First of all--is there any way to have the car tell you how many miles you have until you run out of gas? I have that feature on my acura (also with nav system) and we rely on it. The prius has all the same data, but for some reason, seems to keep that a secret unless I'm missing it.

Related question--we filled the tank and topped it off. Then, when the tank was near empty, the last block on the fuel guage started flashing. On previous tanks, we had been able to go at least 30 miles before refilling without any problem at all. But this time, it started flashing and my wife ran out of gas on the freeway less than 10 miles later!! Any similar experiences??

 

We almost had that experience yesterday. We decided to take a 3 hour (each way) trip to the mountains. On the trip back, I wanted to see how far I could go and figured we would have enough gas to make it back to Calgary. We almost did. We made it down to 2 bars (I think the gas light went on at 3 bars). As we pulled up to the gas station, it was at one bar (but not flashing). I am gald to hear that it flashes just before dying- at least you can prepare and get to the side of the road.

 

Ha! I totally ran out of gas like a week ago. The dealer said that the prius has a bladder type engine so the amount of gas that is in the reserve fluctuates so when it starts flashing, get gas. I used to have a civic and I had atleast 2 gallons when the light came on. I was literally on my way to the dealer when the big red triangle went off. I just laughed as I walked to the gas station...

 

Click and Clack have an elegant solution

1) Fill up a gas can with fuel when you are on 2 bars, note the mileage
2) Drive until you run out of gas
3) Note the mileage
4) Fill the car up with the gas can
5) OF course in cold weather steep hills rainy windy weather this could vary but this will give you a good estimate

 

It may be elegant for everyone who doesn't drive a Prius. Seems I keep reading here that it's bad to actually run OUT of gas in one...

 

With 2001 Prius 93k miles I have 'pulled the tiger's tail' several times but never exhausted fuel supplies on board. These cars are not the best in terms of helping us plan that last little bit of fuel. Not for nothing is it called 'the guess gauge'.

As for risks of running low, the internet groups often say that the electical fuel pump embedded in the Prius fuel tank is cooled by fuel when the tank is not empty. Speculation is that if the pump is not well-cooled, problems might arise. Problem is, that if your fuel pump fails, the entire fuel tank assembly needs replacing, and that would be costly.

Certainly it is interesting to see just how far you can go, and the big battery has gotten many people to a refueling point. But is this really the type of brinksmanship you want to explore?

DAS

 

Sorry to jump slightly OT for a moment; you mean there isn't a "Miles to Empty" Display on the Prius?

 

Yes, division OK, maybe not as easy as having the car guesstimate for you. I have tracked my mileage since day one and find the MFD to be about 2% generous (based on actual gallons in). Thus if I know I put in 10 gallons at last fill, I know I can easily make 10 times whatever the MFD has for mileage and still have plenty of buffer.

Do you have the MFD's MPG value and actual miles driven before the flash (or empty) and if you calculate that out, is it anywhere near the distance you should have gotten on 11.9 gallons?

Now, about the timing of the '1 block flashing' that you mentioned: 10 miles before actually hitting empty? That is amazingly short, I wonder if something needs to be checked. Mine starts flashing around 10 gallons used. The last time I 'pushed it' I was doing 67 MPH, the MFD said 49ish MPG on the tank and I had 60 miles to home when it started flashing. Based on the MFD's predictable history, and the fact that I knew I had started full, I kept going. About 11 gallons when I filled at home.

 

The correct answer is 66.5 miles. When the low fuel warning goes off, you can drive another 66.5 miles.

 

There are WAY too many variables to say there is a set value for a specific Prius let alone Prii in general.