So my Prius is a 2005 and it freezes after filling it up. The code usually works to reset it; sometimes it works right away and sometimes it doesn’t work until the next day. It seems to be a problem in cold weather only. However, today wasn’t even that cold and it still had this problem. My question is what can I replace or modify to fix this issue? I’m aware that the bladder is a balloon like design but is there a way to fix this issue?
Your post is extremely vague. What do you mean by "gas gauge freezing"? What code works? The answer to your last question is not much unless you want to drop the entire fuel tank assembly and replace it with a new one. But again I don't really understand what "this issue" is so can't really say what it would take to fix it.
So to be clear; let’s say I’m down 3 pips. I go to the gas station and fill up which is roughly $10 to fill up. I expect my gas tank to be full but it stays frozen at 3 pips missing. Once I put in the code; it resets to the proper amount of gas in the tank but I don’t want to keep putting it in as it’s an annoyance. I’m just wondering what I have to do to fix this problem. P.S: Most 2nd Gen Prius owners know about this issue and there is a code to recalibrate the gas gauge when it freezes over. You just push a few buttons on the dashboard to reset it; you can look it up on youtube.
A gen 2 Prius does not recognize less than 3 gallons as a change in fuel level. I think gen 3 is 2 gallons.
The only such procedure I know about is the one for setting the 'centered' value of the inclination sensors that are used to adjust the fuel level reading for the tilt of the car. It involves making sure you have first parked in a place as close as possible to perfectly level, and then using the ODO/TRIP button as specified while powering the car on. The gauge will look at the current inclination readings and remember those readings as what 'no tilt' looks like. It's clearly covered in the repair manual, in the "meter / gauge system" section under "on-vehicle inspection". There's another procedure involving the ODO/TRIP button and all it does is turn off the MAINT REQD light for another 5000 miles. How either one of those might end up with some youtuber calling it some general-purpose reset for whatever ails ye is kind of anybody's guess, but that's not so unusual for information you find on youtube about the Prius. The typical way to make a Prius youtube video seems to be to hear third-hand about some procedure without understanding what it's for, try it without knowing what it does, see something happen without knowing why, post a made-up explanation on youtube, and enjoy all the clicks. When you come and post a question on PriusChat, you have a chance of getting your question seen and responded to by some people who have quite extensive knowledge of the Prius. If you get a response to your question from one of those people, asking you for more information about what you did, snarking about how they can look up the same bogus information you found on youtube might not always be the best play. Better to just provide the information asked for. If you describe the actual steps you followed, then the person helping you will know what actual procedure you invoked and what it's actually for, and that makes it easier to help you.
Well I guess that not EVERYBODY runs their tank down to the fumes. So to be clear......down 3 pips on the gauge and only paying $10 means a bit less than 3 gallons.......and the tank is still about 2/3 FULL. Given what Jimbo said, YOU are creating your own problem by filling up so soon. Just stop doing that. Easy.
If this is the fix; I’m astonished right now but why does my Gen 2 only do this in the winter? This doesn’t seem to be an issue when I fill up the missing 2 or 3 pips in the summer.
Why do you add gas to a more or less full tank? I'm not trying to be funny. I just want to understand why you're doing it.
Are you yanking us? You may be the first person I've ever EVER heard of that refills the fuel tank when "2 or 3" pips down. You're refilling a tank that is basically 3/4 full? The gauge isn't freezing, it just doesn't believe what is happening.
Because I’m in the winter season. I always have my cars full of gas during the colder months in case of an emergency. Like this year for example, my car died in a snowstorm. It turned out that my ECM died. So would I want car problems along with a car with little to no gas in the winter? No way…
I strongly encourage you to get gas in a North American gen 2 Prius when you get to two pips. The NA gen 2 Prius has a flexible bladder inside the steel tank to reduce evaporative emissioms. In hot weather, it may be 3 gallons larger than below freezing. Because it is less flexible when cold, it may fold badly when cold trapping fuel you thought you could drive on. My old gen 2 could occasionally run out of gas only 7 miles after the last pip started blinking,while normally I could drive another 30 miles. So if you never want to walk back and forth from the station to your stranded Prius to put in 3 gallons before you try to start it, be looking for gas with two pips. (In summer, the flex is often so much you drive 120 miles on the first pip, and put in 9 gallons. In winter 40 miles before you lose the first pip, and only put 6 in on a fill up. It is less flexible when cold)
I wait til one blip to fill up. What's the point of visiting the filling station every other day when you can do it every two weeks? Did having a full tank of gas help the issue with the dead car?
I start thinking about it when half empty. And get serious about it when there is a quarter of a tank left.
I think it is mostly OCD. In what kind of "emergency" would it be an advantage to have a full tank of gas ? Stranded in a blizzard in the mountains is about the only thing that comes to mind. And that can be very effectively prevented by NOT going out in a blizzard to start with.
