My son with a Gen-3 with 195k miles took his car to the dealership for an oil change before a trip of 200 miles one way. They told him oil level was maybe 1 inch in the crankcase. He called me and said he heard no other symptoms and saw no CEL display. I told him that, absent lots more info,he should rent a car and go on his ski trip. He uses dealer maintenance but he is not terribly focused on looking for any symptoms despite being a multi-degreed engineer. 3 kids will do that to you. Anything typical of the gen-3 at that MPG? I scanned the forum and didn't see anything obvious. Thanks.
I don't understand what you are asking. He should learn to check they every 1000 or so miles, when it's cold.
No CEL for low oil? It's pretty much the same story for every car in the world. The sensors can only look at oil pressure, maybe temperature too, but never oil level. As soon as an engine kicks on, the oil level drops as it gets distributed throughout the engine. Whatever remains in the crankcase is churning violently and getting splashed all over. After 130 years, a dipstick and a rag are still the best tools for checking a car's oil level.
If he has not run it dry, then just change the oil, filling to the correct level and keep on truckin'! I understand about three kids and all, but checking oil level is not that difficult. If he ran it low I do not see anything terrible occurring unless he ran it out of oil or to the point where oil pressure dropped. At that point he would get some sort of warning light, I imagine. I would be checking the oil level once every 1K miles if were him. In fact, that is what I do on my Gen 2. I reset trip 2 odo every time I add oil and check when it gets to about 1K miles. I usually add about a quart every 2.5K and at that point the oil is not below the low limit. These cars really need to be checked for oil level as part of normal life. They all tend to use some amount of oil (there is a multitude of threads about it here). Running low is not good. From what I understand one of the symptoms is a connecting rod making an exit from the engine block. It's really hard to miss that one. Otherwise, just drive the car and keep on top of oil level.
Hard to determine what one inch in the crank case means. But it sounds like his prius consumes oil, so checking it often should be part of his routine. I have 2 kids (8 and 6) and they keep us busy, but checking the oil every Saturday morning takes 5 minutes if I also check the 12 volt and the oil catch can level. Something to add to the routine to keep the car from future degradation of the engine.
A high mileage engine will tend to burn more oil than new. He just needs to get in the habit of checking the dipstick at regular intervals from now on. Oil burning rate is predictable and after keeping a log for awhile, he'll know when he needs to add a quart based upon miles driven.
i'm in the habit of checking my daughters oil and tires pressure every time she visits. one of us needs some tough love.
Some people have to learn the hard way. It seems the people who can least afford loosing their car don't check the oil. I don't get it.
That’s good at least. I’m sure you’re speaking your mind about the increased expense incurred this year. Enjoy the last 2 weeks before the cold reality sets back in .
This is not true. I had a 1989 Mustang LX convertible 5.0 model that had a "check oil" warning light that came on if oil was one quart low. I'm sure this wasn't the first car to have that. If it was done on that car, there's no reason every car couldn't have it. I would consider this to be more important than 90% of all the BS extras that are put on cars now.
My sister's 2009 Gen 2 Prius will throw a warning light (not sure if it was CEL) when oil level was low. I have to believe newer ones will too as this is a serious situation that could result in severe engine damage.
With all the sensor tech out there today I totally agree. Then there would be one more light to ignore along with the check engine light.
If the oil gets too low, the oil pressure warning light and chime will come on when the car makes a turn. IE: "Honey, what does it mean my car starts beeping and something flashes on the dash when I make a turn?" Either you have exceeded the maximum recommended G-force during the turn or your oil is low.
