Trusting Dealerships

For your own peace of mind? You mean because back in the age of dinosaurs engines had break-in oil that had to be changed at 1,000 miles, you figured that you could not trust Toyota's recommended oil-change schedule based on entirely different manufacturing technologies since then?

Sorry, but they give us an owners manual and a maintenance schedule for a reason.

Dealerships, of course, are only as good as the people who work there. Some are good, others are not.

 

By the look of your dip stick the oil level may be too high.
I checked mine last Sunday and it was about 1/4 inch above the full line when cold. I took it to a Toyota dealer who is not Prius credited (nearest credited dealer is 100 km away) and they maintained the level was OK because it dropped down to the high mark when the motor had been running and the oil was dispersed throughout the engine. Because of my insistance they reluctantly drained about a 1/4 of a litre out.

 

the manual says 3.9 qts. that puts you over the full line in a prius.

if you don't want them to follow the manual, tell them what to do.

and was this an express lube place or no?

 

I have never filled a vehicle to the full mark in my life. My Camaro oil pan holds six quarts (It is a Canton brand pan with a high volume pump). I put in 5 1/2 quarts, turned it over, waited 5 minutes, and then inserted the dip stick and made a full mark myself. This way I do not need to be concerned with windage.

I would suspect, if the above poster is accurate with 3.9 quarts, that most dealerships simpy drain 4 quarts for a fill up. Perhaps there is an aftermarket oil filter that may hold more oil than the stock OEM filter that may alleviate this problem? Or. just make sure you change the oil yourself, or take the car to a place that allows you to watch them do it.

 

One way to avoid this is to give them the right amount of oil and say "use this, and no more; I will check the level on your drive afterwards".

It is unfortunate that the service manual says to add 3.9 quarts. The *dry capacity* of the system including filter is 3.9 quarts. Since some oil always stays inside at an oil change, the amount to add is rather less than the capacity. By experiment, the right amount of oil is three quarts, which leaves the level halfway between the ADD and FULL marks. Oh, sure, you can fill up to the tippy-top, but then that leaves no room for any water or blow-by that accumulates before the next oil change, and you have to fool around with fractional quarts.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cheap! @ Jul 4 2006, 01:19 PM) [snapback]281044[/snapback]</div>

Hey Cheap, If you are a cheap person why aren't you changing your oil & filter yourself? I do it on all of my cars. And I put in syn. oil and leave it in for 25,000 miles on every car I've owned since 1980?

It will be a cold day in hell before I pay anyone to do something I can still do for myself. Besides, dealers aren't in business for YOUR health. Your dip stick looks somewhat dark. After 7300 miles my oil looks light as can be after being in the crankcase for about 5800 miles. I change the oil filter every 3000 miles. I rarely go to any car dealers for anything. I trust MY hands & head to do things RIGHT.

 

The amount of "overfill" shown on the dipstick is exactly the amount that the car would show on the showroom floor from the factory. Ours is "over" by that small amount, and was delivered that way.

Significant overfilling [a quart or more] is dangerous to the health of the engine; the amount shown in the photo that started all this is not worth worrying about.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jrct9454 @ Jul 5 2006, 08:29 AM) [snapback]281339[/snapback]</div>

I guess my car and Barb's car were both defective from the factory as they were not overfilled. I have removed oil from Barb's after an oil change left it that high on the dipstick and found that I took out 8 ounces to get it back to the full line.

I also agree with the others, the oil on that dipstick seems very dirty. After an oil change, I have a hard time seeing the oil level on the dipstick.

- Tom

 

Don't you just hate unprecise lazy oil changers? The worse thing is that it's a pain in the butt to just drain a few tenths quarts of oil. Why couldn't the worker have been more careful?

I usually change the oil myself but put about 3.6-3.7quarts at the most. The 3.9quart from the manual is a tad too much.

 

I repeat - this is the PRECISE amount of oil showing on the dipstick of our new '06, SINCE DAY ONE. It simply does not represent a problem for the engine. Whatever you want to believe...

The color is equally meaningless - every oil company has a different color as the oil comes from the container. Some are virtually clear, others brownish or tannish....

I think this is a non-issue; dealer service depts are to be criticized when they screw up - I see this picture and I don't see a problem.

And yes, I NEVER drive away from a service without pulling the dipstick before leaving the lot. That is always good advice. If you have questions, that is the time to address them.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jrct9454 @ Jul 5 2006, 02:00 PM) [snapback]281522[/snapback]</div>

I agree with this guy. I've worked on my own cars before, and some engines slosh the oil around the pan when running. Check your oil again when cold.

Either way, it doesn't really look that bad to warrant your reaction. I think you're being oversensitive.

 

I just checked my brand new Prius (1 month old), never had an oil change.

And it is 1/4" over. About the same where yours is at, I think yours is more over than mine.

Jimmy