New Prius owner for about a week and I can't get enough of this car! However, I filled up on Sunday and since then I have driven 307 miles, averaging 53.3 MPGs on this tank. My commute is about 40 miles one way and usually takes me about an hour and 15 mins...I'd say for about 45 mins of that, I'm stuck in traffic (it's LA). My tank read full when I was driving to work yesterday morning, dropped one bar just before I got to work. Since then my bars have dropped considerably...when I got home this evening, I was one bar BELOW a half tank. Temps have been around 75-80 in the mornings, 82-86 in the evenings. Is this normal? I know there's threads on here talking about the "guess" gauge, but I figured I'd give my experience and get some reassurance. And can someone, in the simplest terms, explain to me the "bladder" and how that affects the gauge? At any rate...love the car!
Kinda think of a balloon in a bottle and you have an idea of the bladder. The bladder is stiff when new and also when cold. As a result you may think you've filled the tank (as you can't put in any more), but it isn't completely full. For example, you really need 9 gallons, but only can put in 7. You think you're getting superb mileage and then you run out. It's very common for the gauge to hang on the first pip for 100+ miles and then drop very quickly. Just the nature of the beast.
I've seen people report that their guess gauge would stay on the first pip for 150ish miles, then drop a pip every 50 miles there after, or something similar. At any rate, you can be sure the first pip won't be indicative of all the remaining!
Great car -- horrible fuel quantity measurement system. I filled up and drove from Pensacola to New Orleans, a 200 mile trip, almost exactly. My home is in FL, but I work in NOLA, so I make the trip, one way or the other, about 2x per week. Anyway, the first time I did it, I saw a complete full indication all the way to the outskirts of New Orleans. Only after driving 195 miles along I-10 did the first pip go out. 4.5 gal of gas were gone, more than 1/3 of the tank, and the gauge was still at full. Hmmmmmmmmmm.
