Got my 90,000 mile oil change at one of the more reputable shops here in Nashville today. Well I just got on to a hilly interstat and my oil light started flashing. before I could pull over I got a call from the shop telling me to pull over because they saw a trail of oil behind me when I left. I'm still currently sitting, waiting for one of the techs to come look at the car/fix the car, bringing more oil, new drain plugs and filters.. I change my oil with fully synthetic 0w20 every 5 thousand miles. I'm worried that there is damage done. Does the oil pressure warning light really indicate damage is being done? I've heard of high mileage Prii that drink oil flashing that light when taking turns... but i was going in a straight line. Thoughts?!? Scared for my beautiful Prius. I will definitely be checking the oil level every morning. I already checked it once a week and had no oil consumption
Oh no! Well you may have caught it in time, and may not have damaged anything. Only time will tell if there was any damage. I would get everything documented and have this shop put in writing that they will warranty the engine up to 150K miles for any oil related issues.
That's a good idea! Thank you. Turns out the o ring for the oil filter was pinched. The whole underside of the car is COVERED in oil. They changed the oil filter and added new oil on the side of the interstate. They are going to rent me a car for money so they can clean my vehicle up while I'm at work
They didn't pinch the o ring, it was put on wrong. I can see that happening with rookies. Or they didn't use the o ring at all
Sounds like a good shop, even though they made a mistake, they noticed it and called you. I'd try and find out how much oil leaked out
There was a little more than 1 quart left merged And I'm going on a mountain road trip/camping trip tomorrow. I'm a little nervous now
Nothing to be nervous about, if you were able to drive it home with no odd sounds from the motor, it more than likely will be fine for your trip. You will just need to check the oil at each fill up to see if it is using any oil. Its sounds like you pulled over in time to cause little damage. Toyota motors are pretty tough. Good luck to you!
I wouldn't worry. The motor was turning (moving oil). If you ran it for 30 minutes....shut down for 2 hours....then fired it back up (with only 1qt in the pan), that would be a different story
Thank you guys! Y'all make me feel better! I will be checking it every morning for a while now. I think it is fine too. They are washing the car while I'm at work tomorrow and are giving me a rental car. Even the back glass was covered in oil
I'm betting you dodged a bullet. You stopped right away with the warning, and there was a quart still in there. If there was damage (hopefully not) you've really got them "on record", acknowledging the error. Was it a dealership, independent garage? And hey: you got free underbody rustproofing.
Free rustproofing.. I guess that's true! yay It was an independent garage. As soon as the oil light flashed I was getting to the side of the road. Also as I was signaling to get in the right lane, the shop was calling my phone telling me that they messed up and I needed to pull over. Literally the same second I was pulling over they called me. I said "oh I know! I'm pulling over as we speak!"
