Gas gauge ?

[Palmer812]

Roughly how much gas is left when it drops to 2 bars? I have had my new car 26 days now and it just dropped to two bars but it only has about 215 miles on it. thanks

[WeeYari]

Not exactly sure at 2 bars, but when the last one starts to flash you will have approx 1.6 gallons left. I'd say maybe you got close to 3 gallons in her now. Best answer, go fillup now and see how much she takes.

[Palmer812]

I was wanting to wait as long as possible before filling up. I wanted to wait as long as possible before filling up. I figured my calculations would be more accurate the more miles I wait. That may not be right but it made sense in my mind. I only drive 4 miles each way to work 5 days a week and not much more than that on my days off. The roads I travel on are 35 and 45 mph so no highway. I never pull out in front of anyone. I wait until it is clear and accelerate slow and steady. I have never downshifted or passed anyone. I coast at stop lights and stop signs. Basically I am trying to get the most mpg out of my first tank but it seems I may not even break 30 mpg. Still beats the hell out of the 17 mpg my Ford Ranger was getting but I expected more. Also the dealer filled it up for me so I don't know how full it was but the sales guy said he let it click off then rounded up to the next dollar. p.s. I am not in 3rd. gear :smile: opinions?

[WeeYari]

Too much of your driving is short distance! Engine is never really up to optimal temperature for any great length of time. You are also in the break-in period. Everyone experience improvements in FE further into ownership.

[Palmer812]

I filled her up for the first time today since buying it 31 days ago. I don't know how full the dealer got it but I put it on slow and stopped it at the first click off. 26.5 mpg. I am kind of disappointed because I have been babying it and have only had the ac on once but I only drive 4 miles at a time. Mabye it will get better.

[sickpuppy1]

It will get better. And make sure your tires are at the mfg rating or even a little higher, but with short little burst driving like that, it will never get the 35 or so mpg you may want. It is EPA rated at 29 city/36 highway. And to be honest, that city rating is probably not much stop and go. I am getting around 36 to 38 with my 2010 sedan but it is about 90% highway.And I keep hitting the 75+ side too often when I get out of "town", so I know I can hit 40 if I stay where it should be. I am playing with air pressure a little bit after reading some of the hyper miler stuff. a couple of tanks at 32 recommended and then at 40psi. Tires are rated at 44 max so still safe, just worry about tire wearing in the middle. Noticeably better ride at 32 for sure,lol. I have under 2000 miles on mine yet. Dont expect best mileage until 10K miles, which in your case should be in about 2035,lol

[sickpuppy1]

It is like my Civic was too. Better mileage with one brand of gas versus another. I used to test that with the Civic, three tank fulls in a row back and forth to work (26 miles each way). With 7-11 gas I got avg 32-33 mpg, with Quick Trip gas, 34-36 and with Phillps66 it would do 36-38. I even went back to 7-11 several months later with same results. Needless to say I never went back. This car seems to like the QT gas better! I've heard Shell may be better yet, but due to the fact I live in Kansas and work in Missouri, and gas is about 6 cents a gallon cheaper in Mo (no Shell in Mo) I havent tried it yet. Throw that into the mix too,lol

[daf62757]

I have found that the fuel gauge is very unreliable for checking mileage left or mileage gone. This is an economy car....and they cut every corner to build it. That said, it is still dependable and gets very good performance for a car of its class.

[TLyttle]

Seconded. Worse, the fuel gauges on the Yaris is only marginally reliable; depending on it is folly. We are awaiting the second replacement sender for our sedan. Want to gamble on being left at the side of the road? Use that ol' fuel gauge...

[b_hickman11]

I have found that the fuel gauge is very unreliable for checking mileage left or mileage gone. This is an economy car....and they cut every corner to build it. That said, it is still dependable and gets very good performance for a car of its class.

Wouldn't you check mileage with something that measures miles? Like....your odometer?

[EasyDriver]

I had just one bar flashing recently....when I filled up it I had .86 gallons left. I thought it would have more.

[b_hickman11]

I had just one bar flashing recently....when I filled up it I had .86 gallons left. I thought it would have more.

I believe your owners manual tells you how much gas is left when you have the last bar flashing. Was it flashing slow or fast?

[sickpuppy1]

That last bar is the same thing as the low fuel light coming on in a "normal" guage. So the second to lat bar is when to fill up in my opinion.I dont like the guage, wishit had a "normal one.........

[YarisOwnersDad]

I just look at the accumulated miles on my trip odometer since the last fill-up (I always reset the trip odometer to zero when I fill-up the tank.), and this gives me a real good idea about the amount of gas left in the tank.

I know I have an 11 gallon tank, and I know what I should be getting for MPG. Based on these factors, and using a conservative number for MPG, it is easy to calculate a realistic range for one tank of gas. When I get near that number of miles, I know it is time to fill-up.

I don't enjoy trying to get every possible mile out of a tank of gas before filling-up. I don't see the purpose in that.

Tom

[Hard_Yaris]

I know that 2 bars is about 150-180km
and that when the last bar is flashing i can go up to 75km.

I was about 99.8% empty when i went about 75km from the start of the last bar flashing.

[b_hickman11]

I just look at the accumulated miles on my trip odometer since the last fill-up (I always reset the trip odometer to zero when I fill-up the tank.), and this gives me a real good idea about the amount of gas left in the tank.

I know I have an 11 gallon tank, and I know what I should be getting for MPG. Based on these factors, and using a conservative number for MPG, it is easy to calculate a realistic range for one tank of gas. When I get near that number of miles, I know it is time to fill-up.

I don't enjoy trying to get every possible mile out of a tank of gas before filling-up. I don't see the purpose in that.

Tom

So you are getting your mpg by dividing your miles from your trip od. by 11?

[YarisOwnersDad]

So you are getting your mpg by dividing your miles from your trip od. by 11?

No, I wasn't talking about figuring MPG. I was talking about estimating how much fuel is left in the tank rather than depending entirely on the gas gauge.

Just for the purpose of demonstration, let's say I get 37 MPG on my Yaris, but to be sure I don't run out of gas, I use 35 MPG for calculating purposes. Also, I assume that I only have ten gallons of gas available to use after a fill-up instead of 11 gallons. This is another way to be conservative in determining how many more miles I can drive before filling up.

OK, 10 gallons of gas times 35 miles per gallon means that I should safely be able to drive 350 miles before filling up again. I reset the trip odometer to 0 at the time I fill up the car, and when I see that I am getting close to 350 miles, I fill up again. In reality I could go further than that, but I am not one to push the limits. I see no point in trying to drain the tank down to fumes before filling up again. I don't want to run out of gas somewhere.

As far as figuring MPG, the only way that I know of to do that is to divide the number of miles driven since the last fill-up by the number of gallons required to fill the tank on the current fill-up. That's what MPG is by definition.

Tom

[b_hickman11]

No, I wasn't talking about figuring MPG. I was talking about estimating how much fuel is left in the tank rather than depending entirely on the gas gauge.

Just for the purpose of demonstration, let's say I get 37 MPG on my Yaris, but to be sure I don't run out of gas, I use 35 MPG for calculating purposes. Also, I assume that I only have ten gallons of gas available to use after a fill-up instead of 11 gallons. This is another way to be conservative in determining how many more miles I can drive before filling up.

OK, 10 gallons of gas times 35 miles per gallon means that I should safely be able to drive 350 miles before filling up again. I reset the trip odometer to 0 at the time I fill up the car, and when I see that I am getting close to 350 miles, I fill up again. In reality I could go further than that, but I am not one to push the limits. I see no point in trying to drain the tank down to fumes before filling up again. I don't want to run out of gas somewhere.

As far as figuring MPG, the only way that I know of to do that is to divide the number of miles driven since the last fill-up by the number of gallons required to fill the tank on the current fill-up. That's what MPG is by definition.

Tom

Sounds like a lot of stressing for nothing. When it gets to 2 bars left, fill up. It's that simple. Plus if you constantly run it low, your fuel pump will go out.

[YarisOwnersDad]

Sounds like a lot of stressing for nothing. When it gets to 2 bars left, fill up. It's that simple. Plus if you constantly run it low, your fuel pump will go out.

Well, that's what I said earlier. I don't see the point in running the tank down to fumes.

The only reason I use the method I described is just as a means of knowing approximately how many more miles I can go before filling up. By no means do I use it to try to get the last drop of gas used before filling up. I think it is silly to do that.

I fill up on the way in to work at a gas station near my workplace. I might use that range estimation method to decide if I should fill up today or if I can get home and back to work tomorrow. If I think it is going to be too close, I will fill up today and not take the chance.

Tom

P.S.

I have kept track of every gallon of gas that I have put in my Yaris since I bought it one year ago. The average number of gallons that I have bought per fill-up is 7.822, and the most it ever took to fill it was 9.50 gallons, so I am not trying to run the tank too low.

[TLyttle]

One more time: here I am, 390kms on the clock, 2 bars missing off the gauge. Nice piece of (worthless) equipment, that gas gauge...

[Canuck]

One more time: here I am, 390kms on the clock, 2 bars missing off the gauge. Nice piece of (worthless) equipment, that gas gauge...

And you'll see that it will start to go down faster from this point. Like any other gauges, it's not quite linear, the top end goes slower than the bottom.

Like it's been said before, when you reach 2-3 bars left, fill up.

[sbergman27]

One more time: here I am, 390kms on the clock, 2 bars missing off the gauge. Nice piece of (worthless) equipment, that gas gauge...
Gas gauges have always been nearly worthless. Not completely worthless. People would never have stood for that all these years. Just as cheap, unreliable, and worthless as people would tolerate at the time of the vehicles' sale.

I've watched economy cars evolve from the most basic of conveyances into the grand carriages which we expect to inhabit the bottom rung today. If buyers of the bottom rung of cars begin to demand an accurate gauge, then the bottom rung will likely get accurate gauges.

We're actually doing somewhat better than the Prius-Owning folk. They had to put up with a gasoline bladder for years, and were only granted a real gas "tank" for the 2010 model year. That wreaked a particular havoc upon their gas gauge accuracy.

-Steve

[YarisOwnersDad]

One major complaint I have with ALL gas gauges is that when they read half a tank, how are we supposed to know if the tank is half empty or half full? :iono:

:laughabove:

[nemelek]

Roughly how much gas is left when it drops to 2 bars? I have had my new car 26 days now and it just dropped to two bars but it only has about 215 miles on it. thanks

My first tank was not a good indication of the milage. The first bar dropped in the first 5 miles. I usually drive 250 miles after the first bar drops.

[TLyttle]

I'm not exactly a neophyte when it comes to fuel gauges. This one is duff: after nearly 3 years, this gauge is completely unreliable, sticking sometimes, working fine other times.

The gauge I had on a Brit car was sensitive enough that it would jiggle just below full after 50 miles, and jump off empty when the last half-gallon sloshed across the bottom of the tank; amazingly, I got used to that kind of accuracy. That was old technology; now it has been replaced by this crap...

[Hershey]

+1 S.B.27 . The '07 PRIUS we had drove me nuts during fill ups . Took forever to fill during winter and summer since the bladder would get stiff ( shrinkage :wink: ) from the cold and the summer fills were difficult from the fumes kept in the bladder making the nozzle click off constantly . Also , on a few occasions the gas came gushing / spurting out thanks to unpredictable bladder :biggrin: . So , accurate fills were nearly impossible :rolleyes: .

[bkrownd]

My '87 Corolla gas gauge is pretty consistent - wonder what's up with the newer ones?

[Lucas13]

I' don't dislike how it looks but how it works is other thing, you have to get use to it the first bar normally I get 60 to 70 miles to the second one 110 or a little bit more, each bar will disappear almost at the same speed until half tank, then each bar goes faster.

I use to have a Scion Tc and the same thing after half tank the needle will drop faster, maybe Toyota’s have that tendency, Previous to my Yaris I use to drive a 350Z and I remember the gas gage will normally go down accordingly of course it wasn’t perfect like it should be.

The best way to be safe is resetting your Trip

[DevilGirl]

I use to have a Scion Tc and the same thing after half tank the needle will drop faster, maybe Toyota’s have that tendency

Nope. Not just Toyota. I've seen this on the Fords, Mitsubishis, Chevys, Jeeps, and Dodges that I've driven. It has a lot to do with the shape of the tank. It is a bit deceiving. You would think that half a tank would actually be half a tank. But not completely.

I dislike the "bar" gas gauge. I would rather the old style needle gauge for the fuel. I don't watch my gas gauge the entire time I'm driving, since I'm trying to watch the road. At least then I'd know approximately where I was at. This one, I never see exactly when my gauge starts blinking. Whereas with the needle, I'd have a better idea of where it's at.

[bkrownd]

I' don't dislike how it looks but how it works is other thing, you have to get use to it the first bar normally I get 60 to 70 miles to the second one 110 or a little bit more, each bar will disappear almost at the same speed until half tank, then each bar goes faster.

I don't know if I've seen a truly linear gas gauge. They're all some wacky function of how much gas is left. It doesn't really matter though as long as they're consistent. The traditional analog gauge is certainly much superior to the electronics-inspired bar thing, but as long as there's a tachometer I can let it slide.

[127.0.0.1]

I will say this again


the gauge is damn accurate. but only Once it starts to move.

at 4 bars you have exactly 1/2 tank left, and have already driven 1/2 the distance
the full tank will give you at whatever average mileage you are doing.

at 1 bar blink you have exactly 1.6 gallons left.

compared with scangauge, the gauge is very accurate but only when it starts to move.
the first bar takes a while to move due to float drowning

[Yaris Hilton]

Plus, tank topping provides a variable amount of gas above the full point on the gauge.

[sbergman27]

Plus if you constantly run it low, your fuel pump will go out.
Slightly off topic. But if this is really true, is there some reason that a modern fuel pump cannot be designed to deal with this common enough situation without failing? You know. Like the fuel pumps in my family's 1956 Cadillac and 1964 Buick did? Like the fuel pumps in my 1968 Cadillacs do? Like my 1970 Ford Maverick? Like my 1988 Chevy Sprint? Why should the fuel pump in my new Toyota blow up if I happen to run out of fuel? Think about that. Do our cars really have such a poor fuel pump design? Or is this just hearsay? Either way, the blame needs to be apportioned properly.

-Steve

[sbergman27]

Plus, tank topping provides a variable amount of gas above the full point on the gauge.

About 1.2 gallons. Takes the tank range from about 450 miles to 500+ miles. But, traditionally speaking, nobody cares about the accuracy of the gas gauge above 'F'. Interest *begins* at 'F' and steadily increases as the needle approaches and descends past 'E'.

-Steve

[sbergman27]

Took forever to fill during winter and summer since the bladder would get stiff ( shrinkage :wink: ) from the cold and the summer fills were difficult from the fumes kept in the bladder making the nozzle click off constantly . Also , on a few occasions the gas came gushing / spurting out thanks to unpredictable bladder :biggrin: . So , accurate fills were nearly impossible :rolleyes: .
Which is the best argument I've ever seen *against* the idea of racial memory. One might have expected 3.5 billion years of evolution to have warned us against that particular engineering pitfall.

-Steve

[Hershey]

don't top off our cars anymore . Thanks to damage it can cause to the evaporator system . Here's a reason not to , www.mpt.org/motorweek/goss/2930.shtml .

[sbergman27]

don't top off our cars anymore . Thanks to damage it can cause to the evaporator system . Here's a reason not to , www.mpt.org/motorweek/goss/2930.shtml .
But the charcoal canister is safe under the hood of my 1988 Sprint. There is no reason that a charcoal cannister should be vulnerable to topping the tank off... other than bad design. Why can't the canister be mounted above the top of the tank so that liquid overflow is not a problem? Why does the Yaris have such crappy, fragile, and poorly positioned fuel system components? Or is this, perhaps, just hearsay, too?

-Steve

[127.0.0.1]

But the charcoal canister is safe under the hood of my 1988 Sprint. There is no reason that a charcoal cannister should be vulnerable to topping the tank off... other than bad design. Why can't the canister be mounted above the top of the tank so that liquid overflow is not a problem? Why does the Yaris have such crappy, fragile, and poorly positioned fuel system components? Or is this, perhaps, just hearsay, too?

-Steve


it is hearsay. most vehicles have the same issue. fuel system components are
tightly designed and WELL THOUGHT OUT by very smart engineers so it
won't catch fire in an accident, yet still do it's job.

half the comments on this forum assume no thought went into each and every piece of the car, but the fact is: millions were spent on very careful analysis of everything, bumper-to-bumper. you want it different ? buy a different car, case closed.

[sbergman27]

...but the fact is: millions were spent on very careful analysis of everything, bumper-to-bumper...
Even more importantly, we build upon previous experience. We've been building cars since the late 19th century. To be sure, requirements change. But the EVAP system was introduced on GM cars, which are what I happen to be most familiar with in that period, in about 1971. The industry has had 40 years of watching their own and others' designs to get the basics of that system right. There is no legitimate reason for current EVAP systems to be so vulnerable as some claim.

-Steve

[BailOut]

The problem is that even if you don't damage the EVAP system by overfilling you're causing huge amounts of raw emissions to come blasting back out of the filler neck and right into your local atmosphere. These fumes are carcinogenic (cancer causing) to humans and toxic to most plant life, so one should not cause nor experience unnecessary exposure.

The auto-stop feature on fuel pumps is in place for a reason.

[yaris-me]

I would guess that it would be between 3 to 4 gallons.:confused:

[b_hickman11]

Slightly off topic. But if this is really true, is there some reason that a modern fuel pump cannot be designed to deal with this common enough situation without failing? You know. Like the fuel pumps in my family's 1956 Cadillac and 1964 Buick did? Like the fuel pumps in my 1968 Cadillacs do? Like my 1970 Ford Maverick? Like my 1988 Chevy Sprint? Why should the fuel pump in my new Toyota blow up if I happen to run out of fuel? Think about that. Do our cars really have such a poor fuel pump design? Or is this just hearsay? Either way, the blame needs to be apportioned properly.

-Steve

I use to have a 2005 Toyota Tacoma. The fuel pump went out around 25,000 miles. I use the run the tank dry every time before filling up. When the dealership replaced it(under warranty) they showed me the pump and said it was due to me running it dry. They didn't even have to ask.

[SpaceShot]

@sbergman27 - fuel pump

Actually your pump will not `blow up' as soon as you run it dry. However, it is then sitting in an empty tank with a little air, plenty of residual fuel fumes, and that is certainly somewhere that you don't want a spark to occur from the motor brushes or to have lots of excess heat.

Many modern pumps pull the fuel right through the pump motor and everything whereby the liquid fuel is helping to lubricate the pump and keep it operating cooler.
A 50's or 60's pump may have had slightly less wear or damage from running dry, but it would never have continued to be efficient at the 400K miles and beyond that the current pumps are doing.

The newer pumps are also 1/3 to 1/4 the size and weight of those old style pumps, which certainly helps in the Yaris.

By the way, I was making drafting changes to designs of GM fuel pumps of this type back in the late 80's, in my first engineering job. (while still in school) You can bet every component in a modern fuel system has been reviewed and improved dozens of times.

The modern pump is in fact designed so it can safely run dry...on occasion. But you shouldn't do it every fill up. The current design was optimized to extend the life of fuel system well beyond the vehicle life and to minimize weight.

I think there is a lot of really good design work evident in my Yaris for the money that I spent on it.

[Lucas13]

Analog will be always much better no doubt.

[Lucas13]

You have a very good point, the shape of the tank can have a lot to do with imprecise gas gauges.