confusing driving range

[Gunnersjjang]

 Hello, I'm a new Yaris Hybrid owner. I haven't done a refuel yet since I purchased last month.

 when I saw fuel indicator turned on today, driving range was 30 miles. In my manual, this indicator turns on when fuel remains about 5.2 litter.

 Is there anyone who can explain what exactly range means? I don't believe this is driving distance till fuel tank is empty absolutely. 

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

In Toyota's case they allow a generous reserve, so the range is until the reserve is reached, not when the fuel tank is absolutely empty. You wouldn't want to run the fuel tank until it is empty.

[Anthony Poli]

Hi Scott,

As far as I know, the idea is when the range falls below 10 miles, your are still left with a sufficient reserve to reach a petrol station. Since the car is a hybrid, it is important that you never run out of fuel. Since you have not had the car long, the range estimate will probably lower than it should be. Filling the tank completely might help increasing the accuracy.

We have a used 2013 one and I think the previous owner had never filled the tank, when we filled the tank to the brim for the first time the range was only 200 miles. The range definitely lasted longer than 200 miles, on the next fill up, the range had increased to 358 miles. Other owners have said they can expect 400 to 450 miles by the time they reach 0 miles range.

[Gunnersjjang]

Thank you for explanation. I wondered if range figure(30 miles) was accurate compared to the current MPG figure(64.5 mpg) and driven 386 miles 

5.2l is now left so actual remaining range till being empty could reach around 460 miles(386 + 5.2 * 14.2) but I'll do refuel tonight.

[Gunnersjjang]

18 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

In Toyota's case they allow a generous reserve, so the range is until the reserve is reached, not when the fuel tank is absolutely empty. You wouldn't want to run the fuel tank until it is empty.

Thank you for explanation. I wondered if range figure(30 miles) was accurate compared to the current MPG figure(64.5 mpg) and driven 386 miles 

5.2l is now left so actual remaining range till being empty could reach around 460 miles(386 + 5.2 * 14.2) but I'll do refuel tonight.

[Gunnersjjang]

15 minutes ago, Anthony Poli said:

Hi Scott,

As far as I know, the idea is when the range falls below 10 miles, your are still left with a sufficient reserve to reach a petrol station. Since the car is a hybrid, it is important that you never run out of fuel. Since you have not had the car long, the range estimate will probably lower than it should be. Filling the tank completely might help increasing the accuracy.

We have a used 2013 one and I think the previous owner had never filled the tank, when we filled the tank to the brim for the first time the range was only 200 miles. The range definitely lasted longer than 200 miles, on the next fill up, the range had increased to 358 miles. Other owners have said they can expect 400 to 450 miles by the time they reach 0 miles range.

Thank you for your advice based on good examples

[FROSTYBALLS]

One thing to bear in mind is that if the tank is topped up with less than 15 litres, this can give inaccurate range information.

[Peter S]

I consistently get 50 mpg from our Yaris, I try to use the EV mode as much as possible around town and you can just about maintain 30 mph on Battery on the flat. Never really looked at the range, just fill it up when it's below 1/4.

[Gunnersjjang]

6 minutes ago, Peter S said:

I consistently get 50 mpg from our Yaris, I try to use the EV mode as much as possible around town and you can just about maintain 30 mph on battery on the flat. Never really looked at the range, just fill it up when it's below 1/4.

Thanks Peter. I just wanted to check how long I can drive till fuel lamp is turned on but I'll do refuel next time whenever it is about 15l left.

[Anthony Poli]

I consistently get 50 mpg from our Yaris, I try to use the EV mode as much as possible around town and you can just about maintain 30 mph on battery on the flat. Never really looked at the range, just fill it up when it's below 1/4.

When you say EV, are you meaning pressing the button or just driving to keep it on EV?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Peter S]

Using light throttle to keep it in EV, that button is useless over 20 mph!

[Anthony Poli]

I was surprised, when I managed to accelerate to nearly 50, albeit slowly on an empty road. Just before the engine kicked in.

These hybrids are full of surprises, I would guess the later ones would surprise me even more.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[YarisHybrid2016]

I get about 430 miles from mine.

You need to be careful with the range display - it is not consistent when it shows zero (or at least seems not to be). If the fuel needle is on zero then be sure you are driving towards a petrol station. The closest to "empty" (based on tank capacity) I have got is 1.2 L, which quite frankly is silly (and a bit scary). The fuel needle will actually go below zero, but you're on fumes at that point!

What I tend to do is look at the milage when the fuel light comes on and add 50 miles to it. By that time I should be filling up. The fill light is at least quite reliable from what I've seen.

If you want an accurate range counter, reset all the trip computers (on the dash and in the infotainment system), then after the first tank, if you only reset the dash average MPG, it will create a new trip log in the computer, and the new range (with a full tank) will be based on this figure. It is conservative, so will still read less than you can actually achieve. The highest I have seen on mine is 405 miles, averaging 63 MPG.