tiLLIKS

So I was at the last bar to empty, and when I filled up the tank, I only got like 8.5 gallons. I thought the tank was like 14.5 gallons? how many gallons do you have left when the light comes on, or even at the last bar?

that being said, I am quite impressed with how fuel efficient the 350h is. I went a full week without filling up my tank, and I drove like 55 miles a day! After each trip, I would average 43ish mpg. Granted, I’m using EV a lot, but still, pretty damn good

NavySubs

I am not sure if this is true but I read that when distance to empty is zero you should still have 2.5 gallons. Again not sure it is true or not and have not been willing to test it. If it is true I wish they would change it to truly show distance to empty and not have some reserve for the few that push their luck.

jgrnt1

I haven't tried to see how far I can go when the gauge says empty, but there does seem to be a significant amount of gas left in the tank. The most I've been able to put in when filling up is 10.3 gallons.

mangust

I don't recall exact details but on one occasion I had a low fuel light come on. I think the range at that point was stating less than 40 miles left. That's on the NX 450H with EV range depleted.
I was surprised to see a fill-up under 10 gallons. I suspect the system is tuned very conservative compared to the stated tank capacity.

Thuwaragan

There's a lot of capacity that isn't accounted for in the fuel guage. Like others have said, I've only managed to get around 10gallons if i'm near 0 distance to empty. Only once did i hit 10.9 gallons and that was with the DTE hitting 0 and then driving about 20 mins after that

Dorsai

What bothers me more than all of the unreported fuel at the bottom of the gauge is the unreported fuel at the top. When I fill my car up the range display usually shows somewhere between 260 and 270 miles. The first bar on the gauge doesn't typically disappear until I hit 200 miles....so that's 70/25 = 2.8 gallons up top and 2.5 gallons below, or over 1/3 of the tank that isn't represented on the gauge. That's nonsensical.

DenverRx

I've posted a lot about this issue. I always zero my trip meter after a fill. A couple of times, I have driven over 550miles, empty light comes on, then am only able to put in 11 gallons (50 mpg!). This is the same issue that's happened to the Rav4 hybrid a few years ago. One time, my trip meter was at 590mi before the light came on. I was probably running on fumes. I don't trust the fuel gauge or empty light. I mentioned all of this at the dealer at my 5K service. They kept my NX for 2 days, but couldn't find anything. They said take a video if it happens again. Since the weather turned colder, I haven't had this issue (light comes on, and I put in about 12 gal).

mbezzo

Yup, it's so dumb. 450h+ here - rarely fill it but the last time I did the fuel light was on and.. managed to squeeze just over 10.5 gallons in it... meaning it had basically 4 gallons still in the tank! AHHHH so maddening. Who knew it was so hard to estimate the remaining volume of a tank!?

Thuwaragan

I've been tempted to run it empty (with a can of fuel in the car as backup) just to do the experiment of what's really there below 0... Maybe when the weather turns warm again I'll do on a road trip or something.

LStoneX

I agree. I think the NX is suffering the same fuel tank issues as the current generation RAV4 did when it came out. I've had this happen a few times and actually once ignored the fill up click and still got about 3 gallons into the tank without brimming it. The fuel situation is completely bonkers!

DenverRx

I think it's the opposite, you had 2 gallons of gas and 2 gallons of air void that prevented you from adding the expected 12.5 gallons. I say this because following a fill up like I described above (550mi/11gal, 50mpg), I've filled up at 450mi and put in 12 gal (37mpg). I think there is some sort of pressure issue that shuts off the pump before the tank is full. With Rav4's they were changing out gas tanks. For me, the problem occurs when I run tank past the warning light (maybe 20mi) and in the warm weather. If I fill up before the tank gets low (no warning light); no issues.

mbezzo

Huh, interesting. Will try to pay attention to this, but I don't think I've ever put more than 11 gallons in it - fuel light on or not.