oil change, no oil....wtf?

[doddg]

Hurts to read this.
Car X was flushing out my radiator in a '79 MG.
I drove away & they didn't put any anti-freeze back in it.
Temp gauge saved me on that one.

When I was only 17 & had borrowed a Ford Falcon from a neighbor.
Engine blew b/c of low oil in it & I just happen to be using it at the time.
For 20 yrs. after that, if I was using someone's car, I would check the oil before driving away!

Also learned to check tire pressure after having seasonal tire swap twice/year at Discount Tire.
One time I had only 18#s of air in a tire.
I got to where I would check tire pressure every time before I left the lot: half the time there would be low pressure on half the tires they had just put on.

 

[churchmouse]

I think this is where the confusion happened. When she called them and told them the oil light was on, I think they thought it was the change oil light, as did I when she told me, when it was in fact a different light that is an actual oil can. I think the oil can must mean low oil pressure. There is no oil pressure gauge on this car. I think the change oil light comes thru as a message in the information center and shows a small oil can or something like that. I think they thought she was talking about the change engine oil light when it was in fact the low oil pressure light. I doubt it would have mattered by then though......I imagine the damage was done quickly huh?

How the hell do they even check for damage though? You can't find rod bearing and main bearing damage, and cam damage without disassembly can you?

As has been mentioned if it were mine I would dump the oil. Use a light and look for metal flake in suspension. That and the use of an actual gauge if you can find a port on that engine. Using the existing sensor port would work but you might be dealing with a metric thread pitch angle.

Dump the oil. Use a flash light and see if it sparkles. Let it set in the pan over night and settle. Then pour it off slowly into another container while someone holds a light on the oil. Towards the end of the pour off if any metal is present you will see it in the pan.

 

[Tombs]

There is one way to check for damage, put some miles on the car, drain some oil into a container, and have a material analysis conducted on it.

If there's tons of aluminium and steel particulate, it's probably toast.

I'm not sure of who you could have do it, but I see this just searching: https://testoil.com/services/oil-analysis/

If you just don't want to deal with the headaches, put a can of restore in it and try not to think about it. I've had fantastic luck using it.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I feel your pain. Jiffy Lube screwed me years ago. Stripped my plug and wouldnt stand behind their work "because somebody could have touched it since we did". Uh... dude, it was found at the NEXT oil change interval; THAT tech noticed a leak at the onset of service and when he removed the plug he noted the lack of threads. Jiffy Lube insisted that the subsequent tech stripped them and tried to blame them for his mistake. SMH

 

[radar8756]

Wasn't there a commercial where they Drained the Oil ... then drove it around a Race Track to prove how much "better" Synthetic Oil was ??

 

[Tombs]

Wasn't there a commercial where they Drained the Oil ... then drove it around a Race Track to prove how much "better" Synthetic Oil was ??

Yeah, if the oil was full of zinc, copper, and lead dust, that might work briefly.

You won't find an engineer on earth who will claim any oil will protect an engine in that situation.

 

[yepthatsme]

If I were you, I would keep all of the documentation that you have from that business as proof in case of damage to the engine. Also, I would drain the oil right away and inspect it for any engine damage as others have suggested. I would also refill the engine with synthetic oil to minimize any possible damage. Using synthetic oils removes the possibility of oil sheer and increases lubrication even in the tightest of clearances. This may help to save your engine even if damage has occurred.

Running the engine without oil or with low oil level will result in rod bearing or main bearing damage. Even though the engine hasn't seized due to lack of lubrication, it doesn't mean that the engine wasn't damaged. The bearings and the crankshaft could have been scored or material transferred and may seize in the future. Using synthetic oil may prevent the engine from seizing even though damage has occurred. (I'm sure you can tell that I swear by synthetic oils. I have seen the difference between synthetic and petroleum based oils when rebuilding engines. The engines that have used synthetic oil had minimal wear in both the bearings and the cylinder walls.) Just my .

 

[thunderchicken]

As an automotive technician, I have seen a lot of mistakes made..made some myself over the years too.
Is the oil light that was on a "low oil" warning, "oil pressure" warning or "change oil soon" warning? Different cars have different warnings.
Even with meticulous care, there is no way to know how long and engine will last.
You can have the oil tested and will get a report back but what does it really tell you? I mean, how much wear did the engine have prior to being run without oil? No doubt some extra wear has been done but modern engines are pretty resilient, especially considering the tight tolerances they have. My advice would be to keep the receipt, file a complaint with corporate and document it. Odds are pretty good it will keep running for a long time, as long as it wasn't/isn't hammering.
I know it isn't what you wanted to hear but, good luck

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I think this is where the confusion happened. When she called them and told them the oil light was on, I think they thought it was the change oil light, as did I when she told me, when it was in fact a different light that is an actual oil can. I think the oil can must mean low oil pressure. There is no oil pressure gauge on this car. I think the change oil light comes thru as a message in the information center and shows a small oil can or something like that. I think they thought she was talking about the change engine oil light when it was in fact the low oil pressure light. I doubt it would have mattered by then though......I imagine the damage was done quickly huh?

How the hell do they even check for damage though? You can't find rod bearing and main bearing damage, and cam damage without disassembly can you?

Yep, that's why they call those "idiot lights" (not directed at you or your daughter Randy) - because when it comes on, the problem has already happened, unlike having a gauge that lets you know something is about to go wrong.

 

[churchmouse]

Yep, that's why they call those "idiot lights" (not directed at you or your daughter Randy) - because when it comes on, the problem has already happened, unlike having a gauge that lets you know something is about to go wrong.

OK. In this world of instant gratification how many people do you think actually "Look" at the pressure/temp/volts gauges if the are in the dash.
I personally know several that until it came up in conversation they had zero idea what they even meant. And what ranges they are supposed to operate in.

As we make cars/trucks more and more "Self" aware we are loosing our ability's to think about them.

No knock towards your daughter Randy.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

OK. In this world of instant gratification how many people do you think actually "Look" at the pressure/temp/volts gauges if the are in the dash.
I personally know several that until it came up in conversation they had zero idea what they even meant. And what ranges they are supposed to operate in.

As we make cars/trucks more and more "Self" aware we are loosing our ability's to think about them.

No knock towards your daughter Randy.

My old rustbucket Dodge truck has the gauges but my Hyundai just has the idiot lights (well, it does have a temperature gauge). Driving old beaters most of my life, I always kept my eyes on the gauges. I didn't want any surprises.

 

[NKBJ]

My worst oil change story is having the idiot cross thread and impact wretch the drain plug.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Wasn't there a commercial where they Drained the Oil ... then drove it around a Race Track to prove how much "better" Synthetic Oil was ??

I want to say they was Slick 50 oil additive. Or maybe it was the other one? At one point there were several companies selling additives that would penetrate the pores in the metal and add an extra special layer of lubrication for up to 100,000 miles.

 

[CHCRandy]

I sure appreciate everyone's thoughts and opinions. As much as I hate to drain that new oil, which is synthetic, I think I will. I told the daughter to drive it to church (10 miles away) and then I will drain it this evening. I changed it the last time myself and put Castrol High Mileage in it....just because that is what I use in my trucks. They claim they used synthetic this oil change, but who knows.

You know....my trucks run forever it seems. All I do is change the oil and filter on them, and I consider anything less than 300,000 miles a failure. My truck now has way over 400,000 miles on it, 2004 F250 with the 5.4, only had spark plugs changed 1 time in it and I had to put intake manifold on it last year. My Chevy I sold and it had 325,000+ when I sold it. Both of them were pretty much new when I bought them.

Thanks again to you all for your help. I really do appreciate it. Seems I always have the strangest stuff happen to me.....or maybe it happens to everyone and I just feel I am the chosen one every time.

 

[woowoo2]

Personally,
I would talk with the District manager, my only question would be for his insurance info.
I would file a claim for the replacement (KBB retail value) of the car.
You might have a better chance winning the claim with legal representation.

 

[singlestacksig]

contact the maker of the car, Did the car shut down from time limit safety, ie car gives you X amount of time to get to safety then shuts down from low oil. Or did the engine stop because it could not run anymore? if it is the first you might not have a lot of damage, if it is the 2nd you might want a new engine..
But some modern engines will shut down if there is low oil..

 

[4651feeder]

You know..... I have retained lawyers on multiple occasions for multiple occurrences only because it was last resort with no other choice. It's not as cheap, simple, or as eazy to lawyer up as one might think with suggestion. Go back to my post #3, contact World Hqtrs or as woowoo2 suggests a District manager as long as it's a high enough level that you won't be dealing directly with the schmucks responsible for the problem and explain the situation to them to see what they are willing to do thru civilized conversation. At this point no one really knows if irreparable damage has occurred and whether any real loss was suffered. However potential of engine failure is now much greater and you shouldn't be stuck solely with responsibility of determining damage as result, that's one of the reasons they carry liability insurance for stupid mistakes like they apparently made in this case.

 

[Jaybird1980]

I sure appreciate everyone's thoughts and opinions. As much as I hate to drain that new oil, which is synthetic, I think I will. I told the daughter to drive it to church (10 miles away) and then I will drain it this evening. I changed it the last time myself and put Castrol High Mileage in it....just because that is what I use in my trucks. They claim they used synthetic this oil change, but who knows.

You know....my trucks run forever it seems. All I do is change the oil and filter on them, and I consider anything less than 300,000 miles a failure. My truck now has way over 400,000 miles on it, 2004 F250 with the 5.4, only had spark plugs changed 1 time in it and I had to put intake manifold on it last year. My Chevy I sold and it had 325,000+ when I sold it. Both of them were pretty much new when I bought them.

Thanks again to you all for your help. I really do appreciate it. Seems I always have the strangest stuff happen to me.....or maybe it happens to everyone and I just feel I am the chosen one every time.

When you change the oil you really should have it analyzed, it will tell you what kind of metals and how much of it is present the particles may be able to be seen with a flashlight as CM said but an analysis will be more informative.

 

[Hoosierdood]

-- Watched a Walmart auto technician put an air impact on my drain plug once.

-- Had a national oil change do the oil in a '93 Saturn. They were notorious for weak oil pumps and oil change place didn't put any oil in the filter to prime the pump. Oil light came on as I was driving home. Made them come get it with a flatbed.

-- Had a local quick-lube change my oil in a '09 Volkswagen. I gave them the oil and the filter that I bought, and just paid them to change it. They didn't get the O-ring seated right on the filter housing, and when I got home, noticed a puddle of oil under it when I parked it, and drops coming up the driveway. No oil on the dipstick. They came with a flatbed for that one too. Luckily, oil light didnt come on.

Only person I will trust anymore to change oil is me. People making $12/hour at a quick lube don't care if it is done right.

 

[woowoo2]

At this point no one really knows if irreparable damage has occurred and whether any real loss was suffered.

Common sense tells me some damage was done.