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3rd Gen. No low oil indicator

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by 2013Prius3, Aug 17, 2024 at 6:49 PM.

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  1. 2013Prius3

    2013Prius3 New Member

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    Not sure how many people are aware of this/ and or if this has already been discussed here. I just wanna inform and help those who don’t know, these for whatever reason do not have a light or indicator of any kind alerting of low oil!
    At least not on my 3rd gen 2013. Also the temperature light can be hard to miss and these are notorious for overheating due to the headgasket failure. If this happens you are more than likely out several thousand for a new engine. I’m personally looking at changing to Android, As they have a free app that will monitor all the engine and battery vitals. Good luck all and hope this helped at least one person!
     
    #1 2013Prius3, Aug 17, 2024 at 6:49 PM
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  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    That's the game plan when you overheat or mess up one of these generally you should be getting a new engine not just changing a head gasket and all of that messing around these engines have no meat in their design there's no room to machine anything or any of that kind of stuff so once things warp break etc they get replaced not rebuilt or any of that there's nothing on a 2ZZ for the engine rebuilder to work with if you understand that so generally you're buying the center section the reciprocating mass all of that is separate because it's a modular designed engine that's just the way it be.
     
    #2 Tombukt2, Aug 18, 2024 at 12:11 PM
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i dreampt last night that i had to change the head gasket on my 1970 fiat 124 sedan.
    they planed the head, but the block was warped, and after it was done, the pistons and valves were touching.
     
    #3 bisco, Aug 18, 2024 at 1:20 PM
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  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Did you find out the hard way?

    What's the miles?
     
    #4 Mendel Leisk, Aug 18, 2024 at 2:21 PM
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  5. 2013Prius3

    2013Prius3 New Member

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    I wouldn’t say I found out the hard way as my engine is still running! (Somehow)
    Bought it with 39k and just recently hit 145k.
    Over 100K with just oil changes, brakes front & rear and on my second set of tires.
    I just had my first “major” repair done at 144k.
    Spark plugs changed, bad water pump replaced, EGR cleaned & all the fluids drained & replaced. (Oil, transmission, engine coolant, and inverter coolant) to those of you who have 120k or more I would highly recommend getting your EGR cleaned, especially if your car is sluggish. New plugs also a good idea.

    I'm kinda wishing I would have had the timing cover gasket replaced as it is leaking a bit, but it’s not exactly cheap and my mechanic thinks I will be fine for a while. Just gonna stick with 3-5k oil changes and keep an eye on it. I wish there was a temporary fix like a heat resistant silicone I could put around the outside of the timing cover? Anyone heard of such a thing?

     
    #5 2013Prius3, Aug 18, 2024 at 6:30 PM
  6. 2013Prius3

    2013Prius3 New Member

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    Sheesh! Thankfully just a dream! Probably cheaper than the Prius tho!
     
    #6 2013Prius3, Aug 18, 2024 at 6:42 PM
  7. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    In a gen 3 liftback, the indication you get looks like this. It's the triangle light plus an oil pressure message on the MID.

    [​IMG]

    Still to be careful, though: it is not a low oil level warning. Like in most older cars, it is an oil pressure warning, so the engine is already eating itself a little whenever you see it. The dipstick should be used often to check the level.
     
    #7 ChapmanF, Aug 18, 2024 at 6:44 PM
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  8. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Most cars don't have one.
     
    #8 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Aug 18, 2024 at 10:10 PM
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  9. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    If there’s no sensor to detect low oil, how will Android os install its own sensor onto the the engine block’s engine oil
    Circuitry?

    es
     
    #9 Grit, Aug 18, 2024 at 10:51 PM
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