The gas gauge froze in my '09 Yaris with two bars left. I should have had more than enough gas to get to work but ended running out on the highway. The engine just died on me and I nearly caused an accident. I realized the gauge had not moved in some time so I added fuel and the car ran just fine. I called Toyota and they made the same excuse about not hearing about the problem even though I find plenty of information online.
Consumer Complaints & Reviews
Toyota Prius, 2005, the manual states that the gas tank is 11.9 gallons capacity; I learned the hard way (by running out of gas on the freeway during rush hour!) that my tank only holds 10 gallons. After running out, I topped it off and the capacity is clearly 10 gallons. Also, the blinking "low fuel" indicator happens at about 9.6 gallons, which is very little warning! Toyota Service was not aware of the problem, or of any recall, so they were unwilling to do anything about it (for now).
It's hard to fill a fuel tank to capacity, because of back pressure that causes the service station fuel pump to shut off early. Pumps are set with high sensitivity to avoid fuel spills and vapor release that result from motorists "topping off" their tanks. We think Dale's problem is with the fuel gauge, not the tank capacity.
Prius is one of the most troublesome cars I've ever owned. Over the year I own it I had to take it to the dealership over 10 times for major repairs. The service was dreadful. The same problem needed to be repaired over, and over and over...
The latest outrage: I can not determine how much fuel the car has. The fuel gauge gets stuck somewhere in the middle. I can drive for hours with no apparent change in the fuel level. Then, within 15 to 30 minutes the level drops sharply, to "Needs immediate fill-up" level. The Toyota states that this is a normal behavior of this car. They claim that in order for the fuel gauge to operate correctly, the car needs to be completely filled-up all time. What kind of ridiculous car have they produced?
Toyota perfectly knows that there is a problem with the fuel tank. As a matter of fact, when I first brought the car for repair they instantly stated that the fuel tank is bad and needs to be replaced. Once they realized that it is costly, the story has changed.
The service in general has been horrible. For the last repair request Toyota Santa Cruz service department has kept my car for over 3 weeks. I called many times to find the status of my car, but got no calls back. Finally, today I was able to reach their Customer Relations specialist who told me in a very rude way that she just learned that there is nothing wrong with my car. To my question of why she and the service managers have not responded to my previous calls, she said that they are too busy to call the customers.
I have to conclude that Toyota has a death wish. I now understand at least one of the sources of the horrible state of Japanese economy.
