This is so irritating. I was well aware of the overfilling issue on the Prius and I decided to take mine to a toyota dealer yesterday to have the oil changed. I had done everything else myself, but since the oil-change costs just barely more than the oil and filter combined, I figured "why not?" But I specifically went to a toyota dealer assuming the techs there would know not to overfill the car. I got home, guess what? It was overfilled and oil was in my intake. ARGH! So I decided to drive it up on my Rhino-ramps and drain some out. Well, to my surprise the oil filter and drain plug are extremely easy to reach on this vehicle. Now I'm wondering why I didn't change it myself. I never even looked where they were because on my last vehicle it was nearly impossible to do without having a lift. Anyway, so I figure from now on I'll just change my own oil. After all, the alternative is to pay somebody else to change it, then drain the excess out each time. Might as well do it myself.
That was my conclusion after letting the dealer monkeys do it the first time. It is an easy car to change anyway.
If you overfill the crankcase with oil, it will allow the moving parts (crankshaft) to foam the oil up and create air bubbles. These air bubbles will reduce the amount of oil getting to friction parts and cause them to overheat and fai
