Oil Change killed my V

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Kris k, Jul 20, 2020.

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  1. Kris k

    Kris k Junior Member

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    I was out today and took my V through a quick oil change place (I know big mistake). They changed the oil and filter and as soon as I pulled out of the Bay, the check engine light came on. I drove around to the back of the oil change facility and the car became sluggish. By the time I got to the other side the car would no longer accelerate at all. The shop pushed the car back into the Bay and checked everything then did the oil change again. The ICE still would not come on. The facility said they would look at it if I had it towed to their full service center and IF it was their fault they would cover it. While waiting for the tow truck I peaked beyond the butterfly valve in the air intake manifold and there was a bunch of oil in it. I told the full service shop and they repeated my test, placing a screwdriver in the air manifold and it came out dripping with oil.

    They are going to look at it tomorrow and get back to me. I'm expecting this is going to be a fight as they don't want to be responsible and are not hybrid mechanics.

    After reading the forum threads I suspect they over filled the oil. The paperwork says they added 4.4 although I've read it should be 3.9 or slightly lower.

    Anyone know if there's documentation about over filling the oil or what might have happened to my engine in that 200ft? Last week we took a 2k trip and I drove it to the oil change shop and it was running perfectly.
     
    #1 Kris k, Jul 20, 2020
  2. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    I'm not saying that they didn't cause your car's death, but they definitely did not kill it with a 0.5 quart overfill- those engines don't care about a small excess like that.

    It's relatively common to find significant blow-by liquid deposits in the manifold. Some owners have gone so far as installing catch-cans to prevent this.

    One way or another I hope you arrive at a good settlement.
     
    #2 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Jul 20, 2020
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  3. Kris k

    Kris k Junior Member

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    Thanks. It's too much of a coincidence that the problems occured immediately after the service. Perhaps they didn't drain all the oil first or used the wrong oil? Just don't know what else would kill the ICE in 200 ft.
     
    #3 Kris k, Jul 21, 2020
  4. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    #4 jzchen, Jul 21, 2020
  5. Diemaster

    Diemaster Active Member

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    How can it NOT be there fault? Everything was fine before you got their service right? I would get a safety net AKA lawyer and make sure if it is truly dead (like oil hydrolocked) that they reimburse you for the service, your time and the car. I myself in this situation would demand they pay for a brand new prius.
     
    #5 Diemaster, Jul 21, 2020
  6. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Classic results of overfilling oil.
    Drain
    Clean things up. Reset any error codes.
    Restart.

    Possible issue comes in if they tried restarting too many times before cleaning things up and inadvertently defined the hybrid battery too low.
     
    #6 ericbecky, Jul 21, 2020
  7. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    MY 2013 v takes 4.4 quarts. Maybe your inverter went out. There is always oil in the bottom of the intake unless you have a catch can. Do you have any codes or dash lights?
     
    #7 Tim Jones, Jul 21, 2020
  8. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    There was a gen 2 owner here who swore a quick change oil service killed his HV battery because it failed while there.
     
    #8 fotomoto, Jul 21, 2020
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  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    Yeah, second gen:

    upload_2020-7-21_8-44-18.png

    And 3rd gen:

    upload_2020-7-21_8-45-51.png
     
    #9 Mendel Leisk, Jul 21, 2020
  10. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    #10 Tim Jones, Jul 21, 2020
  11. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    We'll probably never know how much was added because they quickly redid the oil change. I'm guessing it's possible the computer put 4.4 quarts on the receipt but the tech filled 5, or even more from how quickly the failure occured.

    moto g(7) power ?
     
    #11 jzchen, Jul 21, 2020
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  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    Oh yeah, had in my mind OP was 2nd gen; v will also be 4.4.

    Still, something bad happened, likely down to quicky lube.
     
    #12 Mendel Leisk, Jul 21, 2020
  13. Kris k

    Kris k Junior Member

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    Update. The Valvoline full service center said my V was running and ready to be picked up. All the paperwork said was "throttle body cleaned". Said they cleared out but wouldn't tell me the error code. It drove home just fine. They verbally told me they had also cleaned out the air intake and considered replacing the pvc valve but didn't.

    Much easier than I expected this to go, although they wouldn't admit or document that it was caused by an overfill. Now I've got to call the store manager and ask for a towing refund. Happy it didn't totally kill the engine.
     
    #13 Kris k, Jul 21, 2020
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  14. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Woah. Thanks for sharing/the warning!

    I was planing to take our v to one of those for ATF change, eventually.

    moto g(7) power ?
     
    #14 jzchen, Jul 21, 2020
  15. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    I have never had a problem with oil change places...... guess that's because I've never been to one.
    I was skeptical at this at first thinking how can a oil change go wrong..... another good reason to service your Own Car...... cheaper and not very hard.
     
    #15 Tim Jones, Jul 22, 2020
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  16. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    I've changed mine four times.....really easy.....
     
    #16 Tim Jones, Jul 22, 2020
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  17. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    #17 Georgina Rudkus, Jul 22, 2020
  18. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    I have seen this before and it's nice... but I can purchase 10 mobile1 synthetic oil filters for that price. And I change my oil at least six times a year. I would get the adapter if I didn't have over 250,000 on my v.
     
    #18 Tim Jones, Jul 22, 2020
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