Why do I enter these discussions??

Prius' sealed fuel system is 'supposed' to prevent water condensation issues. We have no evidence to suppose that it does not.

If you refuel 'near the bottom', you will, over time, make less visits to gas stations, and expose yourself to less (possibly carcinogenic because of benzene) fuel vapors.

If you run it nearly dry, you might expose the (in-tank) fuel pump to overheating, and perhaps shorten its life. If you really run out of fuel, proceeding can put the HV battery in an undesireable condition of discharge.

If you have any reason to suspect that a good load of fuel might soon be required to swift you out of trouble (winter storms, Atlantic hurricanes, California earthquakes, etc.), then keep yourself in the upper half of the fuel gauge.

In my 2001 Prius, I have passed the low-fuel ding by 50 miles, without fuel exhaustion. Yours may behave differently. Hard to say.

The efficiency and versatility of Prius gives us many choices on how to 'manage' the thing. Make rational choices, says I. Discuss them endlessly here, if that is your way.

DAS

 

Because our conversations are scintilatng. . .


Yep somewhere between #2 tick and the flashing "Your last chance"

 

I have taken it down to a flashing pip before and then filled up shortly thereafter... the car only took 9.5 gallons. After reading other posts here and on PriusChat.com I would say that you could ride an extra 20 miles on a flashing pip without a doubt. After that I think I might start getting nervous.

 

HI all -

My last digit started to flash as I was pulling into refuel and it took 10.4 gal. BTW, the screen beeped, and displayed something like - ADD FUEL!

 

Hey - What happens when you run out, anyway? Can you drive to the station on battery?

 

I have a 2002 Prius. The answer of how far on gas light is that it depends. One time I had it blinking no fuel and could only put 7 gallons in. Must have been extra pressure in the tank or something.

I did go bingo fuel on one trip. The fuel light started blinking and I knew I was only 17 miles from my destination. I have about a gallon and a half and get in the 40's right? So that should be plenty. I think it would have been, but the route has two large hills (you Easterners would probably call them mountains) and that burns fuel faster than flat ground. About two miles from my destination, right at the crest of the last hill, the gas engine conked, the panel went all "master alarm" and major beeping, and I basically coasted to a stop. It was very embarrassing to have to call family for gas in my fancy fuel-efficient car.

In general, if going highway speeds, I fill up at 1/4 tank. If puttering around town, I will let it blink and fuel up on my way home for the evening.

 

I think it depends on your anxiety level. When I fill up on the second pip, it's usually around 9.3 g or so. In the city I might push it.

On the hiways, I'm not taking any chances.

 

I ran out the other day a mile from home. The warning lights lit up like a Christmas tree - you'd have thought the engine blew up or something. There was at least five warning lights on, most of which seemed to have nothing to do with fuel.

Because there was no adverse sounds or smells, and because I suspected what the problem was, I drove the remaining mile or so on battery.

The battery got down to 20% or 30% charge, but was still in the blue area.

I put in a gallon of gas I had had home, and it started up with no problem. For some reason I had to start it up a time or two before all the lights went off.

Since then, everything has been fine. And I am more cautious about running near empty - my new rule is to fill up within 50 miles of encountering the blinking last blip.

 

I let it run down to the blinking pip almost every time. Most of the time I've driven 25+ miles while blinking. I've never run out of gas yet. But I guess maybe someday I will. Play with fire long enough and eventually you'll get burned, right?

 

Best case for me: 50+ miles on blinking square, and it didn't run out of gas.

Worst case: yesterday, 30 miles, ran out. (544 mile tank - personal record). Drove to within 50 feet of the gas station on battery, then ran out of electric charge! After a minute of cursing (my own stupidity), I restarted, and the gasoline engine found a little more gas in there, so it fired up, and got me into the station. I filled up with 11.4 gallons.

Hope I didn't hurt anything. When the battery got to a single bar, it no longer let me shift to drive (not enough charge to move the car, I guess). Interesting, but I hope to never see that one again.