I had my oil changed on Saturday. My sister and I went out of town, about 200 miles or so. On our way home, we stopped to eat and while at the drive thru noticed a lot of smoke and a strong scent of oil burning. I saw smoke from the back and front of the car (where it was coming from, I don't know) also there was a slight tapping. We continued to drive home. The next morning I was leaving for NC but decided to check my oil. There was nothing but a drop on the stick. Oil covered the back bumper. I let the car sit there until the serviceman picked it up on Tueday. He took it back to where the oil was changed at. When I called yesterday to see if my car was already at the dealership, I was told that my car was ready to go *they even detailed it for me*. The serviceman told me that the filter may have been leaking when I brought it in or it may have been a defect in the filter that was put on the car or I may have picked up a rock and it *the rock* caused my filter to leak. Further, the head of the service department told me that the reason oil did not show up on the stick that Sunday morning was because the oil was still in the engine. He said it takes about 24 hours for the oil to settle back to the stick. However, he said that there was no oil on the stick when he got the car on Tuesday. They have a 90 day/4000 mile warranty. I asked him how he checked by engine to make sure there's no internal damage (I don't want to be stucked with a bad engine at 4001 miles!) He told me he listened to car and didn't hear anything. When I gave him my honda key back and informed him that I was not moving my car until I was 100% satisfied he looked kind of stunned. What should I do? I kind of feel like they are trying to push me with a raw deal, noting that they began by saying that it may have been leaking when I brought the car in (which it wasn't, and if it was they should have caught that while doing the oil change, right?) Please advise. I don't want to be shafted.

 

They messed up, and bad. I say they didn't get the gasket off of your old filter removed properly, it stuck to the engine block, and this caused the new filter to leak, and bad. You say you had a tapping noise? From what you described, you leaked enough oil that is wasn't on the dipstick, you probably have engine damage and will need a new engine. Don't go by the sound of the engine!!! There are a lot of neat little things that can be done to quiet a damaged engine, from thick oil additives to wrapping a piece of leather around a bearing that is out. My advice it to CALL A LAWYER AND CALL YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY. You will want that motor inspected by a trustworthy mechanic not associated with the people that changed your oil. Did you have it done at the dealer? There was a big problem with Honda CRV's leaking oil after their first oil change, and catching fire, because a piece of the old oil gasket remained stuck on the engine block.
Oh yeah, what the service man told you about the oil on the stick is a total load of bullsh*t. It takes about 5 minutes of sitting after you turn off the engine to get a good read on the oil dipstick. That is why you will see people checking their oil after pumping gas. HE'S LYING and hoping you don't know enough about cars to know it and realize that this motor is now damaged and his shop is legally liable for a new motor.
I hope this helps. Don't let em rip you off, the only thing they really care about is saving money and pilfering yours.

 

Thanks very much for your response. I do feel like they're trying to 'trap' me. I continue to welcome advisement on this topic. Thanks again!!!

 

It does sound like the shop made an error when they changed your oil. Probably not a double gasket, but maybe just an oil filter that wasn't tight enough. There are cases however where the gasket on the new filter is not visibly damaged, but it can leak. Whatever happened happened, no way to change that. The reality of the situation is this: The engine ran low on oil, but never lost oil pressure. No warning lights came on, but you made the right call and had it looked at right away. The shop isn't going to buy you a new engine. Even if they had caused serious damage to the engine, they would buy a used engine with similar milage and install that one. With the engine running and sounding good, you don't have alot of grounds for demanding a new engine. You can try and they'll say no. You can sue them... but that costs money and you might not win. If I was you I would just make it clear to them that you want some sort of assurance that you are not driving a damaged engine. Aside from listening to it, there is little they can do. They won't take it all apart and look... they won't buy a new engine, they won't give you a lifetime warranty. You had a bad experience with aq particular service facility.... cut your losses and find a good reputable shop.

 

Thanks. I thought that damage could occur prior to the light coming on, the light coming on just means that damage is too severe to continue driving (someone told me this. I know 'nothing' about cars). I really don't know what to do but I don't think that I should end up paying for another engine 4001 miles down the road.

 

i agree with the guys............tell the people where u had the oil change done that you want them to inspect the rods and main bearings for damage .. it is a way to cover your butt

 

Can you educate me a little on the rods and bearings. I would appreciate that!

 

Actually, they should change the logo on the oil pressure warning lamp to "You're Scr...ed" cuz its set to go off at a surprisingly low pressure, and by the time it triggers, damage has already started. That's why I prefer oil pressure gauges over lamps, they can give you indications of pending problems.
If you can coerse them to inspect the bottom end, you might entertain having them pull the camshaft retainer/cap assembly and inspect the bearing surfaces on which the cam rotates. It's the last in the line of things lubricated under pressure and would probably be the first to be starved for oil.
I'm not diminishing the importance of the suggestions to inspect the rod and main bearings, since these are under extreme loads and fail very quickly with oil pressure losses. I make this additional suggestion only 'cuz I've witnessed one broken camshaft from seizing in the head, and one that had scored so badly that it rendered the head useless.
There's one Quick Lube Emporium in my local area which had to buy several engine jobs from double gasketing incidents. Fortunately, the customers' involved had saved their repair orders and credit card reciepts so there was no question.
At the end of all this, whichever way it goes, I'd suggest an agreement in writing, or a powertrain warranty issued / purchased in your behalf by your repair shop for an agreed to length of time.

 

Main bearings are specifically designed inserts of selected materials which in conjunction with high pressure oil support the crankshaft as it rotates within the engine block. Ideally, the crankshaft floats on a film of high pressure oil which forms in the extremely close tolerance (in the thousands of an inch) between the crankshaft and the bearing. The surface of the bearing acts as a low friction surface which can tolerate intermittant moments of contact thru the metals that it's made of. The problem arise when the extremely close tolerances are increased by wear to the bearing (and in some cases, crankshaft) from either oil pressure loss, dirty / contaminated oil etc. Metal / metal contact becomes more frequent as that space grows, and the oil pump can't supply oil pressure sufficient to 'float' the crank. Left unchecked, scored bearings / crankshaft result, connecting rods can break etc. It usually announces it's presence with a faint Knock which progressively gets louder.
Rod (connecting rod) bearings are much the same story, except unlike Main Bearings which contend with rotational friction and shear forces) rod bearings also contend with compression loads as well. They have the best chance of failing first, and are usually responsible for holes appearing thru the side of engine blocks when you least need or expect it.

P

Edited for spelling / punctuation



Modified by P_Adams at 9:15 PM 8/31/2005

 

It would be nice if the shop could inspect your rods and mains for you... but this shop couldn't get an oil change right... do you really want them tearing into your engine?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HondaTechPro &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It would be nice if the shop could inspect your rods and mains for you... but this shop couldn't get an oil change right... do you really want them tearing into your engine?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i guess i was assuming that it is a regular auto shop with A tech B tech and so on and most of the time they have a lube guy , thus he might have been the 1 doing the o/f while top techs make money on other work, On the other hand if it is a quick lube place i would have the bearing checked at a reputable shop and give them the bill