The Case of the Overfilled Crankcase

it never bothered my gen II, but i haven't had my pip changed yet. not sure if it's a problem or not. might be worth asking the service manager's opinion. is there anything in the manual?

 

Call Toyota service dept. And tell them what you've told us.

 

Many here never fill with more than 4 qts instead of the recommended 4.4, which supposedly provides a small increase in fuel economy. It it were mine, I have some of that excees removed and then some.

 

Not everybody can work on their own cars.
However (comma!) like the Prius itself....more can do it than do do it.

If it were me?
I wouldn't let them touch my car ever again AND I would pop a large angry red flare over the dealership, their owners, Toyota of Norte Americano, etc...
But that's just me.
Not everybody is as easy going and understanding as I am.

This is a problem that I hear about over and over and over and over again, especially with M/C's and Toyotas.
You probably need to let these clowns know about it, and you probably need to also acknowledge the fact that the few ounces of extra oil won't really hurt anything---in this case.
BUT....the next maintenance/repair item that they attempt to do might.
Would you trust them to work on your brakes?
Your airbags?
Do any small children ride in the car?

An oil change is a super-easy thing to get wrong, but it's also super easy to detect and fix it when you do fumble the snap!
All you have to do is LOOK!
THATs the part that I would have a hard time with.
THATs the reason that I wouldn't let them touch my car again.

YMMV!

 

I've never seen an owner's manual that fails to warn about overfilling your crankcase. If substantially overfilled (not 1/4"), connecting rods will strike the oil in the sump and create a froth that doesn't lubricate well and doesn't pump well because the froth is compressible and oil pumps are positive displacement pumps. An experienced tech would never overfill.

 

Not to mention that with a substantial enough overfill (I also don't think 1/4" will do it) it's possible to get an overpressure in the oil system that will blow out things like crankcase seals. At least, that's the warnings I saw on VW beetles, back in the day when I was overhauling same for a hobby.

KBeck

 

If you have the time I would ask them to drain some. Otherwise I don't think it's a big deal.

Just make sure to specify not to overfill while they are writing the order form. My dealer is very good about doing whatever I ask of them within reason.

 

No, every time the dealer changes the oil in my 2010 liftback, the oil level is 1/4 inch over full. When I have it changed 10,000 miles later, it is still 1/4 inch over full, just slightly darker color. 1 inch overfull would bother me, but not 1/4.