Toyota Corolla '21 HB 1.2T MT - Fuel tank capacity issue

[Halos]

Hello all,

I am writing this post because I am a little frustated and I want to hear the opinions of other people that have the same car. In July of 2021 I bought a brand new Manual transmission hatchback toyota corolla 1200cc. This car according to the specifications has a fuel tank capacity of 50 L, however I have tried to fill the gas tank when my range was close to ~10km until empty and it got like 38 liters.

The gas consumption and the meters check out so there is not problem there, is like the tank capacity is less than 50 L or some sensor that shows the low level is malfunctioning or is misplaced, which I beleve is the case... I say this because on day 1 that I got the car I put more than 40 liters and I was not near full and the consumption I had with the liters I put did not check out, it was like some liters of fuel dissapeared, like the "minimum" of the fuel tank starts at ~10 Liters. I feel like the car will keep going for more than 150km after 0 range but I have not tried it that for many practical reasons.

I contacted the dealership and I went to have them check the car, since they do not get any errors from the computer all they did was a reset and of course this did not change the problem. They even try to convice me that this is normal... I ended up saying that I will go there while the range is close to 0 and by my self empty the fuel tank just to prove them that ~12 liters of gas is not normal and has nothing to do with the reserve tank, or if the car is indead empty then I will prove that the gar takes less than 40 liters when in fact is empty.

If you face a similar problem or have heard of such a problem on the 2021 toyota corolla please let me know. So far I haven't find any useful explanations on the internet about the specific problem on the specific car. Of course if I am wrong and this is normal please let me know but I really can't get how this could be described as normal according to the car's specs.

Thank you!

[TonyHSD]

Hi Nikos and welcome. 
Here in the UK where this forum is based we even don’t have Corolla with 1.2 engines offered anymore but only hybrids available. They have 42ltr tank capacity, are you 100% sure that your particular model has 50ltrs tank? Toyota RAV4 in USA has some issues with how much fuel they can fill up in their tanks, you may want to research on that matter to compare if it’s similar to your problems and mention this to Toyota dealer for further investigation. One tip though to try ., when fill up full at some garage just drive to the another nearby garage and try to fill up again and see if the car will get any more fuel, in case there are some stop valves or anything that might needs to open or close when fuel is moving inside the car while you are driving. Hope that helps 👍

[Halos]

Hello and thanks for your reply,

I knew that the hybrid option is more popular but I did not know that UK's market is hybrid only. Yes the particular model, the non-hybrid, has a 50 ltr tank while the hybrid has 42 Ltr as you wrote. Could you please tell me in your case from empty (range ~0km), how many liters you need to go at full?

I have read about the toyota RAV4 issue that took place not so long ago, I told them about it but they just dismissed it. However, it is sad that even in RAV incident the recall got issued after a long time......

I can try what you suggest but the fuel gauge shows Full. The fuel gauge and the consumption meter and range seems to work fine (there is a match between consumption and what I pay in gas), the problem is that the fuel tank seems not to be 50 liters or that the minimum sensor of the fuel tank (if such a thing exists) does not work correctly, at least this is how it feels.

I will leave the post here because I am hoping that maybe a non-Uk user can provide me with any insights. I will also try on other toyota forums, I can't be the only one facing this.

[Roy124]

There is another thread where this is discussed too.  It seems that a 7 ltr reserve might be the case. 

Tony has a good description of the importance of not running out of fuel with a Hybrid. 

[Halos]

Hello Roy124,

if it is not trouble for you could you share the link or thread title?

You mean that the capacity of the 50 ltr is with the reserve included? Even in that case, if reserve tank is 7 ltr and is included, I fall about 5 ltr short.

 

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

According to the 2019 owners manual (which is when the UK did have the 1.2T), this model did have a 50 litre fuel tank, and the low fuel light will come on when there are approx 7.5 litres left. The reserve is included within the 50 litres. Don't know whether there have been any production changes since 2019 for the 1.2T, but check your owners manual for 'warning lights - low fuel light', which will inform when the light will come on, and indicate what the reserve is.

The Yaris will also have quite a large reserve.

Historically, Toyota have always been conservative re when the low fuel light comes on, and allow for a largish reserve. For example, and from memory, the Aygo has something like a 4 litre reserve.

The issue with the RAV4 only affected those built in the US - as far as I'm aware, the issue didn't affect Japanese built Rav4's for the European market.

[Halos]

Thank you,

I will study the manual and will post my findings.

To be honest I have already studied the manual but I was not patient and I gave up before finding anything useful, because I though that this issue can not be normal... I switched to this car from a VW golf mk6 and there things were straightforward about the capacities.

So the fuel tank capacity in specs is always reserve tank included?

 

P.S. Thank you for your posts so far, you all have been extremely kind and helpful!

[FROSTYBALLS]

3 minutes ago, Halos said:

So the fuel tank capacity in specs is always reserve tank included?

Yes. One fuel tank and the total capacity includes the reserve.

[TonyHSD]

I believe for all cars the reserve is included in the total volume of the tank. If not able to physically fill total of up to 50 litres including reserve and the quantitiy from before then something is stopping the fuel to enter the tank. I remember Auris has recalls about fuel filler replacement few years ago, not sure why they wanted to change it I just went ahead and dealer has done it for me. I am afraid I can’t help but  Interesting to follow. 👍

[Swanthecat]

I have the 1.2 petrol version. Filling it up fully can be a real pain as most petrol pumps cut out long before it is full. Fell for this a couple of times when I thought it was full but the gauge was between 3/4 and full. If you fill it completely after the initial cut off you can get several more litres in.

[Halos]

Hello Swanthecat,

so you have the non-hybrid version as well. Mine fuel gauge is at full and it goes down at an expected rate.

From your experience when you are at range near to 0km (empty), how many liters can you put until the fuel gauge shows full?

[Swanthecat]

Hi Halos, sorry I am old school and never let my fuel level drop down too low due to not knowing what may get dragged into the fuel system but I can tell you I completely filled it up yesterday and based on calculated range and current MPG figures in the car it comes out pretty close to a 50 litre tank capacity

[RzrAzr]

Don't have 1.2 and still waiting for my 2.0 hybrid, but my FJ Cruiser with a 4.0 V6 has a 72L tank. The fuel light comes on exactly when there's 15L left which will give that car another 140-150km on the highway at around 90-100 km/h with stock tyres. I can maybe get another 1-1.5 litres in if I'm filling up to the very top since I don't have a charcoal canister because it isn't a US spec vehicle.

[Halos]

Yes that's the problem, I fill with 38 Liters from empty (light on and range ~10km) and I have a calculated range and MPG figures that matches those 38 liters... anyway I wil come back after studying the manual.

8 hours ago, RzrAzr said:

Don't have 1.2 and still waiting for my 2.0 hybrid, but my FJ Cruiser with a 4.0 V6 has a 72L tank. The fuel light comes on exactly when there's 15L left which will give that car another 140-150km on the highway at around 90-100 km/h with stock tyres. I can maybe get another 1-1.5 litres in if I'm filling up to the very top since I don't have a charcoal canister because it isn't a US spec vehicle.

These 140-150km are displayed as avaliable fuel? In my case it feels that if I drop under 38 liters the car will run ~140-150km with the range at 0km and the fuel gauge at Empty.

[Halos]

If we assume my car is full on gas (38Liters) and with a consumption of about ~7.1 liter/100km I have a range of about 540km (I have this in pictures), and indeed after 540km my fuel gauge is at Empty and the calculated and displayed range is close to 0km.

[Swanthecat]

Last week I picked up a 21 registered Aygo as a courtesy car whilst my Corolla was in for a service. The UK was in the middle of a fuel delivery crisis so naturally I asked if it had petrol in it and was told it was showing 2 bars on the gauge so around 1/4 tank. The service/recall/Apple car play upgrade took longer than expected so I needed the car for 2 days and when I clicked on the display I was dismayed to see a range of 15 miles left when I got the car home(the dealer is about 22 miles away from my house). Luckily I found a petrol station and put £5 worth in. The range did not change at all. I pointed this out to the dealer and was told it was a common problem and it can take 5-6 cycles (on off) to register. My point here is 1. Never buy an Aygo and 2. Can I trust the accuracy of the fuel gauge in my Toyota?

[Halos]

The accuracy and calculations are spot on, I would say that you can trust the accuracy.

[TonyHSD]

Sometimes it’s normal for any car the fuel prediction on display to change and to be slightly different of what actually you can drive in real world. The range may show small numbers while actually there is more fuel in and you can easily get a lot more. Since the car ecu make predictions based on previous driving styles, weather conditions etc things that change all the time and obviously the range will be different. The measure of the fuel tank I believe it’s not exactly accurate as in the fuel pump therefore the car doesn’t probably know exact quantities of fuel in any one moment, for example whether there are 30 or 32 ltrs in., therefore when displaying only 10km range left you actually might be able to travel another 50-60km in negative. I had done this in my Auris hybrid once, I had one bar only that started flashing  and low fuel warning message comes up on display with big letters, I bet not many had seen that 😉, I also drove the car for around 20 + miles after all that happened, then I refuelled and only was able to get around 40ltr in out of 42ltr tank. , probably been good for another 20 miles.before run dry,  however I won’t recommend to anyone doing so, it wasn’t a pleasant experience. ⛽️⚠️

[Halos]

Yes what TonyHSD done should be avoided but sometimes maybe you don't have other choise... probably you won't have any problems because the acuraccy is indeed off for 2 or 3 liters.

About my issue, I am attaching an image just to see what I am talking about. From the displayed range of 11km I went to full and got a range of 548km with about 37.8 ltr. This is repeatable, I have tried it more than 4 times. The range of 548km until empty is indeed true, but of course my driving style and the roads I am travelling on are the same so my consumption has not significant variations.

Anyway I will come back after reading the manual and after trying to empty the fuel tank in a container to see just how many liters are in there when the fuel gauge is at empty.

[TonyHSD]

3 minutes ago, Halos said:

Yes what TonyHSD done should be avoided but sometimes maybe you don't have other choise... probably you won't have any problems because the acuraccy is indeed off for 2 or 3 liters.

About my issue, I am attaching an image just to see what I am talking about. From the displayed range of 11km I went to full and got a range of 548km with about 37.8 ltr. This is repeatable, I have tried it more than 4 times. The range of 548km until empty is indeed true, but of course my driving style and the roads I am travelling on are the same so my consumption has not significant variations.

Anyway I will come back after reading the manual and after trying to empty the fuel tank in a container to see just how many liters are in there when the fuel gauge is at empty.

Is it 37.8ltr the quantity from the pump after refuelling? Then you need really to find out exact amount of fuel left in the tank even with gauge shows close to empty, here is where the discrepancy might comes from. 👍

[Roy124]

Tony reminds me, we had a test drive in a 2019 Corolla and its fuel gauge went to zero.  I can't remember what the low fuel display was but unlike my 2020 Corolla the remaining range also went to zero. 

We pulled into a petrol station to get some fuel as we still had 20 miles to run.  I couldn't figure out how to open the fuel door so had to drive as best as we could to eek out the fuel. 

[Halos]

45 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

Is it 37.8ltr the quantity from the pump after refuelling? Then you need really to find out exact amount of fuel left in the tank even with gauge shows close to empty, here is where the discrepancy might comes from. 👍

37.8 liters was the quantity I put in the car and paid for to go to max. Yes that's what I am planning to do next week, I will empty the fuel tank while the range is close to 0km (as in the picture) to find the quantity that there is inside, my suspicions are that is going to be near 12 ltr... I will let you know as soon as I have done that.

I am not worried, since I am a lot satisfied with the car and this is not something that affects the driving experience but of course it is a new car and I want to get it fixed (if there is an issue and I am not hunting ghosts).

[RzrAzr]

3 hours ago, Halos said:

Yes that's the problem, I fill with 38 Liters from empty (light on and range ~10km) and I have a calculated range and MPG figures that matches those 38 liters... anyway I wil come back after studying the manual.

These 140-150km are displayed as avaliable fuel? In my case it feels that if I drop under 38 liters the car will run ~140-150km with the range at 0km and the fuel gauge at Empty.

This range is displayed on my aftermarket "onboard computer" that takes into account 10-11 L/100km of fuel usage while on the highway. Even when I am pushing it, I still cannot get more than 60-62 litres into the tank which leaves about 10 L in the tank.

 

I suppose the only thing is try running it dry with a gas canister with you so you can really see how much you can drive with the range being 0. 

[Swanthecat]

Halos, the pictures of the gauges you show above are completely different to mine. Have I misunderstood something?

[Roy124]

3 minutes ago, Swanthecat said:

Halos, the pictures of the gauges you show above are completely different to mine. Have I misunderstood something?

I am guessing that you have a hybrid and Halos with a 1.2 has something quite different.