Fuel low warning

[DennisJones]

When the fuel warning came on. I added a small amount that did not register. I tried the workaround but no change. The question is if the car believes it is out of fuel will it stop or will it continue normally?

[Bernard Foy]

Dennis when the low fuel warning comes on there’s approximately 6lts left in the tank. Then the car will run until there’s no fuel left in the tank. So don’t run the tank dry, 6lts will take you another 50 miles at least and after that it’s squeaky bum time🤔😂. Never run your car until empty, get fuel into it ASAP after the low fuel warning comes on.

[Cyker]

The low fuel warning is just a warning; Other than that, like a normal car it will happily run until it's totally empty and then you're ****ed.

What's the problem anyway? Just put some fuel in the damned thing!!

 

[forkingabout]

41 minutes ago, Cyker said:

The low fuel warning is just a warning; Other than that, like a normal car it will happily run until it's totally empty and then you're ****ed.

 

****ed with a potentially large repair bill from a Toyota main dealer 🤣

Toyota factor in a large safety reserve when the low fuel warning light illuminates for a reason - running a Toyota / Lexus hybrid out of fuel is not recommended & don't expect the repair bill to be covered under warranty.

[MikeSh]

1 hour ago, DennisJones said:

I added a small amount that did not register.

Why just add a small amount? The level sensors in these cars are very approximate (I don't think they've changed in decades). Just fill it up or the system won't know you've done anything.

[Countryside]

Dennis fill it up for peace of mind then you can sit down tonight watch coronation street and relax 

[hind]

When I was returning from the trip abroad, due to price differences on the gas stations, I tried to make it as far into our home country as possible. I picked the station and setup navigation to it - was within the calculated range. But it appeared that the range is decreasing faster than the actual route length. My S.O. started to be nervous when she saw that we still have to go 20 km with the estimated range now on 22 km. I suggested the bet that:

1. we will reach the chosen station without running out of gas and
2. I will not be able to put more than 30 litres of fuel (the fuel tank is 36 l according to user manual)

When we were less than 1 km away from the station, the car signaled 0 km range and changed the message to "Refuel". Of course we made it to the station. 

How much fuel did I fill into the tank? 

29.09 l 😉 

[Trewithy]

The fuel level gauge won't recognise any additional fuel under 10 litres.  

[RickyC]

49 minutes ago, hind said:

When we were less than 1 km away from the station, the car signaled 0 km range and changed the message to "Refuel". Of course we made it to the station. 

A brave risk lover 😀

[hind]

Well, it gives you peace of mind to know that there are at least 5 more litres of fuel in your tank when you approach the zero range threshold 🙂 when caught by surprise, it's better to drive 10 more km on "deep reserve" to the well known chain station than panic and fill up on the station of questionable quality.

[Mojo1010]

3 hours ago, hind said:

When I was returning from the trip abroad, due to price differences on the gas stations, I tried to make it as far into our home country as possible. I picked the station and setup navigation to it - was within the calculated range. But it appeared that the range is decreasing faster than the actual route length. My S.O. started to be nervous when she saw that we still have to go 20 km with the estimated range now on 22 km. I suggested the bet that:

1. we will reach the chosen station without running out of gas and
2. I will not be able to put more than 30 litres of fuel (the fuel tank is 36 l according to user manual)

When we were less than 1 km away from the station, the car signaled 0 km range and changed the message to "Refuel". Of course we made it to the station. 

How much fuel did I fill into the tank? 

29.09 l 😉 

Last year tested the range, went -30miles in summer, about -48km. Fill up just below 33 litres. 

Maybe Dennis wants to know how far can he play chicken? Well I have done it for u, though this is in the hatchback. 

[Trewithy]

3 hours ago, hind said:

"and fill up on the station of questionable quality."

Which fuel station is off questionable quality?

[Trewithy]

Fuel quality in the UK and the rest of Europe is very good.  If you have an interest in this subject you will find the Worldwide Fuel Charter a good read:

  WWFC_19_gasoline_diesel.pdf (acea.auto)

Page 42 is devoted to Deposit Control Additives and it states there that European gasoline tends to have very high dose rates compared to fuel from the US, Japan and China.

[DennisJones]

I did refuel more than enough to reach home as it was at extortionate prices on the motorway.  I was more concerned that the engine management system might ignore the actual fuel level and resort to something less desirable. The responses have given me the answer so thanks for your help.

[Parts-King]

Petrol Bingo (or diesel for that matter) can be VERY costly, especially in a Hybrid. If you run out of fuel and try to run on Battery only, the ECU will shut the car down very quickly. You will then have to pay for your dealer to hire from Toyota the specific HV Battery charger, expect a big bill. Even if the motorway fuel is £3 a litre just stick a good amount in and get yourself to safety, don't play that game 

[hind]

 

2 hours ago, Trewithy said:

Which fuel station is off questionable quality?

Mainly local ones, privately owned, which were bought from the state during privatisation period and kept in service with minimum effort. Serving mainly old TDIs and simple engines of local people.

No more than 5 days there was a case where dozens of people had their cars damaged because someone messed up the tanks and pumped diesel into petrol tank, damaging clients fuel systems. 

Of course this might have happened on any station but I have a feeling that major brands have their procedures established whether private buyer just orders a tanker full of fuel of his choice and handles the refill on his own. 

[Cyker]

3 hours ago, DennisJones said:

I did refuel more than enough to reach home as it was at extortionate prices on the motorway.  I was more concerned that the engine management system might ignore the actual fuel level and resort to something less desirable. The responses have given me the answer so thanks for your help.

Ahh fair enough, that is a good reason  

 

[AyrTexas]

I experienced the same exact situation as Hind. Driving on the Auto Strada in Italy, I started to panic when the Low Fuel warning came on unexpectedly, and the Driving Range of my Yaris Hybrid began to drop like a stone. When it hit 0, the Refuel warning came on. I was able to refuel quite quickly then, but I could only squeeze a bit more than 29 L into the petrol tank. 🙄 A bit annoying.

[FROSTYBALLS]

8 minutes ago, AyrTexas said:

A bit annoying

Be even more annoying if the tank had no reserve, and reaching 0 meant the car was really out of petrol and stopped ....

[AyrTexas]

That’s for sure. However, 7 L (almost 20% of tank capacity) seems a bit much.

[Derek.w]

If you go low on fuel then any rubish at the bottom of the tank is then on its way to the engine do you realy want a blocked fuel filter.

Another problem I seen is a petrol tank hanging down at one end of the car, this can give you a false fuel reading of fuel when its empty.

[Mojo1010]

1 hour ago, AyrTexas said:

That’s for sure. However, 7 L (almost 20% of tank capacity) seems a bit much.

Did you read my previous message above? I went negative 30 miles/- 48km last summer and filled up just below 33L. 

On another note, all the cars I have owned/driven has a reserve after 0 or empty. Have driven them all to negative.

[Derek.w]

I fill up when its just below the 100 miles mark less air in tank is also good.

[Cyker]

I think the warning is deliberately scary as some people will ignore polite gentle warnings then try to sue when the car runs out of fuel and leaves them stranded because they forgot about the warning which they will no doubt claim wasn't prominent enough or something.

 

[RickyC]

On 6/14/2024 at 8:23 PM, Cyker said:

I think the warning is deliberately scary as some people will ignore polite gentle warnings then try to sue when the car runs out of fuel and leaves them stranded because they forgot about the warning which they will no doubt claim wasn't prominent enough or something.

 

The problem is that when they discover that the low fluel alert start when they've still have about 7 litres they will begin to ignore it. 

"Don't panic, you still have 7 liters"....... "Don't panic, you still have 6 liters" ....... "Ok panic,  a long time ago you had 7 liters 😉"