I have a 2006 with 154,000 miles on it. I usually have my oil changed at Valvoline, but the last time the tech said there was no oil in my engine. He did drain oil out of it and filled with 3 1/2 quarts of oil. It did not show on the dipstick. This last change I did myself and used 3 1/2 quarts of oil, ran it around the block, waited about 5 minutes checked it and it still does not show on the dipstick. Could I have gotten the wrong dipstick at some point? This one fits and seals good. Any help would be appreciated. I now do not want to run very long not knowing what my level is. Can someone measure their dipstick length? (Insert rude comments now) To compare with what I have.
Are you pushing the dip stick down completely? Dipstick length from top to bottom including the ring is 18.5" I will leave out the comments
MIne is 18.5" end to end, when checking the length, it is on the twisted end now. I would think it would be higher from reading other posts.
I doubt that your dip stick has been swapped. What is the Gen. II oil capacity? Simple fix add oil to it reads full on your dip stick. I also doubt that your engine was totally devoid of oil you would not have gotten very far.
I think what is confusing is your contention that a technician said your engine was "without oil" but then simultaneously stating he drained it...Well if it had no oil what did he drain out? Similarly...unless your oil is almost immediately being drained out...as you pour it in..which I'd guess you'd notice...if you put 3 1/2 quarts in? Then you have oil in your vehicle. First step...measure your dipstick... If you bought your vehicle used...it is possible a shady or uneducated dealer simply threw the wrong dipstick for your vehicle... If it isn't reading anything? Huh...it's almost got to be too short... I would also establish that you either have the right dipstick or not, before I would recommend simply adding more and more oil....overfilling can be a real problem. Are you anywhere near a Toyota Dealership...I'm guessing this controversy whether proper dipstick, or Titanic Sinking Oil leak, or strange rip in the fabric of time and space could be settled in about a Nano-Second by a technician familiar with a Prius.
Thanks for the replies, I'm leaning towards bad service at a minimum wage lube change center, or mis calibrated dispenser. The drain bolt had a washer on it, which was replaced this last time by me, and 3 1/2 quarts went in. No indications of a leak anywhere under the car. I'll recheck the reading i the morning and use a paper towel laid directly on it to see what the level is, rather than trying to read new oil.
Close to 3 qts, but I did add to get it on the dipstick. I assume witht he position of the oil filter being down that it keeps a good quantity of oil above it. Other cars did not drain as much oil out of the filter when removed as this car does.
Fresh engine oil will appear as a clear film on the dipstick. Are you holding the dipstick so that the flat surface will reflect available light into your eyes? If you are doing so then you should see where the oil film is present.
+1 on the optical trick. Also I found it much easier to see when the engine is cold and the oil film is thicker due to higher viscosity at lower temperatures. Last time when I changed oil I filled 3 + 10/32 qt. (including the amount filled in the oil filter) and the level is about 13 mm below the "FULL" dot on the dipstick.
I've usually got to put about 2000 to 3000 km on my oil before it just starts to get a tiny bit of color to it and then it's not too hard to see. After I've just changed the oil it's really hard to see on the dipstick.
Also bear in mind that you should check the oil on a cool motor that hasn't been running for at least an hour. When the engine is shut off, it takes time for the oil to drain back down into the pan so you can check the level accurately. If you shut your car off and then immediately check the level...it'll be low...even when its not.
That sounds sensible, but I've found little difference checking immediately vs waiting a while. In other words, the oil level in the pan stabilizes very quickly after shutdown.
If the oil is warm it stabilizes pretty quickly. I find that after about 5 minutes the measurements will usually be within about 1/16" of it's final value. I usually wait about 5 to 10 minutes before checking.
First off, You should have put in 4.1 qts. not 3 1/2, if you changed the filter. Look in your owners manual. But... even @ 3 1/2 it should have shown on the stick
The owner's manual is very misleading about this. The *dry* capacity, new in the factory, is 4.1 quarts. Half a quart or more always remains in the engine, so 4.1 is too much to add when changing the filter and oil. For example, I add exactly three quarts to mine and the level ends halfway between the ADD and FULL marks, which is perfect. But yeah: either the OP is just not seeing the oil on the dipstick, or something is gruesomely wrong.
