This topic has been widely discussed on the Yahoo 04 Prius group.

The issue, is apparently, that the fuel tank holds significantly less fuel than advertised. (I only get up to 8.5 gallons in mine.) This is caused by the new bladder in the 04 Prius, for reducing fuel vapors.

I was at the dealer's New Owner Event and discussed this with the Prius Tech. He said that this is a know issue at Toyota Corporate. It happens because Toyota designed the tank/bladder in Southern Cal and didn't take the cold climates into account. They're "working on it".

Guess we'll see if summer weather changes anything. (I live in Portland, OR.) :unsure:


Peter

I hope that's true.

I live in Los Angeles and since I bought the car and I refill when the light blinks at the last bar - I've never got more than 6.8 gallons in, and it was 70 degrees.

My mileage is decent - about 42-46 and my commute is only 4 miles each way, so I know that's why it's so low.

Hmmm, interesting Cybele.

I think I have noticed a gradual increase in fuel tank capacity, but not sure whether that's a function of time or temperature. It was rather cold in Portland in early January, about the time I started driving the car. Of course the vehicle had 2400 miles on it when I bought it from the dealer (used to be the District Manager's car).

Keep us posted on how your capacity fares. You are, after all, the target group for the design.


Peter

I live in So. Cal as well. I can only pump 7.5 gallons into my car on average. I think those of us in the the warmer climates are having the same issues as those in the colder ones. I am considering going to the dealer as soon as my gauge starts blinking and have them drain the remaining gas out of my car to measure how much is left. I would then be curious as to how much we would be able to pump in at that point. I think it's the only way to know for sure how much my tank will hold. I am starting to wonder if all the cars are the same. Someone posted recently that his gauge did not even get to the blinking stage at 400 miles and his readout stated that he was getting 40 mpg. This person then pumped 10 gallons into his tank. I get 47 mpg and my gauge starts to blink at 370 miles and I can only pump 7.5 gallons in. That is a huge difference.

Right. I find myself hesistant to trust it. My pump shuts off at around 7 gallons (if it's thirsty) and I close my eyes, hold my breath, and shoot another 2 gallons down the tube. Lucky I haven't spilled yet...

I've only made two fills since purchasing the car. The first occurred after 407 miles (5 miles after the flashing bar) and took 7.93 gal. I used slow auto-fill on the pump handle and did not add more fuel after it shut off.

The second fill was after 435 miles (45 miles after the flash) and eventually took 10.5 gal. The pump shut off after 8.6 gal., but I tried to add more. I didn't realize how fast it was filling and shut it off when I saw a bit of fuel bubling to the top of the filler tube. Unfortunately, a very little fuel did subsequently leak out onto the side of the car.

In the future, I may add a gallon (if the tank will take it) after auto shut-off. But I won't be risking fuel spills or even gas vapors. I bought this car as much for a clean air statement as for gas mileage.

jw - Tideland Pearl/Colorado

Odd. That's the second car I've heard of that actually takes 10+ gallons. I wonder if Toyota made a change to the car in the last few months...

Yes, it would be very interesting to know if a change was made. I picked up my car on Feb. 3, and it has a build month of 12/03. I'll be very interested to see how many miles I get to the flashing bar on this tank and how much it will hold.

By the way, it says you don't have a hybrid in your profile :)

Thanks Jason. I amended the profile.