Maintenance Minder

The maintenance reminder comes up every 5000 miles to tell you to change the oil. In your manual it tells you how to remove it. Quite simple to do.

 

This is the normal reminder, but if you have not yet done so, check the oil. And always check the oil level yourself before driving away from any oil change, no matter who does it.

 

Richard is right about that check. Had a 03 F-150 that the ford dealer did the oil change and the next morning I saw oil on my new driveway. It was coming from the filter which was 3 complete turns short of being hand tight.

 

if one must crawl under the car to see if the plug in the pan and the filter is correctly tightened, and the level is at a normal, then why bother having them do it at all?
just DIY...

 

I think Richard was merely suggesting that you check that the level is not overfilled, as this seems to be a systemic problem with the dealers. I don't know if they're putting in more than spec, or if the spec itself is wrong. Some people suggest that the spec is correct to hit the MAX mark, but that the spec itself could be too high - the suggestion is that the ideal level is about 1/4" below the MAX mark. See for example John 1701a's 'Iconic' Prius User Guide.

The correct measurement procedure is to warm the engine, switch off, allow five minutes for oil to drain back into the sump, then measure with the dipstick. If measured cold the level will appear to be too low.

If they're using a bulk fill facility, check also that they're using the correct viscosity. It should be 5W-30 although 0W-30 is also acceptable. ('0W' indicates that the oil pours as well as 5W at the standard test temperature, but starts to pour at a lower temperature.)

The simplest way to get it right seems to be to supply your own oil, and only 3.5 US quarts (3.3 litres) of it.

 

Correct, I was not suggesting that you crawl under the car with tools each time. Merely waiting that five minutes then looking under the hood and checking the dipstick can find some amazing egregious errors. (I also supply three quarts of 5W-30. That way they're less likely to overfill it or use the wrong stuff.)

 

The official specs I've seen are wrong and cause an overfilled engine. 3 Liters of Oil are perfect: level right in the middle between Min and Max. The official 3.7 Liters are way too much!
On the same spec sheets: a warning not to fill beyond the Max mark! (Contradiction. Error.) :mmph: Most mechanics take the specified volume and forget completely about the warning... ...
Overfilling is bad for the car, but it generates extra income for the dealer...