On 5/28 the red triangle of death came on in my 2007 Prius while driving to work. I called my mechanic who said that’s the hybrid battery, we don’t do those here, you need to take it to the dealer. He said if it doesn’t start, I could keep the gas down while starting and that should get me to the dealer. Otherwise, if it started, it was ok to drive to get it there, just be aware that it could die at any minute. I went to work and decided to deal with it after. Starting up after work, red triangle came on, then additionally, a banner across the top of the monitor screen said Problem then shortly after an oil lamp appeared in the upper left of the screen. It had never seen those things before. This time I called my old mechanic who said they do replace hybrid batteries but that may not be the problem or the only problem considering these new indicators. They also said do not drive it. I checked the oil while I waited for AAA. I must admit I don’t do this so wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking at but determined it to be low. When AAA showed up (3 hours later), he determined there was no oil. When he got it up on the tow bed, oil poured out from behind the front wheel. The problem ended up being the oil plug was missing. Work summary: Found no oil drain plug when checked. Did lof reset codes and no warning triangle came on. VCS/ABS on (has been for years). Needs front right speed sensor and recheck cv axle if done. Front sway bar bushings and links recommended for future. Driver side rear tire dry rot at wear bars. Total $222.42. The last oil change (at the first mechanic called) was in April. And to be honest my boyfriend seemed to have to top off the oil about a quart every 2 weeks. I’m not sure but I thought this was unusually often. On 4/24 work done included 27 point check, lube/oil/filter, dismounted snows, mount and balance all seasons, replaced L/F TMPS valve stem assembly. Total $145.16. On 5/20/24 I brought it back in because the engine seemed louder to me right after the last service, but I ignored it for a bit. Then I started to smell exhaust so I brought it back. Work done included: Replaced canister purge valve, replaced gasket and spring bolt kit between manifold and front pipe. Total $579.12 Are there any conclusions to draw between the last 2 services and the missing oil plug?
I'd chalk it up to some rotten neighborhood kids having fun at your safety and expense. In response to your muffler noise and smell, the 5/20 service rebuilt your emissions assembly. It'd be impossible for them to have accidentally loosened the oil plug.
And so how many miles were driven with the oil plug missing and the oil light on and the all this hullabaloo in Albany New York I imagine quite a few miles and you didn't wind up with a new engine boy you are lucky that's all I have to say about that Make sure that oil plug gets back in there and new one it's tight I can't imagine kids playing but hey I guess That's not playing
Something not adding up here. Could it be the oil FILL CAP that was missing? if the oil drain plug was missing and you ran the engine at all, you’d have more problems than needing an occasional top up.
The red light came on when I was close to work (about 5 miles). The oil light didn't come on until after it sat in the parking lot all day.
Thank you. Wow. I didn't even think of intentional foul play. Guess I better be more vigilant checking the ring cam over the driveway.
I'm still at a loss as to how the car would even run, with the oil drain bolt missing, which equals zero oil in the engine.
I'm just winging it here since you are clearly way more knowledgeable than I, but maybe it was loose for a while keeping enough oil contained. Then actually fell out when the light came on. When AAA put it on the truck, more oil poured out. I'm wondering if there was enough in the system to have gotten me the last few miles to work. The rest leaked out as it was sitting the parking lot all day, then even more when it was tilted when on the truck.
Is this one of the reasons you suggest a new car? I was hoping to keep this until it dies. It has 152k miles on it.
i'm just concerned that there is engine damage, but it is possible that you got lucky, and it drained out in the parking lot. if you're burning that much oil, keep a close eye on the level. for oil consumption, it is better to track miles than days.
Fill it up with the right oil drive the h a l e out of it and see what you got That's all you can do The one NZ is pretty stout little engine I mean you can't be running around with no oil in it right regular but given what happened here it might pull through and if it does then bingo got nothing you got your car and nothing happening and that's a good thing so just see what happens seems like that what you're going to do anyway or you've already done that and you're driving the car If it's not rattling knocking smoking up a storm generally not happy with life then seems like you're good to go It's much cheaper to keep her than it is anything else especially this model engines are cheap they're plentiful etc.
Yeah I was thinking along those lines too. One gotcha I've found, actually with some Honda drain bolt washers, is the compressible coating was too compressible. I would torque it to spec, then at next oil change found it virtually finger-tight. From then on I asked for straight aluminum (no coating) washers, which they also had.
Just for the benefit of others who may have the triangle light and happen to find this thread in a search, if you talk to any mechanic who tells you "oh, that's about the hybrid battery" or "oh, that's about X", or "you can drive like this but not like this" just because the triangle light is on, find another mechanic. The triangle light only tells you the car's hybrid-vehicle control computer (pretty much the orchestra conductor for the car) has something it wants to tell you about, which will have a trouble code, and there are a couple hundred of those. Some of them even have to do with the battery. Many are about other things entirely. Some can indicate big $$$$ problems and some can be pretty trivial. Any mechanic who can tell you "oh, that's X", just because you said the triangle lit up, must be psychic. For non-psychics, the thing to do when that lights up is read the trouble code(s).
