Yes Virginia, Overfilling Oil does cause problems

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cheap! @ Jul 1 2006, 08:46 PM) [snapback]279879[/snapback]</div>

Does the 2006 service manual say to add 3.9 quarts? That same mistake was in the 2004 manual. As ScottY wrote 3.9 quarts is the dry capacity of the system including Toyota's filter. Some oil always remains in the system during a change; adding 3 quarts exactly works out about perfect (that is, the final level is a little more than halfway between the add and fill marks). I give the oil change tech three quart bottles, he puts them in, and life is good.

 

http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-oilchange.htm

This should be for '04 and up.

Cheers,

Curt.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(finman @ Jul 2 2006, 11:23 AM) [snapback]280113[/snapback]</div>

Thanks everyone for the info. I did my own oil change in just about 20 min. I used Mobil One 5-30. I will be doing my own oil changes from now on. I don't trust anyone else with my baby! I'll rotate the tires tomorrow.

Thanks again, you brilliant and thoughtful people.

 

sorry to beat a dead horse with this, but it seems the dealerships still haven't figured it out. I had my oil done at Escondido Toyota last weekend (tools are still boxed up from the move). I even told the sales rep to make sure they didn't overfill it.... "oh, our techs are certified." Got it back, had the tech show me the dipstick, and it was over full by at least 3/8". So he took it back, and when he brought it out the second time, he told me that he himself has a prius, and asked what the problem was with overfilling the oil.... certified!!

The whole time, the guy I asked to make sure it wasn't overfilled never said a word to me. Toyota US really cares about their customers.

 

ok. i am gonna say this one more time. this whole 3.5 or 3.0 or whatever non-spec number is a

grass

roots

movement.

they're gonna use the spec number given to them by the manufacturer- that is, the company that makes em- unless you specify otherwise. yes, they are certified. yes, they know what they're doing.

not to come off as offensive or anything but cripes people, they follow the number in the maintenance manual and you get all huffy! the ONLY situation where this becomes a problem is if you get a P3191 code, which DH has seen all of once in a 2g. ever. and the car had 5.5 qts of oil in the damn thing.

 

The Toyota Japan original fill is about 1/4 in over full mark at rest, in my case anyway, and it does no harm. No codes, no ill effects, it is a very small amount of oil. If anything it is better for the oil and oil temp. There are cutaway drawings that clearly show quite a distance to the crank throw, about one inch or more appx. from full mark on dipstick. That's with the engine off and the oil not circulating. I would say driving with three quarts is less desirable than 3.9. If one qt. circulates (a guess), then there are two in the sump. What happens on a steep hill, maybe oil starvation? Half a pint over the full mark on an engine isn't hurting a thing IMO.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ May 10 2007, 08:57 PM) [snapback]439710[/snapback]</div>

Thanks Galaxee. In all my oil changes (the 50k mile one is coming up soon), I've never see the level more than 1 mm above the full mark. That's from dealers and non-dealers. I've never seen any error codes, so I'm assuming everything is OK. I'll probably start doing my own oil changes after the 50K one though.

Dave M.

 

<_< I almost always agree with galaxee... she provides some very helpful information... BUT...

I believe the "customer" who makes a request must be the 'boss' when it comes to his/her vehicle. "Certified" is nice, but if the tech insists on going by the "book," as opposed to the customer's specific requests, that dealer MUST be responsible for the inconvenience and damages resulting. It might become appropriate for the dealer to advise and warn the vehicle owner if an unusual request is made, and perhaps that should be noted on the service invoice. This oil overfilling thing CAN and DOES cause problems sometimes.

My procedure: I take in a 'by the numbers' list enumerating each item I want done complete with quantities, tire pressures, etc. My Dallas TX area dealer has always been very good to follow my instructions, this is why I recommend them. In my 2004 Prius, I took 3½ qts of Mobil-1 5W30 oil and specified 40/38 psi tire pressures. Haven't reached the 5K mile service yet on my 2007 Touring, but will follow the same procedure.

My 2¢ worth... just for the recond.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Charles Suitt @ May 11 2007, 03:42 PM) [snapback]440146[/snapback]</div>

well, by saying "don't overfill it" that essentially says "don't put more in it than what toyota specifies." if you say "only put 3.6 qts in there" then yes, you should definitely get what you ask for. it pays to be specific- they're there to work on cars, not read minds.

again, 3.9 qts isn't gonna damage your car. how many tens of thousands of prius owners are out there right this very second, driving around with 3.9 qts of oil in the crankcase, who have never read this website and their cars are just fine? DH has seen one P3191 code in a 2g due to overfill. and it wasn't from having 3.9 quarts in there, it was a major express lube f-up. the P3191 is vastly more common in 1g prius, which is quite susceptible to the effects of too much oil in there.

now that said, he has instructed all the people in his own shop to use 3.6 quarts when changing prius oil. but again, that's part of this grass roots movement. how many dealer shops have a tech that is that motivated and that involved in the hybrid community? um... one.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(subarutoo @ Jun 30 2006, 02:41 PM) [snapback]279273[/snapback]</div>

Umm some of us don't have a garage to do the oil change in, ie, condo complexes with carports...

Dave

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ May 10 2007, 11:57 PM) [snapback]439710[/snapback]</div>

well, i do not know about all that, but when I see the oil level over max by more than 1/4", the little alarm in my head goes off. If tens of thousands of people are driving around with too much oil with no problems, that's fine for them. The way I see it, the full line is there for a reason, and should be followed. And I'm not getting all huffy <_< , I just think that if somebody makes special note about something, that something should be noted specially, and the fact that the guy blew me off and still didn't care when I brought it up later is what got me in a huff. That's just good customer service, as Charles puts it.
And since your DH even does it, makes my choice to cause a huff seem all the more worth it.

 

Last time I had an oil change, I went to a service station, not a dealer. After less than 3,000 miles, the Maintenance Required light came on. I looked in the manual and it says that the message indicates it needs an oil change. So I checked my oil. It was way overfilled -- about 1/2 inch above the fill mark.

Since I'm at 10,000 miles, I decided I might as well take to the dealer and get another oil change and tire rotation (which is the recommended service for 10,000 miles). I told the service rep that I trust their mechanics know not to overfill the oil, since it was overfilled before. Naturally, he told me that of course they know and a regular service station wouldn't. I also told him about the light. He told me that normally they don't reset the light for just an oil change, only for a "scheduled maintenance," (ok-- what's the difference, exactly?) but of course, what would a service station know about resetting the light. He said he would get it reset and wrote it down specially on the ticket (which seemed to indicate to me that normally they don't reset it).

When I got my car back I asked the man to please show me the oil dipstick. It was 1/4" past the fill line. He agreed it was overfilled. I then told the service rep who got the mechanic back to check it. I looked at the dipstick again and showed him it was 1/4" over. He said, no that's good -- it's the way it's meant to be. I told him no, it's meant to be at the fill line, not past it. He argued that the car takes 4 quarts, I said, no, it specifies 3.9, and that's probably when it's empty. So, very begrudgingly they took it back and let out the extra oil. Afterwards, I told the service rep that I don't want to have to go through this fight every time I bring it in for an oil change.

Since the dealer charges twice as much as the service station, you'd think they know better than to overfill. Oh, I guess they do know twice as much, since they only overfilled it half as much! :lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mr.Vanvandenburg @ May 11 2007, 01:48 PM) [snapback]440069[/snapback]</div>

• If they have min and max fill lines, the oil level should not be outside those lines
• They seem to be pretty specific about 3.9 quarts. If 8 oz over isn't a problem and 3.9 quarts actually WAS right at the max line, why wouldn't they just specify 4 quarts and make it easy on every one?
• In my car, 1/4" over IS 8 oz. That is how far it was over the mark and how much I had to take out to get it RIGHT at the mark the last time I let them fill it to their specs.

I don't know how accurate their EXACTLY 3.9 quart fill is, but when I give them 3.5, it takes about 2 oz the next day to bring it right to the top mark.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tempus @ Jul 1 2006, 07:44 PM) [snapback]279838[/snapback]</div>

Where do you live that it is illegal for you to do any work on your cars? How does that law work? I have never heard of anything like that before. Seems unconstitutional to me. Perhaps you need to move -- I know I would.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Swanny1172 @ May 20 2007, 04:30 PM) [snapback]446321[/snapback]</div>

Which article or amendment of the constitution regulates this particular activity?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ May 20 2007, 07:53 PM) [snapback]446329[/snapback]</div>

How about the Ninth Amendment, which declares that the listing of individual rights in the Constitution and Bill of Rights is not meant to be comprehensive; and that the people have other rights not specifically mentioned, but rather retained elsewhere by the people.

The simple fact of the matter is that I find it absolutely unbelievable that there is a law on the books anywhere which prohibits one from working on their own vehicle. Why don't you see if you can find one, because I sure can't.

 

I realize over filling the ICE oil will cause various codes and possible ICE shutdown. Statements confirm cleaning the throttle body and intake manifold will help clear this issue. I have experienced the issue and have been experimenting with oil levels to determine the correct level for my particular engine. Although I know the remedy for this issue, I'm wondering what is actually happening that results to this issue. (I.e. Oil being pulled into ICE; unmonitored flow; or what?). Does anyone know what is actually happening here. I decided early on it was coming via the PCV system, so I know the origin of the problem, but what is really causing the codes and shutdown. What are the computer monitoring systems seeing that results in the issue. If anyone has any ideas, put them out there. Even newer vehicles which are computer controlled will not result in extra oil being pulled into the manifold resulting in ICE shutdown. What is the difference here. Thanks to all for any ideas voiced here. Just purchased Gen 1 in September so am learning as I go, I am setting up a database of vehicle data with cause and effect and diagnostic for these vehicles. It will aid us all in the long run. Thanks for any help.

 

Hold up:

(1) True or False:
Overfilling oil is going to result in poor performance or worse.

(2) If the manual says to use 3.9 quarts is for a "dry fill", then what does the manual say about a drain-and-fill?

I can't believe that:
(a) Toyota "School" doesn't teach and (b) Toyota mechanics don't know and (c) the manual does NOT state clearly to never overfill during a simple drain-and-fill procedure.

If (a)-(c) are all true, modify the manual and send the service department the equivalent of a TSB but aimed at THEM.



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please move this thread to fhopol.

 

galaxy was an extremely helpful member, but she misfired on this one. a seasoned mechanic will always add less than the spec, then check the level before topping up. mechanic school 101.