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smoke coming out of oil filler cap

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by GarytheGeek, Jun 4, 2021.

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  1. GarytheGeek

    GarytheGeek New Member

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    the red triangle binked at me every other time i drove my prius. my OBDii picked up no codes so i thought that it is just my new battery is not that good. i decided to just keep driving for 4 or so weeks like this. then today durring a road trip, i had to brake hard and the red triangle came on again and the low oil light came on. it went away after i stopped braking. i freaked out and stopped at autozone and bought some oil, it needed 2 quarts. as i was putting oil in the engine a small amount of smoke was copping out of the oil filler hole. it is a small amount and i know that a small amount is normal, but it didnt stop. after i came back 3 min later a small amount of smoke was still comming out. so this is a 3 part question, was the red triangle trying to tell me the oil was low all allong? is my engine damage (2 quarts low and the smoke)? if so how bad?
     
    #1 GarytheGeek, Jun 4, 2021
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    2 quarts brought it to the top mark on dipstick? Checked on level ground? Was there ANY oil showing on the dipstick when you first checked, assuming you did. Say a little at the tip?

    The low oil light is for oil pressure, and typically comes on when it’s near dry.
     
    #2 Mendel Leisk, Jun 4, 2021
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  3. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    pretty common for a little vapor to come out of the oil fill hole on a hot engine with not enough oil...
     
    #3 PriusCamper, Jun 4, 2021
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  4. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    You were cooking what little oil was in the engine. And damaging the engine. I'd recommend changing the oil asap to remove the stuff that's been boiling. And from now on, get in the habit of checking the oil at least every tank of gas. This is standard procedure for all cars, even new.
     
    #4 jerrymildred, Jun 4, 2021
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it's a toyota option, no extra charge
     
    #5 bisco, Jun 4, 2021
  6. GarytheGeek

    GarytheGeek New Member

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    2 quarts brought me to halfway between the 2 markers. this was measured on level ground. i could not tell if there was oil on the tip. there was oil on the dip stick when i first checked. i then cleaned it and saw that there was no oil between the 2 dots and freaked outand filled it up. i did not check if there was oil on the tip.
     
    #6 GarytheGeek, Jun 5, 2021
  7. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Red triangle of death comes and you keep driving?

    yes red triangle was begging you to stop and check the oil.

    yes the engine is damaged,
     
    #7 edthefox5, Jun 5, 2021
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  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Top mark is just shy of 4 quarts on second gen, something like 3.9 according to Owner’s Manual IIRC? Distance between the marks represents 1.6 quarts, again IIRC.

    With that info, I’d say after adding the 2 quarts there was about 3.1 quarts (3.9-(1.6/2).

    And prior to the top up you had 1.1 quart (3.1-2) in the crankcase.

    Short short version: you probably had about a quart in there, not good, but better than nothing. The oil warning light had just come on, intermittently, like during accel/decel, and/or while you were cornering, and the oil was sloshing away from the pump.

    bottom line: you might have dodged a bullet.
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Jun 5, 2021
  9. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Smoke says otherwise.
     
    #9 edthefox5, Jun 6, 2021
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