engine oil quantity and color

Are you siphoning the oil from the bottom of the pan? I'm not an expert in oil but I would expect the oil sitting on the bottom will be darker than the oil sitting on the top. Why don't you let the ICE run for a minute or two and check again.

 

The color difference may just be the difference between a thick layer of oil versus a thin layer. If it's nearly clear on your dipstick, that's a good thing for new oil.

Oil level should be checked on a level surface and when the engine is cold or at least 10 minutes for it to settle before checking the dipstick. Maybe that explains why you're reading high?

 

The darkness difference could be due to thickness of the oil you are observing. So you could try putting a drop of oil from each source on a piece of white construction paper or something like that. Presumably they used Toyota synthetic 5W-20 to refill. But any residual oil in the system will add darkness to the new oil, so hard to judge if oil is old or new. Especially 10k drain interval is darker oil. What I do is put in dipstick, pull it out, rotate 180 and dip again and then look. Sometimes hard to see level due to streaking on the stick.

 

Here's the problem with the Prius Plug-in. When the guy took your car from the parking lot into the shop, the ICE probably never came on. Therefore, the oil never got mixed. It is possible that when he drained the oil, the "dirt" was still sitting on the bottom of the pan even though he completely drained the pan.

In the old days, we didn't have this problem. The car engine oil always get mixed before drained. Knowing how lazy these mechanics are, I doubt they would do extra work to get your ICE running before draining the oil.

 

As soon as my Toyota Care expires, I'll be buying my own filter and oil and take it to a local shop to get my oil change. I trust local shop owners more than a mechanics working at a large dealership. Local shop guys take pride on their work. Unfortunately, most aren't trained to service hybrids.

I also own a Lexus SUV. Their mechanics aren't that great either even though the Lexus is a more upscale brand. They scratched my car one time and left grease on the car body another time. I don't know how much they get paid but certainly not as much as what the hourly rate that dealer charges me. You did the right thing by checking.

 

They should have used 0W-20, it's written right on the oil filler cap.

 

A picture is worth a thousand words. Oil level should be between low and full. The way you are describing it is ambiguous.

 

Ambiguous.

 

Take it back to dealer and have them make it right?

 

I don't get why this should matter.
The drain plug is at the bottom of the oil pan.
(yes a light film of the old oil still remains, but this happens in every car)

Mike

 

I was just throwing out possibilities. I haven't changed my own oil for many years.

 

This is for you, because you are so awesome Bisco. I checked my oil today. The engine has been sitting about an hour after I came home from work. From picture 1, I have no idea what my level is.

Flip it over and ahah. I'm a little above full. No, it's not below low. I know it looks that way. It's tough to see in the picture and tougher still to get a sharp focus but in person it's obvious. To give some context. My PiP has 19.5k miles. I got my first free oil change at 10k miles so this oil is pretty much spent. I'm impressed by how clear the oil is. On my previous cars, it would be much much darker. This doesn't mean the oil is still good, it's just an observation.

If this was new oil, I would have a tough time seeing the level. And finally, 10k miles and I am still reading above full? That's about a 1/4" I would say. Looks like we both need a new dealer. If I remember, I'll take another pic in two weeks when I get my next oil change. Let's see how difficult it is to read. Might just have to use your fingers to read it.