Prius C motor leak and suspected continuous overfill

Continuous leak? Always there, or new?
Did you just do an oil change? Did the person doing the change drip oil down the back?

 

NO, not unless it gets worse. Check the oil level often.

And......a little extra oil won't hurt anything, even if it is a tiny bit above the full mark.

So, why do you say "suspect" continuous overfill ??
Did you NOT ever check the oil level yourself ???

 

It's pretty common for a slight leak to develop on that timing chain cover (assuming it's similar to 3rd gen Prius), and quite laborious and expensive to repair. Probably the overfill (if it wasn't just a service writer's typo) didn't contribute to the leak. I'd be inclined to just wipe it clean and monitor.

 

As an aside, the dealership is NOT Toyota. They just sell FOR Toyota. They might work with them a lot, but they're not necessarily the experts. Always refer to your owners manual.

 

The car comes equipped with a device to tell you if in has the right amount of oil in it or not.
It is called a "dip stick".
Used properly, that should tell you with near to 100% certainty.

 

OK.....

So....here are my thoughts (for what they are worth.....opinions vary.)

1. "Over filling" a Priussy engine by .3l three times probably wouldn't result in the classic rear main seal leak that mechanics always talk about when they're trying to drum up business to pay off their bass boats.
Also....a dealership SAYING that they put 4.24q into your car is different than them actually PUTTING that amount into the crankcase.
There's a 90-ish percent chance that the high-school dropout that they use as their 'oil changer' actually checked the oil level before they over-billed you for the oil change - so I would not worry about it.

2. I'm not going to dipstick-shame you here, but if you're checking your oil level regularly (like: every other fill up) then you will quickly determine whether or not you have an oil leak.
You don't have to be anal about it.
Even every third or fourth fill-up is a helluva lot more often that most people check their fluid levels, and will reveal if there's a lube problem in your car.
My guess is that at 60,000 miles you're not using much or ANY oil.
If you're going to trade this car out at 125,000 like most people do - then stop worrying about it.
The car will hang together that long.

3. If you're going to "keep it forever" (and you might as well!!) then consider changing your oil every 5,000 miles.
If the filter is a PITA to get to, some people actually change the filter out every 10k and drop and change the oil every 5,000 miles.
You'll have to adjust the amount that you pout back into the car slightly, but the main advantage is that you will be poking around inside your car every 5,000 miles instead of every 10,000 miles and you might find some interesting things when you so....................................................like...............a rear timing gear cover weep/leak.
My company uses Priuses as fleet cars and they're incredibly cheap about maintaining cars.
They change the oil every 5,000 miles.


4. Leak.
Again....no shaming intended, but if you are checking your oil level regularly, then you already know whether or not this is a real leak, and requires real attention.
IMHO.....it's not and does not, but that's only a SWAG since I'm not checking the fluid levels in your car either.
Besides.....if you DID have a timing cover leak.....would you let a dealership that you can't even trust to do OIL CHANGES correctly try and fix it????


Many other things will cause leaks, creaks, cracks and squeaks besides inattention and/or over filling the oil.
Manufacturing errors, wrecks, driving itty-bitty cars over ginormous pot-holes (Prop 6!!) and people with wrenches who get paid by the number of cars that they cram into their daily work schedule.

Do nothing until you know more.....
Then at least you WILL know more.....

Best of Luck!

 

Yeah, when in doubt, just hold tight.

 

From the Owner's Manual:



My best guess: to avoid come-back from disgruntled owners, and/or insurance against owner neglect, they over fill slightly, say an edict from the Service Manager.

 

But how MUCH above the mark was it ?

There is a space between the "full" and "add" marks, just for sake of discussion let's say that space is an inch and represents one quart.
If the level is not higher than 1/4 of the distance between the marks, representing 1/4 quart then there is nothing to worry about.
In most cases, there is little to worry about if it is a half quart over-filled.

The car makers are not stupid enough to design an engine that will be damaged by a few extra ounces of oil.

And about the only thing that can be "damaged" by a slight oil leak is the fan belt.....if it even has one.....and that should be pretty easy to SEE.

Relax, you will live longer.

 

IIRC the only belts are on the seats.

+1 on the 'not worry'.
Believe me....
If you're above ground or above water, and an immediate change to that status is not imminent.....there's VERY little to worry about!

 

Last car I was getting "professional" oil changes, the spec'd oil quantity (with filter change) was 3.3 liters. They routinely poured in 4, and of course billed me for it. I was thinking near-new car, better stick with dealership service to avoid possible warranty issues. I finally wised up as to how much they were overfilling, and went back to doing it myself.

 

Some shops will bill a partial quart/liter at the full price even if they don't put the whole thing IN.
You won't know which it is without checking it yourself.