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Not enough oil causes the overfill-related CELs too.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by galaxee, May 14, 2007.

  1. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    DH had a classic prius owner show up yesterday with a check engine light and codes P3191 and P3101. she hadn't changed her oil in over 10k miles and it was just over 2 qts low.

    he added oil and the codes went away. the owner didn't have time to have an oil change done, apparently.

    just a heads up with all the oil-level debate/mayhem around here.
     
    #1 galaxee, May 14, 2007
  2. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Very interesting...I would first wonder where the 2 quarts went! At least a few Prius change synthetic engine oil on 12 k intervals and oil level reductions have not been reported. I am certain that DH would not let it leave the bay with oil leaking from the pan or seals.

    If the oil is blowing by the rings, would this eventually interfere with catalyst function (tho one might anticipate different DTCs from that).

    Did he notice if the throttle butterfly was heavy with soot? I understand that in extreme cases this can lead to 3191.

    My atttention is on matters other than oil level (or pressure) per se because the way for that to cause a no-start is not at all clear. As far as the car can tell, ultra-low oil (from the ECU's perspective) would seem to be like disconnecting the oil pressure sensor - does that cause P3191?

    Also if by any chance this really old oil is still available, I would like to obtain a sample for chemical analysis. Too much to hope for, right?
     
    #2 tochatihu, May 14, 2007
  3. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    the customer made it clear she was to be in and out of the shop in short order. he didn't even have time to drain the old oil before she wanted it back, just top it off. the codes did go away after he topped off but he didn't have time to do any more thorough of an investigation.

    he expects that the engine was burning oil but without time to actually look at the thing...

    she did say she was at least 5k over the oil change interval, and who knows- she may have been changing at the recommended 7.5k interval, which would put more than 12.5k miles on the oil.
     
    #3 galaxee, May 14, 2007
  4. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Just in/out. Don't investigate? No time?

    Excuse me?

    I hope those were two very expensive quarts of oil.
     
    #4 TonyPSchaefer, May 14, 2007
  5. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

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    There are people who do not ever change oil from new, never check it, think the red oil light MAY mean don't drive, and find it annoying to have the annoying oil added. I have known such people. My theory is their father's always nagged them to change the oil, and they are out to prove father wrong. These cars are later called "one owner" trade ins.
     
    #5 Mr.Vanvandenburg, May 14, 2007
  6. bmillerbiop

    bmillerbiop New Member

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    FYI - at about 100K miles, my 2004 Prius also started losing/using oil - about one quart between the 5K oil changes (which I did religiously). Disappointing and a bit odd, since the remaining oil continues to retain the golden, semi-translucent character. You'd think it would turn brown-black if it was burning oil. Could it be getting sucked up somewhere (PCV tube or something)?
     
    #6 bmillerbiop, May 14, 2007
  7. daveleeprius

    daveleeprius Heh heh heh you think so?

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bmiller @ May 14 2007, 03:13 PM) [snapback]441874[/snapback]</div>
    Wow. Our 1991 Corolla has 115k and doesn't burn oil at all, no leaks either. Same with my old 1988 Civic that was rear-ended. Engines were as tight as a drum. Hope our 2007 Prius doesn't start using oil at 100k.

    Dave
     
    #7 daveleeprius, May 14, 2007
  8. morpheusx

    morpheusx Professor Chaos

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveLeePrius @ May 14 2007, 04:18 PM) [snapback]441881[/snapback]</div>
    All combustion engines burn a little oil, if you look in your prius manual you can find a detailed reason why.
     
    #8 morpheusx, May 15, 2007
  9. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bmiller @ May 14 2007, 04:13 PM) [snapback]441874[/snapback]</div>
    well if the oil is still such a nice golden color, DH suspects it's leaking somewhere rather than burning. oil seals do wear- they are maintenance items.
     
    #9 galaxee, May 17, 2007
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