Thanks to a thread on this page I may finally be able to put more that 8 gallons in my gas tank. 04 Prius owners that are seeing much less than 12 gallons of capacity between full and empty should complain to both their dealers and Toyota. There is a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) EL010-04 that I found out about only because of the thread on Greenbird. I will include it here if anyone want a copy. It replaces the combination meter cluster on some models and the fuel filter pipe on all applicable vehicles. Having this perfomed will allow for more accurate fuel readings and more fuel capacity. My dealer kept telling me it was the bladder in the tank that was effecting the capacity and I would have to live with it. Toyota has now calibrated them. Hope this helps!

 

Bob: Is this avail for the 05 as well? I have the same problem. It seems i cant get more than 9 gal of fuel in the thing no matter how empty it is. Also where is the link you were talking about? Thanks, Dean

 

Let's see if the image links correctly. If not email me at ag872@juno.com, and I'll send it to you.

 

Has anyone figured out how much gas each bar stands for on the gas gauge?

When I fill up it takes 12 gal. on my 04.. Where is this link?

 

The ampersand in the link got turned into & breaking the link. The following should work:

https://www.greenhybrid.com/share/mi...oadfile&i=1008

Edit: That being said, I did a little more looking into this since I've been only able to fill up to about 9.1-9.2 gallons in my '06 when it was blinking on the gauge. I found this link to a thread from '04 on the topic that was not very encouraging. I will grant that the fellow had a bad overall experience, but if you pore through the fob issues he had and focus on the TSB work done for him and for the other fellows posting there, you'll find that the results were disappointing for them all.

http://priuschat.com/forums/1-vt4427...r=asc&&start=0

 

No; all 05 model year production uses the filler pipe which is applied to 04s affected by the TSB and new fuel sensing logic is already present in the 05 production. I consistantly am able to put in 8 or 9 gallons from 1 or 2 pips, sometimes less, sometimes more. I have never concerned myself with the listed capacity of the tank because the fuel gauge is good enough to let you know when it is smart to refill (2 pips).

 

The fuel gauge is nonlinear, as such there is no specific quantity of fuel associated with each pip. The unusual shape of fuel tanks does not lead many fuel gauges to be linear or significantly predictable.

 

average fill after cutoff = 0.697 gallons.

avg to cutoff: 9.285
avg to fill: 9.983
delta=0.697

non-trip average mpg: 41.56
avg mpg, including 11,600 miles of towing a trailer coast-to-coast 3 times: 36.96

["trip miles" were towing a trailer for about 11,600 of the total 18,700+ miles: coast to coast three times. see www.plusaf.com for more of the story.]

+af

 

Ok I have since checked / compaired the gas gauge to fill ups.
I fill up at one bar and the tank takes 11gal.
However if I run it to 30 miles after the bar starts flashing
it takes 12 gal to fill.....


P.S. I am averaging 512 miles per tank; 60% hwy & 40% city driving..

 

On my 2004, I always add 1.2 gallons after the pump autostop. I usually go about 50 miles after the blinking starts and the total fill is usually 10.5 gallons in the summer and 9.5 in the winter. I have never had any of the recalls done on mine. Everything works just fine and I would rather not have a service tech screw anything up.