Oil Overfill - Three Times Now

Well they seem to have the oil thing down, now all I have to train them to do is rotate tires properly. After that we can work on advanced topics like variations in air pressure. As I said I don't think a Prius Tech does the work for oil changes and tire rotation, I suspect a more junior person does that work.

 

I have been checking every Prius that comes in for an oil change when they leave to be sure that the lube technicians don't over fill them. The oil changes are not done by the prius master technicians. If you have any questions ask to talk to the Prius Master Technician or Shop Forman. I have found that some of them or over filled from the factory.

 

That is interesting! Mine was about 3/8 inch over the fill when I got it. Turned out to be good news bad news. Bad news is I forgot to check it when I picked up the car on a Friday because I was excited. When I did check it Saturday morning the shop at the Toyota dealer was closed. I took it to a jiffy lube and the "kid" (just out of high school) who was in charge in that morning was all over it. He knew about the Prius, engine size, amount of oil, and a bit about the HSG. Told me I should not drive with the car over filled and drained it to a 1/4" below the full. Suggested that if I wanted better milage I might add a little air to the tires. He fixed that and knew there was 2 psi greater in the front. Bright well informed technician. Had just graduated from high school in auto technology and was working on further training at the CC. I later learned that the local high school in Helena has won awards for its auto technology program and does well in national competitions ever year. Good to know that there are young people that will be ready to take care of our cars. It was a very positive experience.

 

I know that overfilling the oil will cost you in gas mileage. Are there any other bad effects?

 

I have also been noticing that some of the new ones coming off of the transport trucks are overfilled. I have been making an adjustment of about 1/4 qt.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kidtwist\";p=\"68394)</div>

Go to this web page. There is a copy of the Tech Bulletin on the subject but it can lead to error codes and such.
http://www.alldata.com/tsb/Toyota/11035296...G050-04/50.html

 

Hm. Most of the Prius Techs, as Kyle mentioned, don't do oil changes unless the oil change guys are super busy and the line techs have nothing to do. At least, that's what happens where my husband works.

Most oil change techs are simply that- they change oil and nothing else. It's rare that you have a certified (ASE, Toyota, Prius certirfied, whatever) tech changing oil. My husband may be the only one of that kind, and it's only because they have no room in the tech bays for him until someone else leaves.

I really should go check my oil level. I just got through the break-in period (now just over 700 mi)and we'll probably end up changing the oil this week to remove all the little metal shavings from engine wear-in... That may explain my slightly lower mpg levels.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee\";p=\"79974)</div>

Hmm, Prius techs don't do oil changes, :roll: . Maybe some one can tell my service manager that. We don't have a " lube tech" here. We all do the oil changes,including me, . Guess I am over qualified,haha.

 

That sucks Rick. Do you at least get to change oil mostly on Prii?

My husband isn't nearly as qualified as you (no formal schooling, 5 ASEs, 2 more next month we hope and 2 years work experience)... but also changes lots of oil- in the express lube bay he doesn't have room for more than a few basic tools (guess that $14K we spent on tools isn't doing us much good now is it?) and can't do much tech work.

Once the dealer moves to their new building they're promoting him to express lube manager (so they say, we'll see) and then he gets all the alignments and belts and such that come in with oil change jobs until he can get through Toyota school.

Guess there's a lot of variation in who changes your oil depending on where you go. I just have my husband bring it to work with him when the car needs something and I know he won't screw it up.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(xevious\";p=\"66648)</div>

The "three quarts only, Vasily" recommendation is deduced from statements in the owner's manual: full capacity including filter = 3.9 quarts; difference in capacity between the ADD and FULL marks = [uhh, I don't have the manual in front of me, but as I recall 1.5 quarts]. If those statements are correct, and allowing for some retained oil, three quarts is about halfway. Last week I gave three quarts of Mobil 1 to a dealer service shop I hadn't used before, and they looked at me funny but they did it; and yea, verily, the new oil level was indeed halfway twixt ADD and FULL. I conclude that the service instruction to add 3.9 quarts assumes that *all* of the old oil will drain out during a change, which of course does not happen.

enerjazz, I recommend giving Toyota of Richardson another chance. They were fast, spotlessly clean, and cheap, and would even have run the Pequod through their carwash if I'd let them. Toyota of Dallas were none of those things, and they used the wrong weight. True, they didn't overfill it, but I did warn them that I'd check.