Another Walmart oil overfill, Toyota is hinting at new ICE

UPDATE 08/18/14
Ok now things are looking worse. Today Monday I went to the dealership to get some answers. I get there and the car is exactly where the tow truck had left it. on Thru AM. I went inside to talk to the service writer. He immediately ask me to come into the shop and speak with the mech.

The mech said that they could not get the car to start or do anything except unlock the doors with the keybob. No dash lights or gauge response even when inserting keybob into the slot. I explained the cars gagues worked, dash lights were working and we could start the car if code cleared for about 20 sec. He acted like he did not beleave me so I added that their wrecker service driver had started the car when picking it up and after he dropped it off. I ask the mech for the key bob so I could see for my self. He hesitated but then picked up the keybob and headed for the lot. When he got to the car he used the keybob and the car unlocked, then opened the door. To my surprise the dash was partly disassembled, this really struck me hard that he was out of his comfort zone with this repair. I ask why they were disassembling the dash, he said that they had checked all the fuses and now he thought it was a problem with a bad start button, they were going to take it out and put a new one in to see if the that was what the problem was.

Now I was really worried about his diagnostic ability. I again explained the occurances I've posted ealier here about the breakdown and ask him to hold on and please charge the hybrid battery as I think that as it was pretty well depleted before it got to them that now sitting there it may well have gone into a protection mode. Mech told me he did not think that was the case and he thought the whole thing was due to a bad start button, nothing to do with an oil overfill. I again ask him to first charge the hybrid battery, he then told me they have no way to do this, there are only two or three chargers for that in the entire country!

At this point I went back into the service writers office and told him I was very concerned about this and way this service was going. He ask if I'd like to see the service mgr. I said yes.

Meet with service mgr. Seemed like an ok fella, ran down the whole story to him. He ask me to wait in the waiting area while he spoke to the mech. 15 min later he came over and got me. Said that while he had never seen this happen before that the mechanic was their lead mechanic and he thought he was right. I protested ask him to charge the battery before anything else was done, he also said they had no way of doing that. Then he said he had never had the problem of a customer clearing the codes and continuing to drive the vehical till it went dead after the ICE shut down. HOLD IT I did no such thing, the car never moved after the warning lights came on and the car stopped moving. I then also added I'm concerned that I'd been made aware by their service writer that a Prius just weeks before had come in with an oil overfill from Walmart and they ended up having to replace the ICE due to this. He looked like he did not understand what I ment when I said ICE so I repeted it only using Internal Combustion Engine. He went on to say well it depends on the peticular surcomestances ? I said I could not imagine a curcomestance when 1/2 qt overfill would total the ICE. He then said that it was due to Walmart installing a filter with no gasket! Ok that could kill any engine but had nothing to do with an overfill or what I'm dealing with.

So now the service mgr is saying he is going to call Toyota and then call me back this afternoon.

I'm waiting but thinking if some one at the dealer dose not start making sence I'm going to get the car towed home and fix it my self... And they wonder why folks hate dealerships.

 

All recalls have been completed by this dealership.

 

UPDATE 8/18/14

15:00 Service mgr called me said they got it running and drove it into bay then it quit, now again dash is dark. They are going to take some voltage readings from the traction battery then call me back today........I know what they are going to find.....LOW LEVELS......already told them this.

 

So who would not want a new ICE for free, but chances are for some poor fella supporting 2 kids and a wife on Walmart wages, it would cost him his job. Have a hard time sleeping on that if it was just a throttle body cleaning necessary.