Fuel Goes From Low to Empty in 20 Minutes

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by agrapes, Aug 11, 2014.

  1. agrapes

    agrapes New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2014
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    Berryville, VA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    II
    My 2006 Prius has 165,000 miles. I haven't had any major issues but twice in the last 2 weeks, I've had my fuel gage go from low (2-3 bars), to one bar, to having the "add fuel" message in less than a half hour. The second time I actually did run out of gas so it's not just that the gage is faulty. When I ran out of gas, my battery also appeared on it's last bar. After putting gas in it, the car ran fine and the battery perked up. The only recent maintenance was break pad and disk replacements but I've not noticed any drag or difficulty braking. Any ideas?
     
    #1 agrapes, Aug 11, 2014
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,200
    6,490
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    My idea is that you should purchase fuel when you see two bars on the fuel gauge unless you enjoy 1) running out of gas and 2) having to buy a new traction battery sooner than you otherwise might.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Aug 11, 2014
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2014
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  3. Easy Rider 2

    Easy Rider 2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 5, 2014
    1,584
    258
    0
    Location:
    Ocala, FL
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    After 8 years and 165,000 miles, things wear out; gas gauge mechanisms included.
    Nothing you said sounds like anything BUT a faulty gauge.

    I'm with Patrick on just filling up sooner; problem solved.

    You can also reset a trip odometer at each fill and do the next fill based on mileage.
     
    #3 Easy Rider 2, Aug 11, 2014
  4. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2009
    17,558
    10,332
    90
    Location:
    Western Washington
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    That sounds well within the normal range of behavior of the GenII's fuel bladder. So follow Patrick's advice.
     
    #4 fuzzy1, Aug 11, 2014
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,586
    50,815
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    something must have changed if you have owned it since new and it's changing.
     
    #5 bisco, Aug 11, 2014
  6. taylor_priusII

    taylor_priusII New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2014
    17
    5
    0
    Location:
    Morton, IL
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Recalibrate the fuel gauge
     
    #6 taylor_priusII, Aug 11, 2014
  7. Easy Rider 2

    Easy Rider 2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 5, 2014
    1,584
    258
    0
    Location:
    Ocala, FL
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    It's all electronic.
    That's going to be pretty tough.
    Unless maybe you know something that the rest of us don't.
     
    #7 Easy Rider 2, Aug 12, 2014
  8. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2010
    5,194
    1,917
    0
    Location:
    Herefordshire England
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    #8 Britprius, Aug 12, 2014
  9. RobertK

    RobertK Member

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2007
    128
    40
    0
    Location:
    Norfolk, VA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I found this calibration procedure searching PriusChat:

    Calibration might not solve the problem, but the procedure is free and easy to complete.
     
    #9 RobertK, Aug 12, 2014
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)