I have a 2010 prius gen 3. I was at dealer and told I had a small oil leak. I did replace the reusable airfilter w sprayed on red oil that I noted was dripping a bit just before placing it back literally just before driving to the dealer for an oil change. I specifically asked the location of a color of the oil and was told "below the engine and it was black". I have approx 165k miles on the car. Any thoughts about using an stop oil leak additive and, if so, which is best?
NO. If this leak is not causing any significant loss of oil........in a car that age with that many miles.......I would just keep a closer eye on the dipstick. Or ask a real mechanic to make an actual inspection to see where the leak IS. Apparently you didn't read the whole post.
welcome! there is a timing chain cover that usually drips a negligable amount of oil. if there is no oil on the ground after parking overnight, ignore it and the dealer. as an aside, check your oil level every time you fill up though, at that mileage, you may be ready for and egr inspection/cleaning.
Thank you, can I ask what is "egr" pls? The dealet wanted to chart $170 and 3 to 4 hrs for inspecting for the leak.
yes, and after the inspection, they tell you $1,700. to repair it. egr = exhaust gas recirculation. search egr here, or egr circuit and educate yourself on the problem. then go to @NutzAboutBolts youtube to see a video on the cleaning process. unfortunately, this is a potentially serious problem that toyota is not acknowledging, and dealers are unaware of. the fact that you have 165k with no issues might be a plus. not all gen 3 seem to be affected
EGR stands for exhaust gas recirculation. Why do you ask ? That usually is not a factor in an oil leak. $170 really isn't bad for 3 hours of shop labor. But what happens if they locate the leak in the first 3 minutes ? Still $170 ?? Note: In a major metro area, it likely would be more like $170 PER HOUR. Maybe you misunderstood ??
I appreciate it. Looked it up and realozed that I have had a handful of instances where I have had the car idle heavy and once appeared it was almost going to die out over the course of the last 6 mos or so. Does this have anything to do with the said "oil leak" in my original post?
Toyota is "kind of" acknowledging EGR issues, but in an absolutely classic example of passive aggressive way: too little and too late.
Do not use stop leak! It probably won't stop the leak, and could clog small oil passages in the motor. NO help at all the it is "below the engine and it was black". It could be from changing the oil! Open the hood, use a flashlight to look around and see if you see any oil. On the passenger rear of the engine is the oil pressure switch, those tend to leak. Simple inexpensive fix you can do yourself.
no, that is just a failed gasket. nothing to worry about unless you see oil on the ground. the egr takes combustion that doesn't go out the exhaust, and recycles it back into the engine to reduce pollution. at leat, that's how it is supposed to work. but people add oil catch cans to the system, and what winds up in them shows how poorly the system is designed.
I'm not sure if you're saying the OCC (Oil Catch Can) is in the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) circuit; you sorta infer that. The OCC is used on the PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) circuit. They're a couple of bad boys, to be sure:
