Hello. I drove 2000 miles from Atlanta (800 ft elevation) to Colorado (9000 ft elevation). The next day I drove about 5 miles and there was a trail of oil from my parking spot to my destination. I put a quart in, and no more oil has leaked. Thoughts? Advice? Help! 2008
What did the dipstick show prior to adding the quart? Raise the front end and try to determine starting point. If hard to tell the source , wipe clean and check again after a bit more driving.
How can you be sure that a) the fluid you saw was engine oil; and b) that it definitely came from your car?
Hello. Thank you! Prior to adding the quart it showed a little under the lowest dot. Also it was leaking from the right side- based on the trail I left on the road. The oil has not gone down since adding a quart….
It was June 2022 and I have driven 4000 miles. A- my father said it smelled like oil? It felt like oil, too. I didn’t smell it though. It was leaking from the right side. B- Because the house I left from is in the country and it started right where I backed up.
To verify, this is right side as you sit in the car, aka the passenger side? Maybe oil pressure switch?
In some cases it might require the engine running to build oil pressure first. I would certainly check the oil drain plug and filter. I might take it to an oil change place or mechanic and have them pull the undercover completely off and do an inspection. Besides the drain plug and filter, some of these engines have leaks on the timing chain cover, timing chain tensioner or oil pressure switch, all on the passenger side on or near the timing chain cover.
To me, that does not make sense. If the oil level was just under the bottom mark, then you were short of ~1.6-1.8 quarts. That is not enough to leave a trail that is 5 miles long. It also does not equate with the statement you made about no further oil loss. Is it possible some other car was previously parked in the place where you parked your car? This is the reason I asked whether you were sure the oil came from your car. Maybe a car with an oil leak parked there before you did. Anyway, I'm glad you noticed that your oil was low, that you topped up the oil, and that it no longer is "leaking" oil.
Mendel- you are amazing! Thank you so much. I decided to tow it to a shop. I no nothing about cars, unlike you. I hope my Prius is okay :/ also is there a way to DM you? Hello. Hmmm. I know quite strange. The leak happened exactly when I started backing out and all the way to the trail head. To where I was. Hmm. I thought about other possibilities, but none have sufficed.
Going from memory: I click on message button at top of PriusChat page, then start new conversation, then type in user name, and it should auto-complete after a few letters. Give it a title and type message. IIRC, it used to be an option by just clicking on members avatar, but that seems to be missing now.
