I think this warning light is what the service department employee had answered to;
It comes on if any other warning light or message is displayed, parking brake on, door ajar, maintenance required etc.
If the customer doesn’t know which warning light was on I guess they need a complete inspection, $150, if they are willing to leave the car.
I will research how to best protect my engine from further damage.
Let’s hope the industry standard is to educate. I remember when the gas station attendant would clean your windshield and check your oil for free with a smile!
Ok you are correct.
Who can you depend on.
It probably still had oil in the crankcase, just that the level was below the tip of dipstick. Cross your fingers, you may luck out and have no lasting problems. Note: If you’ve now put in too much oil, as evidenced by being above the “full” mark on the dipstick, that needs to be corrected asap, as too much oil can damage an engine as quickly as too little.
Whether the dealership should have checked the oil level or not depends on what exactly you or hubby told them. If you told them “the oil is low”, then of course they should. But if you told them the catch-all warning light came on for some reason but you don’t know why, then they might not, unless you asked them to do that specifically. You always at any time of course have the option to order up (and pay for) a “general inspection” if you want them check the fluid levels and the car’s basic overall function. When in doubt, that’s your option to be on the safe side.
Suggestion to reduce the chance of this happening in the future:
I realize you feel that the shop should be responsible for doing this, but it is the owner’s responsibility and is just another job that comes with owning a car. Somebody has to do it, either the owner, or the owner has to take it to the shop and pay them to do it. A mechanic friend of mine from a number of years ago used to service a fleet of vehicles owned by one of the well known local high tech companies. Fleet vehicles generally never have their fluid levels checked b/c the drivers are employees of the company and aren’t the vehicle owners. So as part of the service contract, he required they bring each vehicle to his shop every 1,000 miles for a check-up.
Some customers visit the dealer to ask for the maintenance reminder to be reset because they have already changed the oil.
Others visit the dealer and say that the maintenance reminder is on and they would like the 5,000 mile service performed. There is a service due between oil changes, that maintenance light and warning triangle turn on every 5,000 miles to ensure that the vehicle receives a proper inspection and other scheduled maintenance. There must be a reason why the vehicle was not checked into the shop for inspection, perhaps the dealers employee can explain how the conversation went.
I would advise in the future that you never put your faith into what a service writer says and that applies to most service managers also. Most have little if any mechanical aptitude and since they do not want to appear mechanically illiiterate to a customer they improvise by spouting some of the most inane comments that could ever be dreamed up.
Over the years I’ve worked for 5 dealers and one independent. I have more than enough fingers and an opposable thumb on one hand to count the good ones on.
This kind of idiocy carries over into other professions as well. A few years ago I checked out the central A/C at my son’s house and told him that he needed a compressor. I washed the condenser out with practically no improvement.
So he calls a state licensed HVAC guy out who stated after being told I washed the condenser that “anyone who knows central A/C will tell you that anytime you wash a condenser out the unit loses Freon”.
You can’t make this stuff up…
I highly doubt it. If the engine holds 4 quarts and it was down 4 quarts, the engine would have become a boat anchor very, very quickly. No, I think the OP or her husband equated no oil showing on the dipstick with no oil at all left in the engine, then put in a bunch of oil based on that false deduction.
divisive and not helpful
Checked oil.
Will always check before I drive off.
I think they are responsible because they told me don’t worry about it.
Poorly trained personnel.
Was looking for sage advice. Unfortunately too many comments seem to be personal-attacks on my character with little relevance to my vehicle issues. I get it is my responsibility because I own the car! I appreciate the insight into the issues concerning the 2010 Prius oil consumption that I was unaware of. I think the dealership may not compensate me for any damage but they at minimum should be aware of the way their employees are conducting themselves. We novices look to professionals for advice and guidance. Just like the special education students I work with. They depend on me to teach and keep them safe it is my professional responsibility. If I did not conduct myself in a professional manor others could suffer. So I agree this thread should end because I am already stressed about my damaged car that I depend on to get to my Teaching Job. That doesn’t pay enough to purchase another car! If we have no standards for people who service cars so be it.
Will not return to that dealership.
Thanks I have owned priuses for 12 years this is a first
One can debate the idea of clueless service writers until the cows come home. Service writers are NOT mechanics with rare exceptions. However, the ultimate responsibility is yours.
You can pull the owners manual for any car made and it will state that the motor oil level should be checked on a regular basis.
Being a girl has nothing to do with it. When my daughter got her first car at 16 she wanted me to teach her how to take care of it. So every 2 weeks the hood came up and she not only inspected ALL fluid levels but also checked the serpentine belt condition and a general lookover for any other issues.
When she was 18 she did her own complete brake job including rotor replaced; all without any help although Dad sat back and watched just in case.
Now; you can sue them of course. The outcome of that will be iffy and what are you going to say when it’s brought up that you never raise the hood to check the motor oil. Rhetorically asked of course.
By the time you took the car in it was already suffering issues and was already low on oil.
This thread is going nowhere. First it was the husband who took vehicle in because of the mystery light , then the OP said she was sent on her way . Mechanic relatives and none of them were contacted ? It seems that the owners of this vehicle never or at least rarely ever checked the oil level .
I would doubt if the actual first conversation at the dealer will ever be known.
Agree! I also have nothing further to add. I wrongly chastised my late brother in law who was a chemical engineer for not checking the fluids in his Toyota which overheated on a long trip to a family reunion.
I reason I regret this now is that he was already in an advanced stage of Alzheimer’s which I was unaware of. The car survived after we topped up the coolant, which he said was the dealer’s job when the car went in for “service” which was also long overdue.
Since OP (who professes to be a responsible teacher) still seems to weasel out of her responsibility, let’s close off this thread; Car care, like child care requires and entails certain responsibilities!!!