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Oil change from HELL !

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by JustDruling4Now, May 4, 2018.

  1. JustDruling4Now

    JustDruling4Now Junior Member

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    Took my Gen 2 Prius to Walmart for oil change. Well let's just say that it was a less than successful. So I gave the guy my key and went inside to fill out the paper work. After waiting about 10 minutes the person shows up to fill out the paper work. So we finish filling out the paper work and I start to leave. Guy comes in the door and said " You the red Prius ? ". Now I have never been addressed is a red Prius but being the owner of the only red Prius in the oil bay I knew this was not going to be good. Yes I am the owner. Then he tells me the car won't come on. Well this does not surprise me. Having dealt with parking attendants before(long story ) it is not my first rodeo ! So I go to see what's going on. I am meet with one guy scratching his head and another man said " It's okay he just don't know how to make it work. "I said you have to push the button. ": He replied "I did that a bunch of times ! " . I said "Did you have your foot on the break ? " OK we got it now thanks ! So I go back inside but some gut feeling tells me not to leave the area.about ten minutes later my gut feeling pays off ! Door opens "Hey lady you car don't do nothing ! " Nothing ? "It won't move ! It won't go forward or backwards ! ". Really ? It worked when I got here. So back to the car I go. He was right . It was not doing any ! It would not budge. The lights on the dash started going off like Christmas lights. It's flashing all lights at once in a blinking pattern . I knew it must be a code but since I don't work for Toyota I was clueless as to what the message it was trying to tell me. I sat there and racked my brain. What could have gone wrong with the car. It was working when I left it. A vision of a tow truck driver handing me a hug bill floated around in my head for a minute. NO ! NOT NOW !!!! I don't have cash for a flat bed wrecker ! What could be the deal ??? So I get out of the car after several attempts to revive my poor Prissy Prius. Yes I named my car !!! LOL :) Then I though what if the batter is not getting good connection or lost charge. So I head back to the car and she locked me out !. Disassembling the key fob I get the skeleton key out and open the door. Pull apart the access to the interior battery. Guess that's what it is called. Again I don't work for Toyota. I ask the guy at the oil bay to help me out with a jump. He said pop the hood. I said it's in the back of the car You should have seen the look on his face when I showed him where that battery was located . After several attempts to jump it off finally success !!! He said when he checked it to see it it was a bad battery that it was only pulling 4 amps. I guess pushing the start button a million times didn't help the charge on my battery. It must have drained it so much the poor car lost it's mind. I told the guy to just scratch my name off the list. There was no way I was going to turn the car off. I took the long way home. Prissy will have to wait for her oil change. I am done for the day !!!!
     
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  2. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Sounds like your 12v 'interior' battery is a little long in the tooth.

    Try testing it, or if its old then just replace it.

    How often do you drive it, miles/hours per week?
     
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  3. JustDruling4Now

    JustDruling4Now Junior Member

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    Yes the battery is on it's last leg. If we let the car sit more than 4 days it has to be jumped off . But my husband drives it every day to work about 30 mile round trip. Guess it's time to search for new one.
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    The Prius is an "odd duck", in a lot of ways: the start button, the shifter, the parking brake. It doesn't take long to catch on, but definitely a lot of reports like this. Count your blessing, that didn't they didn't reverse the jumpstart leads, that could lead to damage that'd pretty much total the car.
     
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    funny story, for me.
     
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  6. JustDruling4Now

    JustDruling4Now Junior Member

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    Hey it's funny to me too now that the car is at home not blocking the bay door of Walmart. :) So the moral of the store is don't take your car to Walmart service center. Lesson learned ! :D
     
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  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    How much are you saving vs Toyota dealership anyway? I wouldn't have any faith in those quicky places. The dealerships at least are more knowledgable.

    Full disclosure: our oil changes have always been DIY, but I appreciate that doesn't work for everyone.
     
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  8. srellim234

    srellim234 Senior Member

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    I used to take my Prius to the dealer but it got too expensive. Now I save a little by taking it to an independent shop instead. I did, however, pick a hybrid specialist who personally owns a 2nd gen Prius himself to service it.
     
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  9. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Glad you got it running. Now you need to get that auxiliary battery, as it's actually called, replaced asap so you or he don't get stranded again.

    The guy in the shop was right, though about jumping it in the front. It's a lot easier to use the jump terminals up there. And as @Mendel Leisk said, you dodged a bullet that they didn't accidentally reverse the jumper leads. That's usually catastrophically expensive. WHEW!!
     
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  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Only thing: an uninitiated Walmart jump starter, when they pop the hood theyll still be scratching their head.
     
  11. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    So the moral of the store is don't take your car to Walmart service center.

    I don't want to be a debbie downer, but I have to be objective here. Do you think this other sentance could be the true root cause of your horrible visit?

    Yes the battery is on it's last leg. If we let the car sit more than 4 days it has to be jumped off .

    It's easy to blame Wally World, but you (and hubby) have apparently been setting yourselves up for failure for a while. Maybe they had to keep hitting the button because the battery was on it's last leg. If it wasn't the Wally World oil change, it would have been a $200 tow job at some point. Maybe you need to look at it as if Wally did you a favor and your car crapped out somewhere that help was actually available?

    How long do you plan to wait before you get the new 12v? Before or after investing in a tow? Maybe the next "jump" gets done backwards and smokes your electronics?? A new battery is looking more affordable every minute.

    And also, it should be jumped from the front of the car, not the back. As explained in the owners manual....
     
  12. golfmk681

    golfmk681 Active Member

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    Hence why I do my oil changes. 10k intervals, and fomuto drain valve makes all the difference. I've just had to one to many negative experiences letting these jiffylube monkeys do work on my car.
     
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  13. JustDruling4Now

    JustDruling4Now Junior Member

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    The car didn't have a problem when I drove it to Walmart . Yes it had a battery that is on the older side and needs a new one. But we have never had to keep pushing the start button repeatedly to get the car started. Usually only have problems with the battery if we let it sit for several days without driving. The battery was drained by pushing the button many time and they turned on the headlights which was discovered by my husband when he took a looked at the car later the next day. I didn't even realize they had turned the headlights on because it was midday and there was no need for headlights. I feel they must have been turning things on and off trying to figure out how to start the car . Not sure? Why they turned them on. I don't drive the car. It is my husbands work car . He is usually the one to jump it off when and if it is needed. I had only seen him use the battery in the back to jump it off . The first time he jumped it off before he learned that it's accessible under the hood. He never shared the info with me as I never drive the car. We had planed on investing in a new battery then he lost his job. We have been playing catch up with the bills since he started his new job. I was trying to help him out by taking the car to be serviced . I though that Walmart could do a oil change without any problems. Had I realized they didn't know how to start the car I would have stayed with them and given them instructions. I forget that not everyone knows how to operate a hybrid vehicle. That's a subject all oil service places should address with their employees. I don't want to be a Susie downer but I don't feel that Walmart did me a favor ! It was a huge waist of my time and a heart attack I could have done without ! If they had of come to me sooner once they realized they couldn't figure out how to start the car. I would have been glad to show them how and my battery would have been fine ! If people at a service center jumps off a car backwards and they smoke the electronics they don't need to be working in the car service field ! Next pay check the battery and service will be complete .
     
    #13 JustDruling4Now, May 6, 2018
    Last edited: May 6, 2018
  14. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    The above two statements are mutually exclusive. Having to jump a car is a problem especially if you have to do it more than once.

    But, now you know to not take a Prius to Walmart or any of those other low end places. It's like that old AAMCO commercial where there's a guy scrubbing the floor when a customer comes in and he says, "Hey boss. Can I do this one? I never worked on a automatic transmission before." :D
     
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  15. Erik Owens

    Erik Owens Member

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    What shit show of a dealer or independent shop is this. Please name names. They shouldnt be working on anything with a push button start or newer than 1990. Jeez. As soon as you saw they couldnt start it you should have taken the key and told them you would park it yourself,...at home,...as far away from that jerk off centers delight. Sorry if it was a dealership. Most get a bad wrap but **** me if that is what you guys deal with wherever you are located.
     
  16. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Your getting your oil changed at Walmart.


    That's all I have to say.
     
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  17. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Unfortunate for the OP...
    But a good cautionary tale.

    This is why I usually recommend Hybrid Owners, establish a relationship with a Hybrid Specialized repair shop, or a dealership they can trust, even if they are having "routine" internal combustion engine maintenance done.

    You may never know what actually happened- but it's clear the technicians had no clue as how to handle a Prius. Getting out of there with a running vehicle and a low battery might of actually been lucky.

    Glad you made it home with a running Prius.

    Plus I agree with post #11.
    The technicians at Wal-Mart may of had unfamiliarity with how a Prius operates. But you gave it to them with a 12 volt battery you knew was dying.

    The real root of the problem here, is driving around with a 12 volt battery that needs to be jumped started, if the vehicle sits for 4 days.
    The Prius has been warning you of an approaching problem for a while.
    The technicians as Wal-Mart had no warning that the battery was low, or on it's last legs.

    Get the battery replaced.
     
    #17 The Electric Me, May 8, 2018
    Last edited: May 8, 2018
  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    There's been similar cases here, just for valet parking of a Prius.

    I guess tricky push-button start is catching on, and it (hopefully) will become more commonplace, understood. I wonder sometimes though: just because you can do something, and there's marginal benefit, do you have to go there.

    And when you're driving a variety of vehicles: I'm for example forever dropping into our kids' Honda's, and then having to do contortions, to fish a key out of a pocket.

    The one thing they do have in common: the #*@!*& "smart" keys cost a small fortune. Our daughter in particular is losing and replacing keys on a notoriously regular basis, for around $160~170 a pop.

    I miss the old days, when a duplicate (dumb) key could be had from any key cutter, for around $5. Oh: and sealed beam headlights were $20. But we progress.
     
    #18 Mendel Leisk, May 8, 2018
    Last edited: May 8, 2018
  19. MilkyWay

    MilkyWay Active Member

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    You can jump from hood. If you pop hood and look into engine bay you'll look for a little black box on the right next to inverter....You undo the box and you'll see a red/positive piece of metal and that is where you hook up red....You can connect black anywhere that is metal on the car.



    Capture.PNG
     
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  20. JustDruling4Now

    JustDruling4Now Junior Member

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    By the time they came to me the damage was already done. :(