Oil Overfill - when arguing fails

ok.... so this REALLY confuses me....

i understand walmart of jiffy lube over-filling... but the DEALERSHIP? this is NOT a new car... it's been out a few years now..... what's their excuse for messing up??????????????????????

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(desertbriez @ Jun 8 2007, 12:47 PM) [snapback]458146[/snapback]</div>

check out the other oil overfill threads. Apparently, it's common practice for dealerships, yes dealerships, to overfill the Prius. The "official" Toyota specs on how much to put in are wrong (at least according to the dipstick), and haven't been updated. Therefore the problem.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tyrin @ Jun 8 2007, 10:52 AM) [snapback]458150[/snapback]</div>

lol.... i know! i've seen the thread on the short time i've been on the forums.... it's ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you're supposed to TRUST the dealership..... ya right!

 

i had a dealership service department i trusted a while back when i had a grand am... even though they were a good 1.5 hours away.... we'd take our car back there because the service department personnel were great!

as far as the prius.... i'm not thrilled with the local (i say local... it's still an hour drive) dealership.... i didn't like the service department there when we had/have to take hubby's tacoma in there.... (and the same people owned the honda dealership and i disliked them for honda service, too) so i won't be thrilled having to take the prius in for warranty work.... as far as oil changes... i think hubby has a new job! lol! in the past i've pretty much used walmart just because it's easy and cheap..... but with the prius and her idosyncracies (spelling?).... hubby can do it!

 

Just remember that the "service tech" at the dealership that is changing your oil was probably washing cars or sweeping the parking lot last week. They don't use their best and brightest to do oil changes.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(desertbriez @ Jun 8 2007, 01:09 PM) [snapback]458159[/snapback]</div>

The odds are you WON'T need warranty work on the Prius. In almost a year only 1 problem with mine which is a much better record than my Intrigue.

 

Most dealerships pump the oil in from a drum - the rest is guesswork and a heavy trigger finger....
do not know why they don't use measuring container - how hard can it be ?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pinball @ Jun 9 2007, 02:39 PM) [snapback]458763[/snapback]</div>

How many people have actually had engine problems because of over-fill. Most Prius drivers probably never see this forum and assume that any dealer/service center puts the required amount of oil in the car. I have never owned a car that I even considered that as a possible problem. If this is such a major problem with dealers wouldn't it have escalated up to Toyota by now and the dealers made to tow the line?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dhoward @ Jun 9 2007, 04:06 PM) [snapback]458818[/snapback]</div>

The issue I have with the overfill problem is that the Toyota mindset seems to be "four-cylinder car; four quarts of oil." Most people probably never check their own oil level; they let the dealer do the oil change and assume that the service is done correctly. Whether a quarter inch overfill on the dipstick translates to actual engine damage is a moot point - consumers should expect service to be done in a professional manner by dealer service departments and that includes providing the correct amount of engine oil.

In my case, the problem was solved by providing my own oil - three quarts of Mobil 1.

 

The first three oil changes I had done at my dealership and they routinely overfilled the oil. When I took my FJ Cruiser in for its fist complimentary oil change a couple of weeks ago, it was *dramatically* overfilled.

Either the Toyota specs are WAY off, or the bulk lube dispenser at the dealership is badly out of calibration.

Too much can be just as bad as too little. I have yet to read an owner manual or shop manual that doesn't consider anything past the Full mark as "over filled"

 

This thread reminds me of when I took our new 05 Avalon in for its first oil change. You can watch the oil changers through large windows from the waiting area. The engine was new that year and holds 6 quarts without filter and 6.4 with filter.

The person doing the job put in what I presume was the amount for the old engine. I don't know how much that was, but it was less than the 6 quarts required for the new one. He pulled the dipstick to check the level and just stood there looking at it. Then he walked to the other end of the bay and showed it to a couple of other guys.. They looked at it a while then he went back, got the filler nozzle and put in some more oil.

After that, I made some labels, one that said 6 quarts without filter and one that said 6.4 quarts with filter and put them on the engine cover by the oil filler cap.

 

This thread reminds me of when I took our new 05 Avalon in for its first oil change. You can watch the oil changers through large windows from the waiting area. The engine was new that year and holds 6 quarts without filter and 6.4 with filter.

The person doing the job put in what I presume was the amount for the old engine. I don't know how much that was, but it was less than the 6 quarts required for the new one. He pulled the dipstick to check the level and just stood there looking at it. Then he walked to the other end of the bay and showed it to a couple of other guys.. They looked at it a while then he went back, got the filler nozzle and put in some more oil.

After that, I made some labels, one that said 6 quarts without filter and one that said 6.4 quarts with filter and put them on the engine cover by the oil filler cap.

 

<_< My solution to "Oil Overfill".....

I take exactly 3½ quarts of Mobil-1 5W30 oil to my dealer's service department with instructions to 'use my oil, your filter.' Results in a dipstick reading of about ¼" or less below the "Full" mark. My chosen servicing dealer (*NOT* the Dealer where I bought either my 2004 or my 2007 Prius) is very good to follow my specific 'by the numbers' service requests.

It's just now time for oil change #1 on my '07 and I will follow the same procedure.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Wryter @ Jun 11 2007, 11:36 AM) [snapback]459641[/snapback]</div>

Let's see now. How many tries do we have to make with the spell checker before someone gets it right.
Peculiarities. Ah yes. That's how it's spelled. Well, at least close enough.

Dave M.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dhoward @ Jun 9 2007, 01:06 PM) [snapback]458818[/snapback]</div>

Toyota has released a technical service bulletin which addresses the issue:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tochatihu @ Jun 12 2007, 08:26 AM) [snapback]460063[/snapback]</div>

Hi Tochatihu,

We've been through this before, I think, but that TSB doesn't really address the issue, because it states 3.9 quarts, which according to everyone who has done their own changes, results in an overfill.