Went for an oil change, and they forgot the oil! What to do!

SuperK · Post by **SuperK** » January 1st, 2007, 2:29 pm

OK, so my MX-3 with 103k miles on it, we went for an oil change. I bought my usual 1 qt of lucas oil, and went to get it changed....

unfortunately, everyone's closed on new years, except wal mart and good year, so I went to good year to get the oil changed. They put in the additive, and I had to rush to work.

my car started ticking loudly, so I ran it a bit in the parking lot at my job, popped the hood, then checked the oil

... it was dry. dry as in your girlfrie... you know what, nevermind, it was just very dry... and ticking loudly.

Apparently they added the additive, the Oil stabalizer, the 100% petroleum, and forgot the rest of the oil, so I drove my car for about 10 minutes on just 1 qt of that. Goodyear came out and added 2qt of oil and it didn't fill up all the way still, but I drove it back to the shop like that (another 10 minutes) and it ticked loudly all the way over.

they changed the oil again, and it ticked for no less than 3 minutes after the oil change, and I took it home. It DID stop when I reached home though... but what do I do? Did I damage my HLA's? It was a nasty tick when it happened, I'm afraid the no oil has damaged them.

advice please

pleeaase

I'm going to let it cool off than start it back up again, but I'm still very worried. I'm planning on calling customer service and explaining it all to them and hopefully getting at least an inspection done, but what do you think happened? Am I alright? Should I worry about the wear? I'm afraid I just lessened the life of my motor substantially.

Lesson of the Day: Don't run car with no oil.

papa roached · Post by **papa roached** » January 1st, 2007, 2:41 pm

id be very upset and give them hell, thats why i NEVER take my car anywhere for work that i can do myself

Bumpysbro · Post by **Bumpysbro** » January 1st, 2007, 2:57 pm

i always change my oil myself because that has happened to me and many others. never let your car run dry. youll seize the motor if you run it long enough.

mitmaks · Post by **mitmaks** » January 1st, 2007, 5:03 pm

if your engine gonna break down (it possibly will) they owe you new engine. Id get it inspected by an authorized ASE mechanic and see how bad engine is damaged and then make em buy you a new engine. Do not get inspection from them, of course they'll lie and tell you that its not damaged and nothing went wrong. They'll possibly even blame it on you, saying that you did something wrong to the engine.
Next time do your own oil change or have someone who knows what they're doing do it for you if you're too lazy about it.

93-Spec-Edn · Post by **93-Spec-Edn** » January 1st, 2007, 7:19 pm

did u get anything in writing that this happened? I would get a trusted third party to inspect it and have them pay for the inspection and try and get compensation from them. I hate shops that do s--- like this thats why i always do my own work.

WingleBeast · Post by **WingleBeast** » January 1st, 2007, 8:12 pm

if your HLA's start ticking chances are the damage to them has been done. i would make sure that stupid oil change place pays for the repairs to, cause they are costly

SuperK · Post by **SuperK** » January 1st, 2007, 10:02 pm

Unfortunately, I live in a apartment complex and I have no where I can take the car to do it myself so I have to have it done somehweres

I didn't have anything in writing, I have the original receipt where they "changed" it, and I have the second receipt, wehre they gave me the "free change" afterwards.
two of my managers also know that the issue happened, because they saw me in the parking lot with the goodyear guy, putting oil in my car, and they let me off work to take care of this...

I have to go through the customer service hotline at goodyear corporate. They're not open on new years though, so I have to wait till tomorrow to do this.

My car stopped ticking and is working good now, but every time I think of it, I realize that I just ran my car without oil, and I KNOW that had to take some years off the engine.
This ticks me off so bad

All I wanted was an oil change.
and their labor rate is 86/hour... you'd think they'd know what they're doing for those ridiculous prices!

Franko · Post by **Franko** » January 2nd, 2007, 7:17 am

It might not be SO bad. Was your oil pressure light illuminated when you were driving the car? That light only comes on when theres less than 10 psi of pressure in the block. If thats the case then I think that damage definately could have been done but you just might not know it. The rod bearings could be slightly wiped out and will eventually give into rod knock if they got it bad enough. If the light wasent on then you might not be so bad.

My HLA's tick when the oil is down even a little bit. So thats just a sign that your oil was just way way way too low. I dont think it would do any damage to them, they would just tick and then when they get proper pressure they stop.

As for Goodyear. What a bunch of retards. I wonder if they forget to put air in tires when the mount a new set for someone. Just let me tell you that you shouldent have much to worry about. They absloutely HAVE to look after you, they are probally going to tell you to get 2 or 3 estimates done on the damage from different places and once you get those numbers into then they probally will just hand you over the cash to get it repaired.
I know that this is how Future Shop handles problems with their car audio install. If someones car gets scratched then they gotta fix it. It might not even happen there but if someone comes in claiming that they got a scratch while getting work done then future shop will basically just cut the person a cheque to have it repaired just to get them out of their hair.

SuperK · Post by **SuperK** » January 2nd, 2007, 10:52 am

with the car on, there was no oil showing up on the stick
with the car off, there was no oil showing up on the stick
running the car and taking the oil cap off, there was no oil splashing out

I didn't look at the oil light, I don't know if it was on or not
It did have 1 qt of lucas oil, the oil stabalizer, that was all. that real sticky stuff.

Customer service told me that if the car is still driving, and I don't know what's wrong with it, they won't do crap.
I have to shell out my own money to get inspected what they neglected. complete bullcrap.

And now, the store manager is accusing me of sabotaging my own car! I have witnesses of where I was when I was there, so that's not even a dispute, but it IS a complete insult to my honesty. You know, I helped the guy that came out, to put oil in the car to get it back to the shop. I handled and cleaned the oil stick to show him the car had no oil in it. So what does the manager say? I sabotaged my own car, and I even had oil on my hands and in my fingernails. Those were his exact words he told the customer service rep.

Claims department is giving me more luck, hopefully I can get it inspected.

Nd4SpdSe · Post by **Nd4SpdSe** » January 2nd, 2007, 11:19 am

SuperK wrote:running the car and taking the oil cap off, there was no oil splashing out

Shouldn't it stall when you do that?

papa roached · Post by **papa roached** » January 2nd, 2007, 12:38 pm

the threat of legal action tends to make them change their toon

SuperK · Post by **SuperK** » January 2nd, 2007, 4:14 pm

well, car didn't stall for me... Is it supposed to?

Claims department said to take it to a mechanic and have it inspected... but obviously, it's one crap ton of a job to do, and no one wants to do it

My idle is starting to go south on the stick, dropping and getting rough, even when it's warm. I have no idea if that's anywhere's related to my current issue, or if I'm paranoid :S

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » January 2nd, 2007, 4:29 pm

Call a lawyer. If you can back up your claim that they didnt fill the engine with oil.. they owe you a new engine.. INSTALLED. I had something similar happen to a friend of mine. He took his truck to Minute Lube and they forgot to put the drain plug back in.. he left on a trip immediately following and was on the freeway when his idiot light came one.. by the time he got to an exit (yeah he should have pulled over sooner I know) the motor was toast. And yes.. they bought him a new engine.

Now.. Did Good Year have you sign anything once they claimed the job was done? If so.. did you get a copy of the document? Most of the oil & lube places around here now cover their butts with legalized little disclaimer forms they get you to sign when they are supposedly done with the job.

Lastly.. assume that your engine is damaged.. assume that its toast from this occurance. If you tell them (good year) or anyone else that after adding oil it seemed just fine.. you will lose your chance to make them pay for a new engine. If you ran your engine dry of oil because they failed to put oil in it.. your engine IS damaged. Not a matter of if but a matter of How much damage.

Might not be a bad idea to call your local police station and ask them what your best course of action is in the face of such gross negligence. Best of Luck.

Tunes67

mr1in6billion · Post by **mr1in6billion** » January 2nd, 2007, 5:29 pm

Tell them you are going to file a complaint with the Better Business Beuro (you don't have to follow through, just say you will). That always scares companies straight. They know that it's free and easy for you to do and no company wants the BBB breathing down their neck.

WingleBeast · Post by **WingleBeast** » January 2nd, 2007, 10:55 pm

ok this is what you do.

take off your valve cover. and remove the timing belt and cams (this is simple if you have ever changed your timing belt.) then im pretty sure the HLA's come right out (its been a long time since messing with them)

but basically with the HLA full of oil, squeez the top and bottom, and if there is any play, they are toast