Prius overfilled by 1/2 inch!

Just drain it slowly from the drain bolt

 

If you don't change your own oil, it's good that you check. I've always changed my own oil, no stripped or cross threaded plug, no filter left loose or over tightened and no overfill. I drain the oil, change the filter and refill with 4 quarts of 0W20, it's about a quarter of and inch below full and stays there till the next change. I'd take it back and make them correct it.

 

I don't know why the people we pay to change our oil ,can't get it right. Once I bought a Rav 4 demo,I had it serviced the day I bought it, the service guy overfilled it with oil, I checked it before I left the dealer, so I complained and after waiting 45 mins. they changed the oil again ,overfilled it again and got grease on my floor mat.
The only good part of the day was an older customer service lady who took the grease off the mat for me and offered to try and get it done again, at that point I said no thanks I'll do it myself.
Odd part is I am a mechanic, mostly semi's and equipment for the past 40 years, so I know people can do the job properly, it just aggravates me when they don't.
Is it overfull by 1/2 inch with the engine cold or hot ? Cold it might be okay but could increase drag inside the engine and lower your mileage, if it is overfull when it is hot by 1/2 I would drain it or get it drained as there is always the possibility of too much crack case pressure which might cause leaks later on.
If you can, take it back and make them drain it down ,only takes 5 mins. I always look my engine over after they service it in the parking lot of the dealer before I leave, as I have had them leave my oil cap off of my truck as well at a different dealer.
If you want to do it yourself, put it in clean spot loosen the drain plug and don't take it all the way out but just enough to drain a little out , best to do it when the engine is cold.
Take Care Bob

 

I never go to a dealer for an oil change. I usually buy my oil and filter and bring it to a mechanic shop (a non busy shop). They will do your oil change right away and they charge a very low price (I pay $10). Any shop should be able to do an oil change......it's just so basic

 

Also when you check your oil on the stick ,look at the level then turn the stick over to the other side, if it is lower on one side, then that is the actual level, sometimes a false reading occurs that way due to oil in the tube.

 

You could get the dealership to fix it, sounds like you payed for (and got!) 5 quarts.

When I was in your situation some years back, I phoned them up, and they right away said bring it in and we'll fix the level.

But then, like JC, I just threw up my hands, fixed it myself. And went back to DIY oil change from then on.

I would bleed off 2 cups, just to be sure, then later you can top up as needed. Back out the drain bolt till it's almost free, then cock it slightly to get a slight trickle going. Best to have a (clean) drain pan under, just in case.

I've done that once; it takes a while, and by the time I got enough out my arms were starting to shake, lol.

 

On my upcoming first oil change at the dealer (2015), I might just ask them to put in 4 quarts. I have plenty of oil at home to top off when needed. That way it won't be overfilled.

 

you can get a nice siphon from sears or any autostore for cheap that fits down the dipstick. 10 minutes, you're done and no mess or climbing under the car.

 

Honestly I don't think it will hurt anything to run it to the next service,that's probably a pint or so over full. Your cheapest solution is to make whoever changed the oil make it right,if they don't ,I would never get it serviced there again.

 

It'll be ok.

 

i can't give you a model or link, but any oil syphon at the aforementioned stores will work. the dipstick tube is bigger than you think. amazon has a million of them.

 

Our previous Civic Hybrid took 3.2 liters. For the first year or two, with the dealership doing the oil change, they routinely slammed in 4.0, and the dipstick was perenially about 3/8" of an inch high. It survived. When the manufacturers set the oil level there's got to be a big fudge factor, ie: your car is not going to die with slight overfill.

Not sure about 02, but with 3rd gen there's something like 1.5 quart variation between the two marks. Are you burning any oil, needing to top up between changes. If you just do nothing it might work it's way down.

 

Q: Should I drain the oil to the proper level?

A: Yes.

Q: How should I drain the oil?

A: You can unscrew the oil drain plug nearly completely and slowly bleed a couple of cups (probably start with two, then see where you're at), or you can siphon the oil from the dipstick tube with something like this:

Q: Is it fine to drive for a bit until I get the time to drain the oil to normal levels?

A: Yes.

 

Again, whenever you go to the trouble of jacking the car up and draining a bit out at the drain bolt, I'd tend to drain a bit more than needed. It's infinitely easier to top up the oil later, then to repeat the process. That said, 2 cups sounds about right.

 

Good point. You could drain even more just to be sure you get under the "full" line and then add the oil back as needed. I usually use a siphon for something like this, but if I were doing the drain plug method, it would be better to over-drain the first time and top off than having to do it all over again.

 

You don't even need to jack up the car, you can reach the drain bolt easily by using the dip in your driveway. Just move the car up to the dip and loosen bolt with wrench. Should be plenty of clearance.