Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
It doesn't really matter what the bars say. It's just a simple gauge. You know exactly how big the tank is because the manufacturer tells you the exact size and you know how many gallons you just put in it. The gauge could be off by 1 bar easily and I believe the Prius has a bladder gas tank so you will have variables as to the size of the gas tank.
I would also assume, of course it's a guess, that all gas indicators are about the same.So others should get close to this also - and I would be interested to see what others are getting on 'each bar'.
sc
I am SICK to my stomach. I have TRUSTED Toyota for YEARS to provide a SAFE and RELIABLE vehicle. I traded in my 2007 Toyota Touring Avalon on my 2008 Toyota Prius ... NEVER even giving ONE thought that I was buying an UNSAFE and HAZARDOUS car. (Boy do I ever wish I still had the Avalon ...)
I have personally experienced the FAULTY gas tank design, fuel gauge that is ONLY at best a GUESS gauge, gas and air bubbling out when you TRY to fill the tank and the sheer fright of WONDERING if you are going to run out of gas when your tank shows a few bars left on the gauge.
Now, I am TOTALLY DISGUSTED to have discovered that my car very well may QUIT functioning in snow or slick conditions!!! I live where snow happens rarely, but rain happens ALL the time! I do drive in snow conditions often ... luckly is seems, not yet in this HAZARDOUS car.
I was SOOOO very EXCITED to take my new Prius on our recent road trip!!! Now I am nearly in tears realizing that I am driving, "literally" ... AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN ...
Luckily, as of today, there has not been any physical damage. Unfortunately, emotional damage and loss of faith in Toyota has happened.
I do not think there is any facts indicating you will run out of gas when there are 1-2 bars left, and I think we are safe to drive 25 miles when the indicator light starts blinking - if there are facts other than this, please post. I will drive now and fill up when I'm at about 3 bars.. hoping to keep the bladder expanded so the tank will fill.
sc
I agree with you completely that the Prius is an unsafe vehicle. Because of my concern for your well being I am willing to purchase your unsafe Prius from you immediately so that you can buy a safer vehicle. I will pay you low blue book even though your vehicle is a safety hazard.
Please contact me immediately so that you minimize the risk to yourself and your family.
First of all Consumeraffairs.com is NOT Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. They do NOT test cars, they do not provide independent opinions and ratings, and they accept advertising on their site. Most importantly, according to their very own FAQ, about 1/2 way down, they are "basically a complaint site" and all the information is submitted by their readers. You should really keep this in perspective -- what you are reading is the anecdotal stories of a few people who felt like airing their complaints.
Regarding the FAULTY (your caps, not mine) gas tank design, it's only faulty if it LEAKS (my caps, not yours), otherwise I think I can live with it and not be TOTALLY DISGUSTED.
Keeping things in perspective and understanding the sources of information are wonderful things. Enjoy your Prius if you can. I love mine.
I spoke with Toyota technicians and other Prius owners BEFORE I began looking at what other Prius owners were noting as challenges they have experienced with their cars. The sites do echo what I have been told ... I did not take the complaint sites as the truth.
With that said ... here is the response and acknolwedgement that the bladder issue cannot be fixed from Toyota Coprortate:
Subject
Re: Prius gas tank safety issues
Dear Ms. :
We apologize with your dissatisfaction with the fuel tank bladder in your 2008 Prius.
As your Case Manager explained to you, this is the design of the fuel tank and there is no repair available to change the design.
We appreciate you taking the time to let us know of your dissatisfaction with the fuel tank bladder because the only way we know what our customers are looking for is when they tell us, as you have. We try to scope our customers out in advance, by researching the market, conducting interviews, surveys, focus groups and doing our homework, but there's no better source than a Toyota owner who takes the time to tell us like it is.
We can't guarantee that a change would be made, but if it were, it would be driven by just this sort of honest communication.
We have documented your email at our National Headquarters under file #. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
Toyota Customer Experience
In closing, I find it interesting that individuals feel the need to offer to buy this car ... no thank you. And others express that I need to get a grip. Thank you all for your comments ... you all lucky owners that have not yet experienced the serious issues that MANY other ownes have and I hope that you never do.
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.
I really like my car.. I just want to know the above info for my own sake.
sc
Thanks
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.
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.
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.
Izit a M.Y. 2005?
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.
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. :shades:
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.
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.
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.
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.
Two inaccurate statements above....accuracy is important in all discussions.
If you leave your Prius at an airport for two weeks the 12v battery will NOT be dead if you return....and....you DO NOT have to disconnet it before leaving it unattended for a period of 2-4 weeks.
This is the accurate information: If you are going to leave your vehicle undriven for up to FOUR weeks then disabling the 5 proximity sensors in the SKS is recommended. This is done by pressing the 'KEY' button under the steering wheel it takes about one third of a second.
IF you are going to leave the vehicle undriven for more than 4 weeks it is recommended to disconnet the 12v battery.
The highway mileage was NEVER estimated at 55 mpg. At no time. Under the original EPA figures it was always estimated at 51 mpg if one drove according to the EPA test parameters. This is absolutely accurate. I've done it every day for the last 3 yrs and 95000 miles.
However...if your personal preferences or driving situation have you driving at 65 or 75 or 85 mph then you cannot get 51 mpg in a Prius - or any other vehicle at the moment, the laws of physics cannot be superceded.
Your preferences may be for another vehicle, just keep your complaints accurate.
I also didn't know that we were allowed to drive 75 - 85 mph on the highways - I would be concerned more with an accident than running out of gaz.
I only average 8,000 driving miles per year. Most of the time my car sits in the airport parking lot for 5 days a week. It will be some time before I have an opportunity to fill the tank again as I fly almost every week. I will post on this issue after I attempt a second fill-up.
If you buy a new vehicle the dealer may fill the tank, I don’t know because I have never had to buy a new vehicle. If the dealer is only making what is called a “courtesy delivery”, they put the minimum amount of fuel in the vehicle. The subject of the fuel procedure or quirks involving the Prius was not mentioned by the courtesy delivery dealer. The process of taking delivery consists of signing off on the old vehicle, signing paperwork for the new vehicle, accepting the keys and driving away. Interaction with the dealer is for a minimum amount of time because they only get a fee for the transaction and they know they will not be selling a new vehicle to me in the future.
In the nozzle there is a charcoal cannister to capture the evaporative emissions, clean them then release them into the atmosphere. Topping off can damage this cannister and cause a major expense.
In your Gen 2 Prius there is a fuel bladder inside the gas tank. This is what causes so much variability in the quantity of fuel that will be accepted. In new vehicles this bladder is stiff and new. In very cold areas this bladder will be very stiff and unyielding in freezing weather. The risk of topping off like you did is that raw fuel can get between the gas tank and fuel bladder. Then you've got to replace the whole fuel system.
DON'T TOP OFF..
The Prius is a 5 door hatchback. It's more similar to the Matrix/Vibe rather than the Corolla/Cobalt.
The other is that whatever 'premium' is being paid upfront is almost completely recaptured at resale time after 3 years.
In the case of the Matrix/Vibe the 'premium' is $4500 but almost all of that is recaptured when the vehicle is resold. The resale price of a Prius is $3500-$4000 higher than a Matrix/Vibe after 3 years. In ridiculous times like last summer a 3 y.o. Prius with < 30000 miles was actually selling at nearly full sticker price. Little or no loss in depreciation.
The tax credits on Toyota hybrids are complete. Ditto Honda. Soon Ford's will begin to phase out.
The impression I get from the posts is that people are willing to put up with this because of the other good things about the Prius. I can't believe I paid over $22,000 for a vehicle that has a serious problem like this and the manufacturer thinks it is not a problem. I want my money back!
I have a friend that is a reporter at Bloomberg.com that I can contact.
Does anyone have any thoughts, one way or another?
If you fill the tank very slowly,might that cause an overfill and damage something?
You do make a good point about the tank on the prius. the bladder is one of
the many systems in the veh that allows it to be a partial zero emission
designation. no void in the tank= no fuel vapors (into the atmosphere or
having to burn them on decelleration as do most veh's).
plastics are not developed that allow full flexibility when at our winter
temps, and protection during those
100+F days of summer. (we would not want your
fuel tank to pop like a water balloon in the Mohave) & there are sensors
that would light up the dash if the badder would rupture.
as all products will, there will be advances in technology sooner than
later. i.e. batteries and computors.
but i would not look for a major change in the tank designs as of yet.
thank you for your input,
Don Nisbet, Bighorn Toyota, Glenwood Springs, CO