2008 Prius Fuel Tank Capacity???
Created February 29, 2008, at 9:04 pm by gschaut
Bought a new 2008 Prius in December. Noticed that the fuel tank was only holding about 6 gallons or so.
I would let the fuel gauge get down to 2 bars remaining, and it would only take 4.5 to 5 gallon on fill up.
Went back to dealer a couple times, they told me everything was fine.
Submitted a complaint to Toyota National Customer Service.
They phoned me back and said that it is "normal" for the Prius fuel tank (flexable rubber bladder) to only hold 6 gallons or so in the winter. And that the tank would not hold "rated" capacity of 11.9
gallons until after temperatures are above 70 degrees.
Just curious, how much fuel is your 2008 Prius holding, and what is the temp in your area?
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I had the same problem. I rented a 2008 in for Thanksgiving 2007. Keep in the mind though, I live in SF and I was traveling to Central California, which is even warmer than SF. It wasn't 70 degrees, but it was by no means cold. It wasn't a big deal at the time and since I only rented the car for a few days, I didn't call to inquire why that happened.
My 2008 Prius holds about 10 gallons with temperatures ranging 35-55 degrees daily. I wish the manual would have said the capacity varies - instead it says the tank holds 11.9 gallons. My wife ran out of gas because we thought that it could go another 100 miles based on the mileage x 11.9 gallons... Grr...
Just got a new Prius two weeks ago. First time I went to the station after (very nearly) depleting the tank, it would only take 9 gallons. Last night, same thing: only took 8.8 gallons even though the warning light was starting to blink. That's 3 gallons off the advertised capacity in the owner's manual. Still gets a good 400+ miles per tank, so no complaints here, but that's a significant difference (25% to be exact). We'll see if the warmer weather affects things with the 'rubber fuel bladder' hypothesis.
I have been keeping track of this. I live in SF and my tank holds about 10.4-10.6 g's. By the way, I too overestimated my miles/tank and ran out of gas. Interestingly, my car drove the extra mile on its battery to get me to a station to fill it up. 460 miles/tank is about what I expect. The tank alarm (which I love) goes off at around 430 miles.
i also have a prius and tracking the size of bladder tank will be a challenge. but there is another thing to consider: even for a conventional car with a fully rigid tank that holds 11.9 gal., you can never drive on the entire 11.9 gal.
because if a tank holds 12 gal., that does not mean that the entire 12 gal. is 'USABLE'. due to the design of the tank and pumping stystem, there will always be a quantity of 'unusable' fuel sloshing around in the tank when the engine stops working. not something most people think about unless they fly airplanes, where running out of fuel is not just inconvenient, it's disasterous.
I dont have a prius but I would believe that having the gas capacity in my car vary 25% would be a little concerning, especially when Im on a road trip. How far will a quarter tank get me? With regular tanks I can get a feel of what that is but when its constantly changing it turns into mathmatical delema.
I wanted a prius but that is a big discouragement. Hopefully they have aftermarket ones that are metal.
I picked up my 2008 Prius today and after reading this thread last night I asked them about this. I was told that this sometimes occurs because, as has been mentioned above, the bladder is not as flexible when it is cold. HOWEVER, the bladder will stretch out after a few seconds and then you can fill it up the remainder of the way to 11.9 G.
I haven't tested this (although it's supposed to snow here in Denver the next two days), but this is what I was told at the dealer.
Garry:
The dealer lied.
Get used to having a small gas tank during the winter.
Gary
I just bought my new 08 Prius 4 days ago, I love it, and I appreciate all the great comments about the gas tank. I had no idea this was not a solid tank, but a bladder type tank. I will be aware of this for the winter, but really won't worry about it, as I hardly drive in the winter. I definately don't take long road trips like I do in the spring, summer, and fall, and tend to hibernate more in the house, go to the train station, commute into downtown for work and drive home, around town driving is minimal for shopping. I will hardly use the car in the winter.
What I do want to know is whether or not the gas gauge accurately indicates the level of gas. I don't calculate the amount of gas based on my mileage, but go by what the gas gauge tells me. So if it says half full or 1/4 full does it really indicate the correct level?
Prius fuel gauge is sometimes called a "guess gauge".
DO NOT run the car down to the last bar on the gas tank, or count on the little flashing "low fuel" light to warn you in time.
Toyota does not brag (or even officially admit) to the inaccuracy of their fuel gauge, but they DO say to refuel the car when the gas
gauge shows 1/4 tank remaining.
I would strongly suggest NEVER allowing the car to go below 2 bars remaining on the fuel gauge.
The good news is that there are some unconfirmed reports of Priuses (Prii?) being able to drive themselves up to two miles on the electric motor alone when the gas engine ran out of fuel.
NOT recommmended!!!!
I have a 2008 Prius, is there an aftermarket tank available with higher capacity?
Probably not. The whole idea of the fuel bladder is to avoid dealing with the fuel vapor problem.
EPA requires that the car recover and burn off all the fuel vapors produced in the fuel tank.
The problem is that with a gas engine that does not run for prolonged periods, the car cannot recycle fuel vapors.
So they use a flexable bladder with no open space for vapors to gather.
I've filled the tank on my 2008 twice. The first time the fuel alert light came on (with two bars), and I drove about 30 miles before I filled the tank. It took 9.8 gals that time. Then, about a week and a half later, the light came on again (only one bar this time), but the car died after about 6 miles! Fortunately, I was near an exit with a parking lot (this was around midnight). I'll keep an eye on the bars, but it doesn't seem to be consistent even when the temperature is. Ticks me off.
I have a 2008 Prius. I live in Southern California, so no worries about temperature. I ran out of gas on the freeway last weekend and the car lost all power. I pulled over, turned the car off, restarted it, and was able to drive to a gas station just off of the battery (about 1 mile away). The empty 11.9 gallon tank only took 10.8 gallons. I would suggest filling up at 420 miles (10.9 gallons * 39 miles per gallon -- conservative).
I bought a 2008 Prius in March. Love the car. I have been slowly getting my average MPG up to 47.3 (I have not hit the reset button since I purchased it).
However, everyone's concern with the Prius fuel gage and tank capacity is correct - I have the same problem.
Is each 'box' or square on the fuel meter suppose to be one gallon, or some other number? Or, just an indicator? This morning, I filled up first at 8.8 gallons, then added up to 8.9 gallons, and then 9.0 gallons before I got tired of trying to top off the tank.
The dealership also never told me about this issue, but it must be going on since at least the 2004 model. It would benefit Toyota's reputation for honesty if they did note that the 11.9 gallon capacity varies with temperature, and to refill the car when people hit that last square on the fuel indicator.
Most of the time, you can go about 415 miles or so between fill ups, with 'normal' Prius driving. But, just like it's mentioned above, when you get close to the empty side, just go ahead and fill it up anyways - no need to push the limits of the tank.
FYI - when the fuel pump sucks up the last bit of fuel in a tank, sometimes the "bad stuff" that is in fuel (many tiny bits and pieces of anything from the time the oil is made into gas, until it reaches your car) get sucked into the fuel pump and filter. Now, 99% of this stuff is either filtered or burned away, but sometimes it will adversely affect your fuel pump's performance, and other system / engine components. This may eventually cause the overall MPG average to begin to drop because of fuel system degradation.
Best thing to do - keep in mind when you get to the last box or 2 to fill up. It will still cost you a lot LESS then driving a SUV or big truck! I only paid about $30 for my fill up this morning at $3.54 per gallon. If I had my 98 GMC Sierra with about 24 gallons to fill up, I would be paying something like $80 or more every 5 - 7 days.
Steve C. says:
4 days ago
I bought a 2008 Prius in March. Love the car. I have been slowly getting my average MPG up to 47.3 (I have not hit the reset button since I purchased it).
________________________________________________________________________________
Just curious: What effect (other than the obvious) would hitting the reset button have? I hit the reset button last time I filled up (which was the first time I filled up) just because I wanted to track the mileage from fill-up. (I like that display better than the odometer trip display.) My average MPH is about the same as it was before I reset. Is it a bad idea to reset? Thanks.
Jay
I meant "MPG" in the above post.
hitting the reset button on the "consumption" screen has NO EFFECT whatsoever on the car's operation.
It's just like a resettable trip odometer, it just lets you keep track of your fuel consumption.
I just found this and am still on my first tank of fuel from the dealer on my 08. I am at 1 bar and am now worried I may run out on my way to fill up.
I've been renting a 2008 Prius for two weeks while my other car is being repaired after a collision. My car is supposed to be ready in two days and I don't drive that much, so this morning I pumped in $10 of gas (~ 2.6 gallons), but the fuel guage continues to blink like it's almost empty. I know I've got at least another 100 miles of driving before it runs out, but the blinking is worrisome.
I just got a 2008 Prius and filled it up for the first time when there was just one box showing, and it was blinking. I had a hard time getting gas to go in (the pump turned off automatically after I had put in $1.24 of gas) and I eventually gave up at 7.5 gallons, which made the fuel gauge go up to Full.
Here's the interesting thing: according to the screen, on this tank of gas I had averaged about 45.5 MPG, but I got 420 miles and it took 7.5 gallons to fill the tank, which works out to 56 MPG! So either the mileage on the monitor was VERY conservative or my tank wasn't full after putting in 7.5 gallons, although the gas gauge showed it was completey full.
What do you think?
My mileage screen has been EXTREMELY accurate. Normally accurate to +/- 2%. But I have to run several tanks of fuel to get a real calibration on the fuel consumption.
Mileage screen seems to be FAR more accurate than either the gas tank display, or the amount of fuel you put in the tank. Especially if there is a major temperature shift between fillups.
If you are not good at math, keep a small calculator with you and divide miles driven by MPG display to find out how much fuel you have REALLY consumed since last fill up.
Just remember that when you fill up in cold weather, your tank is NOT full no matter what the little bars on the dashboard show.
In regards to the gentlemans wife who "ran out of gas...GGGRRR", regardless of the "amount of gas" the expandable bladder will accommodate, based on temperature conditions; the bladder sensors will still give the driver fair warning when fuel needs to be added. In my case, the sensor warns when fuel level is is at about 20% capacity in the bladder. The gas level gauge will begin blinking and will continue to do so until fuel is added. In addition, there will be an audible warning as well as a message on the navigation screen telling the driver to add fuel. If the lady did indeed run out of gas, it was due to her own stupidity, not a failure of the vehicle!
Why are you waiting until the fuel gage is at one bar? The amount of mpg you receive will not change regardless of when you fill the tank. Also, you need to look at results over several fillings and weeks of driving in order to get an AVERAGE return on your gas dollar. As a rule of thumb, filling the tank at two to three bars will have you doing so when the tank is at about 20-25% capacity.
Hi again. I discovered what was going on when my gas gauge was blinking -- almost empty -- and then I couldn't put more than 7.5 gallons in the tank. It appears that when the bladder is close to empty, it collapses, and then the gas doesn't go in easily, and it shuts off the pump. I suppose that's why Toyota recommends that you not let the tank get close to empty.
BTW, the reason to see how far you can go before the gauge is at one bar is not to determine the mpg, it's to find out about how many miles you can get on one tank of gas.
Interesting. I'm considering buying my wife a 08 Prius. While I see much praise for the mileage, I see a lot of complaints about the fuel bladder tank.
Two thoughts come to mind.
1) Gschaut claimed 4 weeks ago that the fuel gauge was, at best, a "guess gauge". I assume the car "knows" how much fuel it has used so that it can calculate mileage based on the same fuel gauge, albeit a different interface to it. But if the gizmo that measures fuel usage is based upon how much fuel WAS in the tank and how much fuel IS NOW in the tank, AND that gizmo is not accurate, then the actual mileage will not be accurate either. To calculate mpg, you need to know: first how many miles, and second, exactly how much fuel was consumed. But if the fuel gauge is not accurate, then the mileage won't be accurate either.
2) If I put 10 gallons in today, and when its empty I can only put 7 gallons in because the fuel bladder is more rigid and won't expand correctly, then I cannot even check what kind of mileage I am actually getting with the car. In other words, there's no way to verify whether or not the car's calculated mileage is accurate.
Thinking of 1 & 2, its entirely possible that the Prius isn't really getting the advertised mileage at all. If the gauge is off by 25%, the mileage could be 25% lower (e.g., 36mpg instead of 48mpg). I might as well buy a Chevrolet Malibu with a fixed tank, 35 mpg, and OnStar !
I own a 2007 Prius. In wisconsin. Gets really cold here in winter. First discovered the "bladder trouble" in January... Why doesn't Toyota tell people up front about the bladder design? Are they afraid it will scare some customers off? I also read at another website, that the U.S. market is the only one with this kind of fuel tank. Does anyone know if that is indeed true? My experience so far is that if I refuel at 2 "pips", at temps above 50 degrees, I can get 6.8 gallons or so into the tank before the nozzle shuts off. And tank registers "full". So far, this spring, I am refueling always at 2 pips, and have only travelled about 290 miles. But the MPG display claims I'm getting about 46 to 48 MPG. I have learned not to care anymore about how much gas is in the tank - I have learned to cope.
However, I feel Toyota should have been more honest about this bladder design and their manual sure as heck should be more clear about how and when to refuel, etc.
I consider this to be a design flaw. Anyone else feel the same?
There are TWO different and totally separate fuel measuring systems in the Prius.
The fuel "guess gauge" is similar to the normal fuel gauge in a car, in that it attempts to measure the fuel level in the tank. The only problem with Prius is that the tank is FLEXABLE and has a VARIABLE CAPACITY. One day the tank holds 12 Gallons, next week it only holds 8 gallons. So the tank level gauge is apocryphal at best.
The MPG mileage gauge is based on a fuel FLOW METER built into the fuel injector system. It measures how much fuel has FLOWED THRU the engine since the last time the MPG meter was reset. The fuel flow meter tends to be accurate within a couple percent. The MPG meter is like the gauge on a gas station pump, it tells exacly how much fuel has flowed thru it.
IF your MPG shows exactly 50.0 mpg at a total distance driven of 325 miles, then you have used up exactly 6.5 gallons since last fill up.
It does not measure how much fuel is left in the tank, but does give a very reliable measurement of FUEL CONSUMED.
IMPORTANT POINT: The Prius is NOT calculating MPG based on the fuel "tank" reading, but on a totally separate measurement of how much fuel has FLOWED from the tank to the engine.
Oops - to clarify my comment I just posted... I mean to say I refuel at 2 pips, and have logged about 290 miles between each refueling. The last time i remember ever going 400 miles before refueling is when the car was brand new before winter hit. the bladder hasn't been the same since. Am hoping if Wisconsin ever gets warm again and stays above 70 degrees I'll have better luck. I also want to say that it's important to keep bugging Toyota about this. This is a design flaw. It's not "normal". Name one other hybrid on the market that has a "guess gauge" for a fuel gauge! Or that spits fuel back at you (reported by other owners), or that decides one week to accept 7 gallons on a refill and then the next week, 3 gallons. doesn't make sense, and we paid good money for this car!
Just one more comment on fuel bladders. Toyota has told me repeatedly that it is "NORMAL" for a rubber fuel bladder to get stiff and ridgid in cold weather.
Having a bit of experience with aircraft, I can tell you that there are THOUSANDS of aircraft fuel bladders in use that stay loose and hold full capacity at 50 DEGREES BELOW ZERO. It gets VERY cold at 35,000 feet, and fuel tanks in wings are NOT insulated.
Toyota is just getting cheap and using an inferior rubber in their fuel bladder, then trying to lie to the consumer.
(Toyota, are you paying attention?)
So, I'm hoping that the 2009 will have a "fix" for this problem. How about a heater near the bladder? With some good tech. application by the Toyota engineers this doesn't seem out of reach or possibility, does it?
This problem first cropped up in the 2004 model.
Toyota tried a couple of after-delivery fixes that did not work.
SOP now is to deny that any problem exists.
On the warning light:
I have driven my Prius since January now never having encountered this thread (and always thinking that each square on the tank display represented approximately 1 gallon or a conservative 35-40 miles)...
Recently I got to the tank warning stage and drove about 25-20 miles (with the blinking square) before I filled the tank with 1.2 gallons. All I had was a five dollar bill. To my surprise, the light remained on when restarted the car. So with nearly 2 gallons of gas left the light was still blinking, even though it only started blinking with a gallon left.
My conclusion: It's a guessing game, no worse than interpreting the red low fuel section of any other car's gauge. I subscribe to the posting above where one simply keeps track of what you know -- how much you put in times a conservative mpg estimate. And all will be fine.
My first real experience with the Prius came about over the week-end when I rented a 2008 and drove it from Friday until turn in today (Tuesday). I read this thread with interest because we drove 402 miles and I refilled ( ?) the tank with 8.6 gallons which was the auto click off at the nozzle + I rounded it off to the next dollar amount as is my custom. If you do the math to calcuate fuel economy that is ~ 46.75 mpg BUT the screen that shows the running average said 51.3 mpg at fill up. Based on my interpretation of the information here I should more readily believe the 51.3 the car said it achieved rather than my calculations of nearly 47 mpg. I intend to get on the waiting list that is surely there for one of these. What is the consensus of opinion about waiting for the 2009 verses buying a 2008 soon ? I did not know the tank is a bladder...oh the fuel gage just went from 3 bars to 2 just a few miles prior to fill up.
Targettuning,
the 2009 prius had some minor upgrades and redesign of the front face of the car, supposedly sportier. Check out 2009 Prius on "Road and Track" magazine online for specs. The specs are better , slightly bigger car, more electric power, better fuel mpg.
The fuel gauge is annoying. I'm studying design and the fuel gauge is designed poorly as well. It should measure how much fuel not how much in relation to the size of the bladder. The incremental digital display is ridiculous since your fuel does not lessen by one bar but by a continuous flow. They ought to have one continuous bar that decreases as fuel decreases so it is more accurate like the analog fuel gauge.
I currently has a love/frightened of relationship with my Prius. I could have only seven gallons of gas, the tank shows full ... so I think I can drive further than I really would be able to. I cannot rely on my gas tank, I have to take unsafe steps to fill it up completely, I have a gas guage that is basically useless and need to guess when I have to fill up!
It appears that Toyota is continuning to manufacture a defective, unsafe product with FULL knowledge of the issue!!! It is unsafe to 1) have to guess how much gas you may have and 2) to go to extreme measures to assure a full gas tank.
I am writing to share my concern over my 2008 Toyota Prius that I purchased new in January of 2008. I recently returned from a 2300 mile road trip that began in Woodland Washington (20 miles north of Portland Oregon).
During this trip, we stopped in Ashland Oregon to fill up the gas tank on our way to Reno Nevada. The attendant filled the tank (Oregon requires that an attendant do this) and off we went ... next gas fill up was to have been Reno! We headed east, turned off Interstate 5 and onto Highway 89 and switched drivers. After ONLY 83 miles ... the gas tank showed that there was less than 1/2 a tank ... luckily we had not missed McCloud California ... last stop for gas for MANY miles!
When we filled up in Reno, the gas pump shut off WAY TOO soon ... we certainly were not getting over 60mpg! Understanding this, we pulled the gas nozzle WAY out and EXTREMELY slowly managed to fill up the gas tank. During this SLOW process, air and gas would bubble up and at times out of the tank. We repeated this process at EVERY fill up along the trip and since we have gotten home. We can have to add between 3 - 6 gallons of gas after the pump shuts off ... no matter how slowly the gas is automatically pumped in. Temperature, time of day and altitude seem to not have any effect on getting the tank filled ... the pump shut off early at EVERY instance. There are at least two safety issues noted here ... a gas tank you cannot fill up with taking EXTROADINARY measures ... nearly removing the nozzle and having gas spill out as the air and gas fumes escape out of the tank.
Another issue is the fuel gauge. The car would travel 200 miles before even one guage indicator would click off. There are 10 indicators and the tank suposedly holds nealy 12 gallons of gas. I bet that the car does not get 200 miles per gallon!!!
I spoke the owner of a 2005 Prius. He indicated he also has challenges filling his tank. He was told that this has to do with the ambient temperature. I have talked with a Toyota Prius technician. He stated that there are no parts that can fix this issue. He noted that this has been going on since the first Prius, that there is no fix available. He also noted in the winter that at least one Prius owner comes in each and every day with this same gas tank concern. I also did some research on the internet and this appears to be a LONG outstanding safety hazard!
More than two cents worth ... but who would have thought Toyota would do this??? I bought this for LONG road trip car, to be reliable and dependable ... not the case ... :-(
OK, folks, I've unintentionally done one long careful lab experiment with my 2008 Prius, and the low fuel warning indicator is wildly inconsistent and is clearly a safety defect. And Toyota denies ever having any complaint about this. I'm a former rabid fan of the Prius and by extension Toyota, but now I'm outraged, and I'm going to make some serious noise about this.
Driving on interstate late at night the last pip started blinking and the low fuel warning beep sounded. Fine, I'd driven the car several times with the low fuel warning flashing, over 40 miles on a couple of occasions. I had read the manual that said it has "approximately 3 gallons . . . or less" when the low fuel warning flashes. (I hadn't noticed that "or less" tag line until I went back and re-read the manual after this all happened.) I was being conservative and careful by assuming that rather than having 3 gallons of fuel left I would have only 1 1/2. Well, right at 5 miles after the warning, I ran out of gas. Not good, not a good place, etc. Temperature 76 degrees. MPG on the tank read 41.3 (had been driving in a headwind), had driven 427 miles when it ran out.
What is much worse than having no low fuel alarm at all? Having a low fuel alarm that works MOST of the time (and fails miserably the OTHER times). It's a pure sucker punch - it draws you in, and then can fail at truly unsafe times.
I've looked around on the blogs and see that this has happened to lots and lots of people, in dangerous and bad situations, too.
OK, so let me at least give everyone a really clear warning: don't ever drive your Prius down to having the last bar blinking. In fact, from the experiences I'm reading, I'd say don't ever drive it down to just one bar.
Toyota not only denies ever getting complaints about this; their customer service person told me that when three bars are showing you have 1 1/2 gallons left (?!), and that the car is designed to run out of gas as soon as you're down to the last bar (?!). I pointedly asked, repeatedly, how much gas is left when the last bar is flashing? After "researching" and "looking at the owner's manual" which the representative said "is very different from yours" the rep said "three gallons". Why do we waste our time listening to this lying and stonewalling? Where is NHTSA and mandatory recall? Why doesn't Toyota do at least the bare minimal thing and send clear notices to all Prius owners that the low fuel indicator is quite inconsistent and absolutely can't be trusted, so never operate the vehicle below two bars? (Uh, gee, duh, I guess it could possibly be about money for them, huh.)
Please REPORT your issues!!!
When you report to Toyota Corporate, BBB, your State's Attorney General's Office, NHTSA ... you will get a case or report number!!!
It seems most Prius owners are putting up with the "bladder" explaination and just living with the uncertainly of running out of gas or not ...
I have also kept note of the websites where Prius owners are talking about this safety issue, to share with Toyota Corporate when I call them on Monday ... I have a complaint case number and the DID call me back.
If this would have been a SERVRAL year issue with brakes, do you think it would be still going on? Start as soon as you con ... contact ... Toyota Corporate, BBB, your State's Attorney General's Office, NHTSA ... somthing WILL have to be done!!!
I have just read several stories of concern on: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/toyota_prius.html. There are MANY other websites that speak to Prius problems: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/01/prius_winter.html - http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f1205be - http://www.hybridcars.com/forums/2008-prius-fuel-tank-capacity.html - http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-main-forum/10650-prius-fuel-tank.html - http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f10/problem-putting-gas-prius-1611/ - these are just the ones I have stumbled across.
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.
1. Consumer Affairs.com is just a blog board. It is full of rumor and mis-information. Alot by people who hate Prius. Probably Exxon Executives.
2. The fuel tank gauge is a problem, but just a minor inconvenience. Bottom line, don't try to drive around on an empty tank. Do you think the price of fuel is going to go down between now and next Thursday? FIll the tank, dummy!
3. The rumors of Prius failing in snow and slippery conditions are false reports, mostly by people who do not know how to drive!!!
Prius has traction control on the engine, similar to the skid control on brakes. You CANNOT do "donuts" in a Prius, or spin the tires at high speed. When the wheels slip the engine output is LIMITED, not eliminated. The engine DOES NOT "Shut Off" or "Fail" when the wheels slip, the throttle just backs off until the wheels stop slipping.
Note to idiots: Spining the tires in deep snow/mud just gets you stuck deeper. Slow and gentle rocking gets you out of a mud/snow bank.
AND in this respect, Prius ROCKS at rocking itself out of deep snow. There is NO REVERSE GEAR. The car goes in reverse by running the electric motor backwards. So the car lets you shift from drive to reverse to drive to reverse VERY QUICKLY. Far faster than any automatic transmission. The Prius is very easy to get out of a snow bank, IF YOU ARE A COMPETENT DRIVER.
Now the downside: Prius only has FIVE INCHES ground clearance. It is not designed for "off road" use. I have previously been driving trucks and SUV's for 20 years, so it did take a little to get used to not jumping curbs, or diving into mud pits. Just keep the Prius on hard surfaces and it will never let you down.
I have had the same problems with my 2007 Prius. This past winter I have not been able to put more than 6.5 gals in my tank. After having the computer panel in the dash changed 5 times and the gas tank replaced once, my problem still exists. After calling Toyota and registering my complaint, I was told this is "normal" because of the bladder issue and low temps in my area (WV). They would not look at my car until the temps were higher. This was in March. It is now 95 degrees here and still no change. Needless to say, I was not happy so I filed my complaint with NCDS ( National Center for Dispute Settlement). I had a hearing with Toyota who again said there was nothing wrong with my car. This was a normal thing for this car and there is no way to determine how much gas is in the tank. Call me dumb, but that is what the fuel gauge is for.
I won my case and Toyota is replacing my car. I am getting an 08 this week. Needless to say, if this problem occurs again, I will do this again. I would like to see all people who are having this problem do the same. If Toyota has to keep replacing or buying back cars, maybe they will do something to fix this problem. From what I have read here this is not an isolated thing. As long as your car is under the origional warrenty, this option is open to you. Check your warrenty book for details on how to initiate this process.
That being said, I really like this car and the benefits still far outweigh the drawbacks. I asked what was going to be done with my car and was told Toyota was taking it back and would tear it apart to study this problem. We'll see, I guess.
Well, it is official from Toyota Corporate ... if you do happen to have challenges filling your gas tank ... there is NO fix ... Toyota notes that 6 - 7 gallons at a fill up is normal, what is not normal is being able to acutally fill your gas tank.
I am perosnally astounded and saddened that this design flaw has not yet been corrected.
I do agree with Sherry, the last post, that overall the car seems good. I hope Toyota does take care of the bladder issue so you can have a better idea of how many gallons you can drive on a tank of gas ... not down to fumes, but the difference between 6 or 7 gallons at 45mpg and 10 gallons at 45mpg.
Here is the response from Toyota Corporate ... you will note that they do encourage comments from owners.
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
The car sounds like a royal pain in the behind.
Hybrids are a total marketing scam to lead people into thinking that they are doing good for the planet and saving money at the same time.
I get 33 -35 mpg from my 1993 Corolla. I don't have problems with running out of fuel, I pay 30 bucks a month for comp. insurance and no car payment!! You guys save perhaps $600 - 700 a year in gas over me but you paid a $5000 or more premium to do so!! How many years will that take to pay off (probably with interest too).
I hope they figure out a good way to recycle all the toxic materials from the batteries.
P.S. I used to get 45 - 50 mpg from my '91 Jetta Diesel. Only problem with Diesel cars in the USA is the lack of stations selling it, otherwise I would probably still be commuting in it. It doesn't really look like technology has really come all that far in the last 17 years does it?
I love my Prius but have the same gas tank issues. I would get down to one flashing bar and would only be able to put in 9 gallons. I am a little concerned because I put 12.6 gallons in the tank. I was told it only held 12. ( I live in Florida and it ha been extremely hot.) My consumption stated 41 mpg but when you do the math 398 miles divided by 12.6 g you average 31.6 mpg.
I did not go to school to understand cars or fix them. So maybe I am doing something wrong. I apologize for any misunderstandings that I have about this gas tank. I never even heard of a rubber bladder until 10 minutes ago when I started reading these posts.
Has anyone had AC issues? I bought my in February and as soon as the new car scent went away there was a terrible mildew smell. I am bringing it in for a check up.
You might want to check the Air Conditioning air filter for contamination or debris (like dead insects). It's located behind the lower glove compartment. I think the owner's manual has instructions on how to get to it.
I love my prius, near San Francisco. Since November I've always filled up about 9.5 gallons, driving about 10-20 miles after the flashing begins.
This past weekend I did a lot of freeway driving on cruise control and the MPG kept going up up up, so I was happy when I saw 470miles when the flashing went on. (Usually it's about 420 miles). Figured I got an extra 4-5mpg on that tank.
Then I filled up 11.5 gallons!!
So I came online to find out how big the tank is...wondering if I was getting ripped by the station.
But perhaps the guages are just not that accurate.
Andrew
My experience is similar to that of Andrew Slater. I generally (not always) run my 2005 Prius to one bar, and perhaps 1/2 the time down to a blinking bar. Like Andrew, if the bar begins to blink, I generally don't drive more than 20 miles more.
The most I have ever filled up is 9.5 or maybe 9.6 gallons.
I think the more reliable test is to go by mileage. Of course, first you need to learn your mileage: mine is about 50 mpg in winter and 55-58 in summer. So in winter in can go perhaps 420-450 miles; in summer up to 550.
Also, my calculated mpg tends to be 2-3 less my instrumental mpg.
I have a Prius 2008 and just took it on its first long road trip. I was interested to see how the car did. I live in Louisiana and the temp here is at a constant 90 degrees during the summer.
After 573miles averaging 47.8mpg, I finally pulled into a gas station as the gauge switched to the last bar.
I own a Prius. So, since the Prius' gas tank is not holding the same amount of gas from fill to fill, how can one calculate mileage accurately? And how is the Prius calculating its own mileage on that display on the console? Does it know how much gasoline it is depleting, or what? And how does it know that?
Thanks,
Brian Butler
HA!!. And here I thought I was alone. The manual says when the last bar flashes, there are about 3 gallons left in the tank (equals about 150 miles for me). Twice I ran out of gas (after about 40-50 miles) - the second time had to be towed cos the whole thing froze. Go figure. It would really help if they would be a tad more specific. Will just have to put more gas when we have 2 bars. Very odd though - after I filled the tank, the fuel indicator is still showing full (after 140 miles) - i usually lose the first bar after 80-100 miles .... do I need to start worrying???
I think that working out the consumption based on what you fill (which is what I like to do), should be thrown out the window. How can you accurately gauge with a tank that has fluctuating capacity??? LOL. Just have to go by what the screen says is the average consumption (now I know why my mileage was so much better than the screen).
I LOOOOVE MY PRIUS :)))
By the way, the first time I ran out of gas, I managed to get to a gas station with the instrument panel giving a pretty display. The second time I had to be towed after 2 gallons of gas didnt get the car going - wouldnt even go into drive. It DID start though after the towtruck dropped it off at Toyota so - I floored it right out of there immediately.
Wow. Thats harsh. Apparently there are a lot of stupid people posting here, including me. Hope this gas issue never happens to you - if it does, remember you are not stupid like us, and it is a vehicle failure.
I disagree. Even with all that, you know how many miles you get on a tank cos you know how far you drive even without the odometer. you know how much you spend on gas a month (more or less anyway). Thats got to be way less than a Malibu or any other vehicle (my gas bill has dropped to between 1/3 & 1/4 of what it was with my Ford - no, I am not kidding). Buy the Prius, enjoy it and have fun with it. I havent enjoyed driving a car so much in many many many years :)
One thing that a lot of people are missing here is that the gas pumps at various gas stations and from pump to pump can differ considerably. You can blame the bladder, but at least some of the variation is the meter from your gas station (or stations).
My 2008 was delivered at the end of December here in Louisville, KY. Between that cold weather and the warm weather now, I have seen about a 1 gallon variation in the capacity of the tank, long term between cold and hot. However, on rare occasions I have seen a jump up in capacity (11 and 11.2 gallons shown on the pump when I expected to put in 9.75) and one downturn (9.1 when I expected to put in maybe around 10 or so).
Just so you know, out of old habits, I keep my own MPG records in addition to what my Prius tells me. I also fill up as soon as possible after seeing the fuel display go from 2 to 1 bar. I am an engineer by nature as well as by training and employment, just so you know.
What I have found is that those odd excursions had a significant effect on my own MPG calculations, while the Prius kept to its previous range (around 39 in the winter and 43.5 in the summer, based of the driving I do). My conclusion is that I was cheated twice and made out once at the pump. I have also concluded that my Prius reports a MPG figure that is overly optimistic by just under 2% (or gas pumps are "tuned" to give you an average of 2% over the meter, which would surprise me), but that is another matter for another post.
So, I think the bladder does have an effect of capacity as the weather changes, but fuel pump variations are the bigger culprit in the major "changes" in capacity.
I just got a letter from Toyota saying that the display on the dash of the Toyota calculates its mileage from knowing the distance by the rotation of the tires, and from knowing the amount of fuel used by counting the number of injection from the fuel injectors. They say that it could be off as much as 5 or 10%.
Just filled my car yesterday.
The fuel gauge on the dash said I would need about 6 gallons.
The fuel consumption computer said that I would need 4.3 gallons (222 miles driven at 51.7mpg average).
My actual fill up? 4.36 gallons.
Bottom line:
DO NOT EVER TRUST the dashboard fuel gauge. Because of the flexable rubber fuel tank it is TOTALLY unreliable.
Why is everyone waiting until the "guess gauge" shows empty?
Do you think the price of fuel will drop down to $2.34/gal in the next 2 days?
I am a teen. Is it a good idea to buy one as my first car? considering the great gas mileage??? i dont think it looks bad, i think it looks good.
Thought the gas gauge problem was me. Just took a family trip in the 2008 Prius I have had for 2 months and stalled on a very busy I-95 in South Carolina. The gauge went from 3 bars quickly to 2 and then 1 with a warning and immediately stalled. Waited for a tow truck who added a gas can's worth - about 1.5 gallons. Car still wouldn't start. He added another and then had to jump-start us.
Worked great the rest of the trip and I have been able to add enough gas to what I think fills the tank - about 11+ gallons. Though at 2 bars I am sure to gas up.
Filled it up last night. When I started the car this morning it gave me the Add Fuel warning. Went to a gas station to make sure and could only add a gallon. Still says Add Fuel and shows 1 blinking bar. Had to leave it at home because I can't risk stalling.
I know it has at least 11 gallons in it. Looks like I'll be visiting the nearest Toyota dealer.
Managed to get 12.2 gallons the other day in my 2008 Prius. Average outside temp here is 90 degrees.
I reset my millage after each fill up, that way I know if my average mpg is always the same I will get 530-560 miles per tank. I always fill up after about 10-20 miles in on the last bar, I figure 550 is good enough for me, haha!!
I love this car!!!
Long road trip in a Prius that had about 3k miles of city driving. We drove it another 3k on the highway- besides the issue of it showing a full tank after traveling almost 200 miles, there were no issues, solid the whole way... except for the last 50 miles. We were consistently going to about 400-450 miles between fillups. On the final stretch, we had gone about 450- we were about 2 miles from a gas station, going 65 on the highway. The gas gauge went from two bars to one bar (which I gather from the above means "3 gallons left")... anyway, at one bar, it started blinking, and at the same time, the "check engine", "malfunction", "mean red exclamation point" etc all came on, and here's the fun part- the engine went dead. In the left lane. On I-5. Yeehaw.
Luckily, we were able to glide over to the shoulder. We waited a bit, and the car restarted, using both the gas and electric. Went to the gas station, and based on how much the car took, the bladder should have had 1.5 gallons in it when the engine shut off. (After reading this forum, however, who knows. Guess Gauge.)
Explained the problem to the Toyota dealer this week. They're comments- "Yeah, it shows full when it may not be full", and "Fill it up when it gets to two bars, or else risk having it do that again." No fix, no sympathy, no safety concern in their eyes (that they would publicly state for obvious reasons). I think it's a serious issue. If the car goes empty when it's not, or if you're driving in BF, Nowhere and it's 200 miles between fillups, and ESPECIALLY if the car decides to shut off when you're driving down the highway with a gauge telling you that you have gas, but A- maybe you don't, or B- maybe you do, but the engine might shut off anyway.
It's sad, but I guess there will have to be deaths/lawsuits involved before the cost/benefit of doing a recall or fix is forced upon Toyota. I just hope it's not me doing the dying/suing to prove to Toyota this is worth addressing.
Four days ago TJ asked if the Prius was a good idea for a first car. I am also about to get my first car, and I was wondering the same thing. I've read on here that it doesn't project the correct amount of gas, but shouldn't people just fill up at 1/4 a tank, instead of risking it?
I have never been able to put more than 9 gallons and some into the tank on fill up, but i have been generally running it to empty on the last 3 tanks. Today was my best mpg average at the end of a tank of 56 mpg, and 535 miles, spaced over a 17 day period. That's also a good decent mix of highway and city and kind of hilly country back roads. So now after reading how inaccurate the final blinking bar may be i may stop running it to empty.
I would recommend people who have the same problem to file a complaint starting at the NHTSA. All it takes is enough votes to get some action taken:
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm
I agree. Having some understanding of driving the car according to its abilities is the key. Long ago I learned that the car runs as well on the first half of the tank of gas as it does on the last half, so, fill it when it is down to half a tank.
We bought a 2004 Prius and love it. We go from the Pacific Northwest to Kansas City each year to visit relatives, and it is a great road car. It has not failed to hold the speed limit on the plains (75 MPH speed limit) and over the mountains (unless traffic doesn't permit speed-limit travel).
Last year we added a 2007 Prius and it is holding up the tradition. No problems or complaints.
I have noticed that the slope of the drive where I fuel has a lot to do with how the gauge works, how good a fill I get, etc. I drive my wife nuts scoping out the lay of the drives so I get a location with the tank door on the highest point of the car (left rear high, right front low). In Oregon, having moved here from Washington last year, the attendant by law has to do the pumping of gas, so I never know what the technique is going to be. Getting the car positioned the best I can is a big help. Sometimes I have to go against the arrows on the drive, but I figure that is a price I have to pay. People think I am just a fool, but so what.
If ya'll are this OCD surely you know how much monthly you were spending on gas... I was spending about $500/mth.. I'm in sales.. my habits havent changed.. I've been spending around $100/mth now (I've had my Prius for about 5 months) so I'm not real smart.. but I think I'm saving money here.. AND I make it a habit to fill up when I have 3 blocks left.. I do not have time to have such a relationship with my cars bladder.. maybe I will when I retire.. which may come sooner than later since I'm saving so much money :)
ENJOY your Prius .. it's a great car !
Bought my Prius in April 05, 68,650 miles to date. I've tracked every drop that has gone into the car. In New England (cold winters) I average 7.9 gal per fillup. Does seem a bit less in the winter, more in the summer. At two bars I fill up. One shouldn't run any car too low, but a pseudo-digital gas gauge seems to produce that behavior in a lot of people. Having always driven small, inexpensive cars that got about 35 mpg I knew I wasn't going to save money with this car, but bought it to have the most advanced drive train on the planet and make a statement about high mileage. By the way in the warm weather I'm staying below 60 mph (right lane, thank you) and getting over 60 mpg of that $4.00 per gallon stuff. Since I bought the car, I've averaged over 50. And it would be a nice car even at 30 mpg, though I would never have bought it were that the case.
I own a 2004 Prius with 80,000+ miles. I regularly commute from my home at 8500 feet in the Colorado Rockies to my job in Colorado Springs, a 30 mile one way journey. My Prius gets its best mileage in the daily commute rather than highway trip driving --- up to 54 MPG calculated manually. Miles per gallon have declined as the battery pack ages, but I still attain 50+ MPG tanks although not as consistently as in the past.
The fuel tank capacity is problematic and the warning light does not come on with "20% left in the tank" as someone claimed. I do not trust the published capacity figures, although I have had 10+ gallon fill ups. Once the light comes on I assume that I have about 10 miles of range left before the tank runs out.
I have run out of gas, once, on a 480 mile run from Truth or Consequences, NM to my home on a single tank. I gambled and lost. Overall, I have been pleased with the vehicle, but it is not perfect.
I'm looking forward to the day my ordered Prius finally arrives. There does appear to be a difference in mileage from winter to summer, but that seems to be due to the use of the electric heater. If you run the heat in the car at a moderate level, and at a moderate fan speed, then more energy from the battery pack will be used to power the engine rather than the supplemental electric heater. Being the engine doesn't run all the time, it's hard to heat the cabin just from engine heat. That's why you hear an electric motor after you shut the car off. It's pumping the coolant from the engine to a thermal devise to try and keep it warmer for a longer period of time. It pumps it back to the engine when you then re-start your car. I appreciate everyone talking about the bladder, & I intend to fill up at no less than 2-3 bars.
There are other tricks to help increase mileage in the winter, much like truckers. We've all seen 18 wheelers with the front grill covered. A less obnoxious way would be to fill the grill with insulation foam "Toyota actually recommends this in some publication that I read" to keep the coolant warmer, and therefore less dependant on the supplemental electric heater. In this way, energy from the battery can be used to propel the car increasing your mileage. It's called "Grille Blocking"
I'd be interested to see if anybody has tried this, and obtained better fuel mileage.
come on people go friggin figure yr math ya all went to school right if yr little crappy looking prius is getting 420 mp tank on a trip devided by what was it 11.9 gallons it equals 35.29 mpg right not 50 mpg like evry ones stating and if this si the case dont go into montana as if its on them two dinky little bars hahahahah thers no stations way the hell out like 60 miles to the station like californias got one evry city mile and as windy as it gets whenits 105 degress out hot air is very very thick and at speed is windy the car will only muster about 33 mpg i know ive driven it i hated the piece of junk the gas situtaion when out and about in areas like i stated where driving is serious bussiness will leave you not being able to calcualte and you burn and tend to fill up more and when it was like 20 below zero the thing wouldnt start i too rented one twice once in summer and once in winter and it was pure city junk
Interesting thread. I don't own a Prius but was an engineer on a project to design a kit to make a Prius into a plug-in hybrid so I've driven one a lot. I hadn't noticed the fuel tank problem, but it was summer. BUT I do have a Toyota FJ Cruiser. That's a ridgid tank, I think - I'll have to research that. IThe fuel gauge is spot on though.
But although it's supposed to be an 18 gallon tank the fuel pump likes to click off about 1.5 gallons short of full. Being an anal engineer who checks mileage (my BMW motorcycle gets 46mpg consistantly) I always filll up. What is happening with the FJ is that the fill pipe that Toyota uses is fairly small in diameter and follows a really torturous route. With high speed gas pumps you end up with a lot of air in the tank. It takes a bit of slow filling after the initial shut off to fill the tank.
What I'm reading about a lot of air escaping from the tank makes me think that the Prius is doing a similar thing as my FJ.
I would recommend that you only use about half speed when you all fill your Prius(es?) and see what happens. This might reduce the amount of air pumped into the tank.
I was going to say that there is no reason why a polymer tank would act differently in cold weather. Then I remembered the Challenger. It sure is a design flaw. I'm surprised they haven't changed materials. I wonder why not?
highwayman,
Clearly, you could use a little schooling yourself. So, allow me to school thee:
(a) reading: Clearly, you haven't read the blog. NO ONE is getting to fill up anywhere close to 11.9 gallons, which is the rates capacity. Duh, that's what this blog is about. So,
(b) math: That means you are dividing by a lower denominator, which means HIGHER MILEAGE
(c) science: 105 degree air is THICKER!!? Boy, your stupidity really shows on this one. HOT AIR IS LESS DENSE. That means THINNER. As air cools, it becomes desner. COLD AIR IS THICKEST.
(d) mettalurgy: IT NEVER ENDS!! NOT ONE PRIUS FORUM ON THE INTERNET AND SOMEONE HAS TO REPEAT THE LIE ABOUT THE TOXIC BATTERY THAT WILL FAIL AFTER 2 YEARS AND BE DUMPED IN A LANDFILL (or worse, the one about the Hummer being "greener" than a Prius).
NEWSFLASH: The battery is NICKEL METAL HYDRDIDE. Yep, NICKEL. Ya know, like the nickel that's in stailnless steel. Still think it's toxic? OK, better throw out all your pots and pans. STUPID HYPOCRITES - guess they don't drive a car with a battery!!??
That's LEAD!?? Tell ya what, you eat dinner off a lead plate, I'll eat off a stainless steel plate, we'll see who gets sick. 250 million lead car batteries in this country, and somehow no problem, but LOOKOUT, fewer then 1 million (nickel) hybrid batteries are going to ruin everything! People this stupid should be shot
And any Prius owner know Toyota offer $200 bounty to recycle the battery and that they are warrantied for 150,000 miles (and have lasted 250,000 miles)
Funny my car goes 10.5 gas in winter, he is right you just have to be patient and do it again. I was a bit confused when it first happened. once the bladder has been used a couple of times it works just fine. and its better than when your going up a hill on a regular tank when your almost empty.
My Prius has had fuel gauge issues since I bought it. I just got back from a road trip (13,800 on the car when we got home) where the difference was up to 11 mpg. The car noted nearly 50 mpg and when calculating it was in the high 30's ... bummer. This was pretty constant during the entire trip ... car said much higher than was acutally being achieved.
The gauge ticks were also acting really strangly and the battery too.
Took it into Toyota to see what was up. Basically Toyota told me that the difference could be as much as 15 mpg ... and there is nothing wrong with the car.
Before I left the lot today, I traded the 2008 Prius in on a 2009 Toyota Camry SE ... no more Prius problems, worries or concerns ... nice trade too ... straight across.
I have a 2007 Prius, and have compared my calculated gas mileage to the displayed mileage many times over the last year. I have consistently found only a 1-2 mpg difference. Friends with the older model Prius say they have had discrepancies with their calculated mileage, but I don't seem to have that problem. I (though I also live in the "thick, hot" air of California - ha ha!) have always gotten 48-53 mpg on the highway, even with the a/c on.
I also wondered if anyone knew the approximate gas level when the "Add fuel" warning comes up. It happened to me unexpectedly as I was climbing to a rather high elevation (thus much lower mpg), but thankfully got down the mountain to a gas station on electric and never ran out of gas completely.
Sorry, I missed a few posts in the middle of the string that answered my question (apparently there is little consistency in the fuel amount when the bar flashes).
Hitting the reset button causes all the numbers that are kept in memory to be reset back to 0. So, if you want to make the value of your car increase, hit this button RIGHT before you sell it, and your odometer will reset to 0.
I found I have two odomoeters ... and EACH time, when I hold the ODO button in, the miles reset to 0 ... I wonder if Toyota knows about this?????? This means when I sell the car, I can make it look like there's no miles .... i.e., 0, OR, what I'll probably do is set it to 0 and then drive it for about 3,000 and then say that the car has a total miles of 3,000 on it ...
Toyota SCREWED up ROYALLY!!!!
There are THREE odometers, Trip A, Trip B, and the odometer.
You CAN reset both or either trip odometer.
You CANNOT reset the main odometer. That's what it's there for.
Advice: if you want to own a Prius, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!!!
this is not your father's Model T.
I do not own a prius, but only 6 gallons?
that seems quite small a volume.
of course, considering it is a hybrid, I can see the logic, but still.
so you fill up your tank for, say, $25?
lucky!
I haven't noticed a problem with the tank but live in Phoenix.
However, I've read in books about cars that you really should refill any car when it gets to 1/2 to 1/4 tank! Otherwise the junk at the bottom all ends up in the engine at the same time - apparently not such a great thing.
Hopefully Toyota will address this issue y'all are having. But in reality, is it not enough to be able to go 250 or 300 miles on 5 or 6 gallons and then fill up for $20 ( you might even be able to pay in cash and not take out a loan to fill er up ;) )?
I agree with Guy there. 300 to even 500 gallons sound pretty good to me. I don't own one but my Grandfather does and he loves it. I wish I could have one. I would probably be able to go a whole month without having to fill up. I get about 28 mpg highway in my Honda Odyssey. I can't really complain with that. Take what you can get and fill at a 1/4 tank. Stop whining. Or just trade it.
Several U.S. Navy ships ran out of fuel during World War II with disastrous results. Since that time all conventional U.S. Navy ships must never go below 75% fuel onboard. In car terms that would require filling up every time you get down to 3/4 of a tank. However, I would think that filling up every 300 miles would be prudent, especially in the winter, and besides you could brag to those dinosaur drivers about how little it cost to fill your Prius!
FYI - i have a 2009 Prius and i'm having the same problem. there was no "fix" in the 2009 models. i'm glad i found this site. i didn't know anything about the flexible bladder tank.
i kept driving with the blinking box thinking i had 3 gallons left as stated in the owners manual and almost ran out of gas on the highway. i went to the dealership maintanence shop to ask why my range is so much less then expected and they said nothing about the flexible bladder.
their own maintenance people don't seem to know about the tank.
Oh, they KNOW, They know!!!
There have been tech notices distributed to the mechanics since the 2004 model year.
They just cover up the problem and pretend it has never happened to anyone before you.
Given that the problem is not causing fatalities, Toyota knows that the government will not step in and order a recall.
And as long as they have people standing in line to buy the car, no incentive to address the problem.
p.s.- I did my research, knew about these little problems, and still decieded to buy my Prius. Every car seems to have it's little problems. For Prius, it's the fuel tank and gauge.
I have a new '09 and have experienced this $%$##@ problem with the tank. I got the car from the dealer with a full tank. I was only able to drive 400 miles even though the indicator said I was getting 46 mpg. When I went to the gas station I could only fill 5.3 gallons. I thought that was quite odd. I called the dealer and I was told by the service advisor to not let the tank get below 1/3. I almost busted out laughing when I heard that. What a load of BS. If that was the case Toyota would have the warning light go off at the 1/3 level. This is just laughable and an extreme example of a really bad design. No customer should have to put up with this crap. I was even told that certain gas stations work better than others and that certains days or times of the day make a difference, oh and we have to only get gas on blue moons!!!!
I think you are freaking funny as h*** John Johur. That was great.
i got my 2009 just last months,i have all the same experience with all the above,but i just wonder anyone get the answer to solve the problem.file to the court or any department ????anyone could email me the answers or posted.let whoever been sufer the problem can be done.thank you very much???
I have the same issue with my fuel tank-at least for the past 4 months or so. I've had my Prius for nearly 4 years, and now when I fill up right after the warning beep, I can fill up anywhere between 5.5 and 9 gallons. I get worried now that I can see the fuel indicator lights almost racing down! I never had that problem before. "You just have to live with it" isn't really an acceptable answer on a flawed product I spent nearly $25,000 on.
I bought a 2008 Prius in December of 2007 in Tenn. where we live 6 months of the year. For the first 10 MONTHS & 10,000 miles I had no problem purtting gas in the fuel tank, consistenely putting in 8-9 gals after traveling 400-450 miles. This I did in various outside temperatures from 20oF up to 60oF in Dec. & Jan. In Feb. we went to upstate NY for 3 weeks where the temperatures were much COLDER!!! I never experienced any problems, gas going into the tand FLAWLESSLY! All of a sudden, in Sept. I started having trouble filling up, nozzle sutting off at 5 gals when I knew it should take more,so I nursed the rest into the tank. Then the gas would shoot up at me when I removed the nozzlle. I went to the Toyota Dealership and was THEN handed a paper explaining the "bladder" system gas tank. This was the first I was informed about this type of fuel tank. I've been calling the 1-800 number that the dealership gave to me after I complained that I was happy with their explanation of why they couldn't fix my problem. I've received only one call back form the customer service in Cal. stating that someone else would be calling me back. That was 3 weeks ago. As of this writing, I am STILL WAITING!!!!
I think we have been DECEIVED by this Giant Auto Maker by not telling us about the FLAW DESIGN in their fuel tanks BEFORE buying a car in fear of losing a sale!!!!
I have 2 questions I would like someone to answer:
I. How can a gas tank "work" perfectly for 10 months in all types of weather and then all of a sudden have this problem?
2. How wide spread it this problem?
I bought my 2008 Prius in January. I too noticed that the manual said the tank held about 11.9 gal and when I would fill up when it was completely empty it only held 10.2 gallons. I called the Toyota Dealer here in town and informed them of my finding. They confirmed it so I preceeded to tell them that perhaps they should reprint their manuals to reflect the correct amount that the tank holds. This is false advertising!
I only have 14,000 on my prius but will keep an eye on my tires...Thanks for the input.
I just bought a 2009 Prius and am having the same problem. Only filled it up twice, first time took 7.6 gal, second time 7.1 gal. I'm not happy about this at all. The service dept of my dealership was clueless about it (or pretending to be in ordered to sweep it under the rug). This is very bad engineering. Surprising considering how well the rest of the car was thought out.
By the way, for those of you who are trying to ascertain your MPG on a tank of fuel from the multi-function display - you're wasting your time. The MFD is only a computer estimation. The ONLY accurate way to calculate MPG is by dividing the total number of miles driven on a tank of gas by the number of gallons to fill it back up.
Actually, the MPG reading on the multi-function display should be fairly accurate.
Fuel delivery in the Prius (and every other fuel injection engine) is computer controlled.
And the computer knows exactly how much fuel it is delivering to the engine.
The largest "variable" for MPG inaccuracy is the odometer that keeps track of mileage driven. If your odometer is reading accurately (depending on tires, load, inflation) then your MPG reading should be accurate.
If you want to keep track of fuel consumption at the pump, you have to AVERAGE many tanks full of fuel. Because the "shut off" point when you fill the tank can vary by over 2 gallons from one fill up to the next. (your Prius consumes 7.3 gallons, but you put anywhere from 5.5 to 9.5 gallons in the tank when you fill it).
I bought a used 2004 Prius about 2 months ago and love it. Im on my 6th tank. Each tank I have run past the flashing 1 bar about 20-30 miles. Each filling I fill slowly and go to two clicks on the pump. It has taken between 9.8-10.4 gallons. I was averaging about 53.5 mpg so I was getting about 500-540 miles per tank. Now that I am getting the hang of pulse and glide I am showing 64 mpg and am already over 450 miles with 3 bars remaining. I expect to go to 650 miles on this tank. For me the bladder tank is working great. accurate fuel flow sensors and bladder tanks - airplane technology!
I have a little contact with the aviation industry. Aviation fuel bladders are designed to remain soft and flexable at -50 degrees.
Toyota just got cheap on the fuel bladders. These are NOT aviation quality by any stretch of the imagination.
My wife has an '06 with 49K miles. She drives 120 miles roundtrip to work 2-4 times a week. Even with my occassionally driving we consistently show 46-48.2 mpg on the screen. Historically gas added at fill-up seems to match mileage driven at that mpg.
For 2 years everything was fine including going thru 2 Houston winters (not real cold). No problems with gauge reading or fill volume.
2 weeks ago when we were down to 3 PIPs it only took about 5.5 gal (about 1 less than expected) but gauge showed full when filling finished. Since then the gauge drops very fast (to 2-3 PIPs in 250 miles vs about 375 before) and can only refill with about 5.5 gal. - this suggests that we're getting about 47mpg and the tank's capacity has shrunk. No change in driving habits or in average mpg on display. Have given the filler a 10 second rest and then started again with only a few cents additional going in so I'm sure it's full. Temperature here recently has been between 45 and 80, fillups have generally been when it's been over 55.
After 3 refills with the same behavior, we took the car to a local dealer today and they reported no problem on computer diagnositics. We have an extended warranty that should cover tank or sensor problems, but the dealer says they can't find anything to fix.
We will try filling when gauge gets to half a couple times and see if there's any improvement.
PS:
Hope the following info helps out on a number of the problems reported above:
After reading the info outlined below I filled the tank (it just dropped from 5 to 4PIPs) - was able to put in 5.5 gal which seems about right. We'll see what happens.
Did some digging on the web & found this link that gives tech info about the fuel system:
http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/Hybrid13.pdf not sure who's it is or accurancy of info - but makes for interesting reading.
I wonder if our dealer reset the inclinometer (see page 2 on above link) "The inclinometer must be reset if the customer complains that they can only pump a few gallons...or they run out of gas with three or four bars left..." and magically it corrected. Hmmmm...
Other info I gleaned from the link:
1. Don't top off (over fill)
2. Make sure you have good seal between the filler nozzle and filler neck - pressure will ensure bladder is fully expanded. Perhaps filling at full speed will help the pressure.
3. "Do not use premium gasoline. It may cause starting problems..."
Best of luck to all!
I think this problem is much more serious than most who have posted on this page. It is only a matter of time before someone is killed by this design defect. Either by the car stopping in traffic and causing a serious accident, or by someone walking from the car to get more fuel.
I have owned my new 2008 Prius for 4 months. When the weather changed in the past month, temperature dropping to the freezing point, I have noticed the following:
1 - I have run out of gas two times
2 - The amount of gas that goes into the vehicle is much less than manufacturer specifications
3 - The low gas warning light that per specification should be 3 gallons is under a gallon
The fuel display is grossly inacurate and there is no reliable way to know how much fuel is in the Prius nor how many miles you have before needing to refuel. If you want to refill your car at random intervals, then this is the car for you. If you expect a car that has reliable mileage and capacities, this is not a good car to own.
I ran out of gas today when I thought I had at least another 100 miles to go before empty based on history and previous mileage estimates. Same thing happened a couple of weeks ago but it was easier to get gas. Today I was stranded literally in the middle of no where. This seems to be a serious design flaw.
I plan on presenting this to the dealer tomorrow and asking for a refund. I cannot drive a car that I have no confidence in fuel consumption. I regularly got 600 miles to the tank during warm months, and have run out of gas at 450 miles on two occasions. Take all the variations in gas stations you want, but no car should have 25% variations in fuel consumption or capacity.
It is only a matter of time before somebody dies because of this fundamental defect. I will start with the dealer to get a refund then continue with the NTSB and state lemon laws to get my money back.
Although I love the car, Toyota has created a safety hazard unless you are willing to refill at unpredictable intervals.
our 2005 prius in the nw part of illinois has only a slight variation in fuel capacity. we seldom let the gauge get less than 3 bars because
1) when we drive long distances we need a break before we need gas.
2) i like to put the car away with a least a half tank so it is ready for the next trip or emergency
3) i found that does not cost more to add smaller amounts of gas
4) even with a non prius , it not recommended to let that gauge get below a quarter- water condenses and the accuracy of the gauge is suspect and is supposed to be considered a "guide"
we have not found it to be a "major" problem if you do not like the car ,,get rid of it/ the resale value is very good.
I just leased a 2009 Prius 2 Fridays ago. When they gave me the car it was full, after a little over 200 miles I was down to 1 bar so I had to fill up the tank for the first time. I was astounded that the tank only took 7 gallons. So... I started to investigate the actual tank size of the car which led me to this blog. I am totally DISGUSTED! I traded in a 2006 Civic hybrid for this prius and now I want my old car back in the worst way. I am one of those numbskulls that runs the gas down until the light comes on then I fill up. I know it is bad but it is my bad habit! However, I swear to all that is holy the first time I run out of gas with 2 "bars" on my gas gauge I am going postal on the dealership.
Seriously, I don't know that laws in MD but do I still have any chance at returning the car?? I really investigated the Prius and I never encountered anything about this gas tank issue and I am terrified about running out of gas late at night or something. This blows!
The prius gas gauge is really unrealible and made me nervous once.
After the fuel alert started flashing on the NY throughway I kept driving to the next Gas station on my 2007 prius. On the way all the lights of the panel/dashboard started flashing -- the gasiline has fineshed. I dorve on the electric engine alone. I put my flashing lights on and drove at 35 MPH. I was aware the manual alerts that if I drain the power battery I have to have the car serviced. In any case, I thought that if I turned off the car I would have to call for assistance anyway. I drove about 5 miles until the next gas station with all the lights on the dashboard flashing green and yellow. Very scary. I made it to the the gas station and turned off the car as I normally do and refuelled the tank. It took 11 Gallons ( August/2007) .
I restarted the car as usual and never had a problem again.
December/2008
Ran out of gas on a dark, long deserted road with my 4 year-old daughter tonight!
I didn't believe what the gas gauge because of its trend of inaccurate fuel indicator. Last block blinked at 250 miles from a full tank. How ridiculous is that?! This is San Francisco driving in the mild winter season when the car has never been in snow or below 40F.
I've been observing a decrease in _tank capacity_ in the last few fill ups. The last block starts to blink sooner and sooner. Blinking starts out around 360, then down to 330 or so then below 300 then 275. When it blinked at 270, I drove around for another 40 miles before filling up the tank with 7 gallons! The indicator bars went all the way to the top. So when it blinked at 250, I didn't believe it. I drove around till it surprisingly ran out of gas at 330.
The computer display showed a 40.9 mpg efficiency when it ran out of gas. How did they do the math? 330 miles for 10 gallons would be 33 mpg. 40mpg should've gotten me at least 380 miles without a problem.
My car has been consistently getting at least 40mpg with the same type of hill and freeway driving ever since I bought it in 2006. It's got about 22K miles on the car in 2 1/2 years.
How could I run out of gas at 330 miles?!
Brought the car in again to the dealer because of the bladder tank problem. I told them that I'm missing out on over 100 miles per full tank. They gave me the usual spiel that everything is ok. Then they gave me a printout that says that once the "empty/flashing" bar starts you have 3 gallons left in the tank. That would mean you could drive between 120 and 150 miles on an empy tank indicator. That doesn't seem right to me ... I might just have to pull a "Kraemer/Kramer - Seinfeld episode where he drives until he runs out of gas ..."
Has anyone brought the car back under any Lemon Law?
Bottom Line:
Toyota deserves to get egg on their face for not being honest about this. I too have called and they claim to know nothing about this. They obviously do. Do they think we don't know how to use the internet? If you fill up at 2 bars, you "might" be ok, but it still negates the purpose of having a car with great mileage so you DON'T have to fill up often. Further, do you fell safe having your wife/daughter driving the car with the ASSUMPTION they'll be ok? I don't. Toyota, you've just lost a loyal customer with how you've handled this. SPREAD THE WORD! THIS IS WHAT TOYOTA THINKS OF YOU! LIARS!!!!
I bought a 2008 Prius in Dec 2007. I live in Fort Lauderdale and it is generally always over 70 degrees and much hotter than that in the summer. When I have only one bar left, my tank never holds more than 7.5 to 8 gallons (approximately) no matter what the weather. Does this debunk the cold weather myth!
I have a 2005 Prius, and I have had pretty much the same problem as the everyone above--except, through dumb luck, haven't run out of gas yet. And, the service department at my local dealer (in Montana where it does get cold), got exactly the same "no problem" run-around as everyone else has reported.
I have a 2007 Prius and read about the shrinking fuel tank bladder before I bought the vehicle. I can only get about 8 gallons in the tank when the temperature is near the zero mark. I press the reset button on the consumption screen every time I fill up. The gas gauge and the reported mpg seem to be in-sync with the reduced capacity. I fill up when the add fuel indicator blinks, and have never had a problem. But from reading here I can tell there must be huge differences in the gas gages from Prius to Prius.
I’d be hopping mad too if I ran out of gas with 2 marks left.
Even in the summer time when the tank is taking it’s full 11.9 gallons (yes, once I put in 11.7 gallons) some of the gas nozzles shut off way too early. This I find very frustrating. I’ve actually gone home and used my gas can and put in 2 more gallons
without overfilling.
So the long and short of it is….in the summer we get much better fuel mileage and a larger tank. With my long commute, I’ve gone 700 per tank many a time. In the winter, I’m lucky to get 450 miles per tank.
Still love the car.
I too am a victim of this bladder tank. Really old men often have bladder and dribble problems, but there is NO excuse for a new car having the problems that a Prius does in cold weather. Since Toyota has no intention of recalling them until several people die, does anyone know of pending lawsuits that can be expanded to class action suits for all owner/victims of this scam?
We bought an '07 Prius used from a dealer and it had 3 bars on the gas gauge, but within 2 miles it went down to 2 bars and ran out of gas soon after that. We drove a mile on the electric motor then it died before we could reach the nearest gas station. We never go below 3 bars now before we fill er up!!! In the colder weather the gas gauge is very erratic. We still love the car!
My Prius has only been holding about 8.5 gallons this winter. Temperatures vary quite a bit here but it's been in the 40s and 50s for a while. I was going to try to push a tank past the limit - call its bluff so to speak. Glad I googled it first! Some friends and I had just been joking about how it would be kind of ironic to run out of gas in a Prius (sorry some of you had to do it - thanks for sharing what you learned). I've also found that my mileage is a bit lower in the winter when I'm running the heat. Still enjoying the car though! I almost have my boyfriend converted to a hybrid lover - which is huge since he doesn't even want power windows in his car...
Interesting discussion, one way to have a good idea as to how many miles are left in the current tank is:
1) When filling up, record the number of gallons put in the tank - this will be the minimum amount of gas that is in the tank.
2) Reset 1 of the trip mileage counters.
At any point you can take the average MPG that the computer displays (highly accurate) and multiply it by the number of gallons that you put in the tank. Whatever amount that the mileage traveled so far (stored in one of the trip mileage counters) is less that this calculation will be the number of miles you have left before possibly running out of fuel.
You don't really need to use a trip odometer, the mileage display in the center console display resets itself to 0 every time you fill up.
What you DO need to do, is hit the reset button to reset the average mileage to 0. so that you get an accurate mileage reading for THAT tank full of gas. The "miles driven" resets to 0 when you fill up. but the average MPG reading holds over from fill-up to fill-up until you reset it manually. Lets you get average mileage reading for longer trips with multiple tanks of gas.
I just sat here for an hour and read all the comments on this forum! I'm really glad I did because I had no idea about this gas tank problem. I had my heart set on getting a Prius for my next car, but now I'm not so sure. Seems like even though everyone here has the same problem, you are divided into 2 opposite camps: love the car or hate it! So now I don't know what to do. Does anyone here know if the Honda Civic Hybrid or any other hybrids have this problem also? I am new to hybrids, so I need all the advice I can get before I buy one! Help!
Can't help but laugh at all the people here who have been taken for a proverbial ride. So what if you can only get 6-7 gallons of gas in the tank. It lets you know when you need to fill up. The gas gauge shows the ratio of gas left in the car. Even at 300 miles per tank (what I get on 6 gallons), that is the same or more than many cars on the road. Don't listen to the lawyers at consumeraffairs, they are just out there to try and scare people into filing a class action lawsuit. This is a great, reliable car. My next car will be another Prius. Side note: it was just rated one of the most reliable family cars on the road by Car and Driver!
The gas gauge on the Prius is only a minor problem in an otherwise FUN little car to drive.
The REAL question is: Do you really want to put 20+ gallons in a SUV every week?
Or 4 gallons in a Prius.
I just purchased a used 2005 prius with 63,000 miles. I drove it a couple hours home from the dealership and the mpg gauge read that I was averaging 41-43 mpg. When I went to go fuel the car, it wouldn't accept any gas and when I finally got gas to go in (by not inserting the fuel nozel all the way in), it spit gas back at me. The day started out at -12 and ended at 12. I hit the reset button after only being able to fill the tank 1/2 way. The car then read that I was only averaging 35 mpg. Did I ourchase a lemon? Why is my mpg so low???
The MPG gauge registers the actual fuel flow thru the engine, second by second. And divides it by the miles driven on the odometer.
there are a WIDE number of factors that effect the second-by-second mileage. Not the least of which is terrain. You would be suprised how just a little slope will add or subtract from your mileage.
From Buffalo, NY to NY city is 400 miles, with a 600 foot change in elevation. Including a little tail wind from Buffalo, I always get better mileage going downhill and down wind, than on the return trip.
Mileage is also drastically affected by the length of the trips (longer the trip, more MPG) and the air temperature (both affect how long it takes the engine to warm up).
To get accurate mileage, use your weekly mileage readings, and always on round trips, not one-way trips.
Then you get to start working on your driving style to improve the mileage.
Check with Toyota on a possible recall on your 2005. there was a recall regarding defective tank filler necks that made it difficult to fill the tank.
I just filled up my 2009 Prius for the first time today and I quickly learned one thing about it - don't pay attention to the gas pump shutting off as an indicator as to having a full tank. I went to the station with 2 bars remaining on my gague (which, after reading this forum I probably won't let it get that low anymore) and began pumping gas. 41 cents later, the gas quit pumping. I began pumping gas again. 13 cents later, it shut off again. This happened again three or four times with far less than a gallon being pumped in each time before the gas pump shutting off. Finally I started pumping gas in at very slowly and was able to coax 9.3 gallons into my car. I was unsure about how large the gas tank was (and didn't want to go back out to my car to look it up because it was storming outside and I don't have a garage) I found this site saying that the approximate capacity is 11.9 gallons. Seeing that the fuel gauge obviously isn't accurate, I can't really know how many gallons were left in the tank when I began filling it up, but at the time 9.3 gallons seemed "about right."
I know that many people are against "topping off" the tank, but I wonder if the problem with not being able to get more than 6 or 7 gallons in when the fuel gauge says they're on empty is a combination of a contracting fuel bladder and the gas pump "thinking" that your car is already full when it's really not.
I have a 2008 Prius. I ran out of gas on I95 in northern N CArolina. Outside temperature was in the high 90s. The gas gauge dropped from 2 boxes to 1 box. The alarm sounded and 5 miles later I ran out. Luckily I was at an exit when this happened. Red triangle warning light came on as did the check engine. The pump shut off with only 9.634 gallons so I don't know where the other 2 plus gallons would be found if you believe that the tank holds 11.9 gallons.
I contacted Toyota headquarters and got the same answer from each individual I spoke with. The issue is with the type of fuel tank. the gauge is not that accurate. the local dealerhip just said that is the nature of a bladder inside the fuel tank. Toyota refuses to admit there is a problem, yet have changed the tank beginning in 2009.
Other than this issue, great car!
Just finished talking to Toyota about my 2007 Prius gas tank. For the first 2 years, I could often get 11 gallons in the tank. Starting last winter, the max I can get in is 8.3 gallons - on a hot day when I have driven greater than 100 miles and topped off the tank and let it get down to 1 flashing bar. I have had it to the dealer 2 times but they said everything is working fine - sensors etc. Just finished talking to Toyota company rep - and was told that it is "normal" and that "you don't have a problem". I guess they don't have a problem but I DO have a problem as I live in Montana - a cold state where I drive long distances and the gas stations close at night in rural areas. Although this is not a "problem", it has been fixed on the latest mode. I was told I could go to arbitration but would lose as it is "normal" and "you don't have a problem." Any thoughts?
Bottom line- There is nothing you can do, and there is nothing you can force Toyota to do.
A "small" fuel tank is NOT a safety hazard. So the government will do nothing.
All Prius owners live with the fact that the car only holds 8 gallons of fuel in the winter, and take comfort in the fact that those 8 gallons take them FURTHER than the SUV with the 25 gallon tank.
The only good news in this situation, is that Toyota has finally abandoned the bladder tank. The new 2010 Prius is equipped with a solid metal tank and vapor recovery system.
Something that may only interest me: I've noticed the first bar on my gauge is about 3 gallons. After I get below half a tank, each bar seems to be a gallon or less.
That's why Prius owners call it a "Guess Gauge", the fuel gauge is completely innacurate.
I think that the fuel gauge is just informative, sometimes a bit too "informative" :)
Is there a class action lawsuit on this issue? If so, can anyone provide details? Thanx.
I have a 2006 Prius and I have filled it up to 11.24 with gas to spare. I do know that i do not stop filling when the pump stops because it usually stops 2 to 3 gallons or more short of full. Know being in southern California, I don;t know how relevant this will be to those in colder climates but on average temperatures above 55 degrees, I haven't noticed an issue.
Whatever you do, don't let the gas light go to blinking. I had the unfortunate experience of running out of gas. By the time I pulled the car to a safe spot the battery was dead. Tow truck added gas but this did not help. Had to be towed to dealership. Cost of car rental, boosting battery, and initializing computer came close to $200 - an expensive lesson to learn. A completely different experience from running out of gas with a regular car. I complained to Toyota and all they said is we will record your concern. Check out the internet under "Prius out of gas" and there are lots of stories like mine. Although running out of gas is preventable, just like some accidents are, it is a legitimate safety concern (more so with the Prius than with a regular car) and Toyota better address it quickly or my next car will not be a Toyota.
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