bar disappeared.
Anyway, I love my Prius, I know I have the most ecological green car out there - (even better than those Smart Cars or those Mini's)
I am not happy with big SUV's burning all the gaz. I don't mind $4. a gallon - maybe there will be more smaller cars out there - more hybrids. When we look around - with all the big SUV's - with only one person in the car - it is a shame.
Some day, driving a big car alone, will be like - smoking in a restaurant - it will be forbidden. We need to take care of this planet - Sorry - now I will go with the TreeHuggers web sites ....
Bars.... Miles
1....... 130
2....... 158
3....... 183
4....... 209
5....... 257
6....... 310
7....... 353
8....... 420 Filled up here 2 bars left and it took 10.6 gal.
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It will be interesting to see how many miles I get on this 'full' tank. I'm not sure the tank has ever been full before.
sc