daddiojigg

i was driving along today when i suddenly felt like i had lost power!! looked at the dash and NO lights nor any messages showing. power came back after seconds and i proceeded telling myself that MAYBE my foot slipped off the gas pedal (somewhat) and i didn't have enough of my foot on there to push the pedal although i was pushing my foot albeit may to the side. so off i go and about a half mile later it happened again! put my hazards on and limped to the side. again, no lights, no messages!! limped along on electric power and i was about to pull off to side street when i put my foot into it again and i had gas again! ??? put another 5 gallons in, low fuel light went out, and drove it hard on highway with no problems to COSTCO, where i filled with super.
Now the part i am 'omitting ' in order to get uninfluenced opinions is that my low fuel light was on. it was on 10 miles back and so i put in 2 gallons(no , i'm not cheap i was on my way to COSTCO-MUCH cheaper gas!)(well, maybe i am cheap but nonetheless...). the low fuel light stayed on but i thought it would register the new fuel as i drove. as i said 10-15 miles later i had these problems. i have NEVER run out of gas so i don't know how it feels or sounds but i do recall reading that you should never let the hybrid run out of gas. i know with diesels it is a big hassle if you run it dry but don't know the reasoning for the hybrids.yes, other than having to walk and walk and...

thanks for any insight or shared experiences

Weighit

I have no idea what caused your issue, but I bet there are VERY few of us that have ever run our 400H out of fuel. So knowing what it will do is in that unknown territory.

ukrkoz

From the time light comes up and it says 0 miles left on nav screen, I did 55 miles and likely could go more.
Were you driving on flat or uneven terrain? Fuel tank tilt and low petrol could have caused interruptions in fuel supply.
Otherwise, as you have drive by wire system, it's electronics acting up. Unfortunately, feces like this tend to come back.

daddiojigg

ukrkoz: yes i was on relatively flat surface.there's no way i even came close to 55 miles. i'm thinking maybe the pickup got clogged or something or maybe it's the filter. whatever, i will drop the tank and test the pump AND swap out the filter regardless.

ukrkoz

That's a lot of work for something like this. Don't forget, you look at it from normal gas powered car perspective but, hybrids not always run with ICE on. Maybe find someone with OEM Toyota Techstream and scope the system first? Again, you have drive by wire system, it is most likely an electronic gremlin somewhere.

mjeds

most likely the pickup got clogged from the extra 2 gallons stirring up the sediment and crap in the bottom of the tank, it's also possible the fuel pump overheated due to the low level and cut out..

SkiMe

I think you ran out of gas. Sometimes it sputters or just loses power. Engine can shut off. But then you can restart and take off again....maybe getting a few more miles down the road and then sputter or quit again.

I'd keep it above 1/4 tank minimun. If it doesn't do it again, I'd say you just ran out of gas.