Gas Bladder Issue (Probably)

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by thelonelypuppet, Aug 9, 2020.

  1. thelonelypuppet

    thelonelypuppet Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2018
    23
    2
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    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    No electrical issues recently, thankfully.

    Gen 2, 2008 Prius, 120k miles.

    Recently the car is only taking about 3 gallons when completely empty. I live in the South with a lot of heat, so it's obviously not due to colder temperatures.

    I had noticed over the span of several years that the car had been taking slightly less gas... I chalked it up to age, but then it suddenly went to only being able to take 3 or 5 gallons out of nowhere.

    I've tried what I can think of: pumping more slowly, pumping at a different angle, leaving the gas cap off for a minute or so to let the system vent, etc.

    Today, it only pumped to 3.5 gallons, but I forced it up to 5 gallons. It didn't spurt any gas back out, so that's good.

    Any other tips and tricks to try? Is it worth bringing the car up to get serviced? I understand this is a somewhat common issue, but it's super annoying.

    Thanks.
     
    #1 thelonelypuppet, Aug 9, 2020
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    25,974
    16,951
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    While pump nozzles were built to detect when to shut off while pumping into old dumb tanks, the Prius Onboard Refueling Vapor Recovery system has more complicated valving to interact with the nozzle and can influence when it shuts off.

    We had one other Gen 2 owner very recently (just this June) solve that problem by replacing one of the ORVR-involved valves on the filler neck. Here's the post about her successful resolution.

    For more information on how the successful outcome was arrived at, you can follow from earlier in her thread. Part of the key was realizing the bladder isn't the only interesting thing about the Prius fuel system, and it is possible for things to actually malfunction, i.e. have a fixable problem, rather than just being stuff to put up with.

    [​IMG]
     
    #2 ChapmanF, Aug 9, 2020
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