Dealer forgot to add oil after "oil Change"

SCcivic

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Ill keep it short. The dealer forgot to add oil to my engine after they did an oil job and let me drive away with the car after I paid for the service.

I didn't drive far but my car was operating/idle for at least 10 to 15 min before the Engine oil Lamp light came on, or before I noticed it at least.

I pulled back up since I was really close and didn't know what was going on, asked the guy why my oil lamp light was on, said he didn't know and he would have someone look at it. I then realize these lights only light up if there is no oil pressure. I freak out and immediately check the oil on the dipstick and its bone dry, from top to bottom.

to keep it short they check over it, confirm it wasn't filled with oil by the tech, drain what little bit was left, show me a white paper cone with a mesh net on the side that they filtered the tiny stream of oil with and say there is no metal on it.

They fill it up, apologize, give me a work order of "oil light flashing", promise me a free car wash, and send me on my way.

Now I might not be a Honda Master tech, but I would think that a car, even idling for 10 or so minutes, would cause severe damage to an engine.

How should I get this resolved?
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dark_knight097

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Make sure that the incident is documented or have some proof that they forgot to fill the oil.

In the event something does break prematurely and they try to act finicky with honoring the warranty, you can refer to this.

I would personally get an oil analysis done after about 500-1000 miles to see if theres any signs of wear that their little test didnt catchm
 
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SCcivic

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Make sure that the incident is documented or have some proof that they forgot to fill the oil.

In the event something does break prematurely and they try to act finicky with honoring the warranty, you can refer to this.

I would personally get an oil analysis done after about 500-1000 miles to see if theres any signs of wear that their little test didnt catchm
Got the Sample set on its way. Also no metal would show from their little test since there was no oil in the engine to begin with. No oil was being sent to the topside of the engine from what I understand. plus I'm sure the Turbo's life is now shot or severely shortened. I want them to replace my motor.
 

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This doesn't help anything. But did you use the 'Express Service'?

I'd pay more to have an actual certified mechanic do the change. It seems that some dealerships hire Jiffy Lube grade folks to do these menial tasks.

There's a law guy on YouTube, Steve Lehto, who does lemon law work. I believe he did a video re: this topic. And there's a shit-ton of anti Jiffy Lube websites where folks may have shared advice. I myself witnessed a guy drive back and raise holy hell after experiencing the same thing.

Document *everything*. Even a handwritten journal has value.

Unfortunately... the paperwork you sign gives them most of the advantages.

*sigh*

Thanks for the heads up. I resisted popping the hood in the parking lot because I didn't want to be 'that guy'. But I have lost faith.

Good luck.
 

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I resisted popping the hood in the parking lot because I didn't want to be 'that guy'. But I have lost faith.
Long time ago I resisted popping the hood but later I learned from experience and started popping the hood. I found they overfilled oil every time even when I told them to save their oil and fill half the way between marks, if they can't do it just right, I'm that guy who asks the shop to put the car back over the pit and drain the half quart excess oil. "They" also underfilled the coolant, left the air cleaner box open, tightened the filter and the oil plug so hard that I spent an hour to unscrew them... in a car with plastic wheel covers they put them on so they fell off after a mile...... etc.

So now I do all the maintenance I can by myself, and if I can't, I check the car after the service better than they do after sale.
 


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Regarding when the oil pressure light should trigger, there might be a "low limit" setting that over-rides low oil pressure warnings on start-up and/or idle. When you started driving, the oil warning would trigger at higher RPMs. Older cars used to work this way. I'd say it isn't your fault not to notice the light until you were on the road.

Regarding the dealer, the paper filter in the oil stream, to me, was a stunt. Who knows what is sitting in the oil pan? I would not expect real metal to show up in the oil dribbling out. Save the oil filter from the next change in case some metal started circulating and got caught. Just a piece of evidence to hang over their heads.

Running with no oil, even at idle, should wear the crankshaft bearings more than normal, opening them up a few .001's in. That will decrease the lube protection they should be providing.

I like SCcivic's comment about no oil to the turbo. Surely something to consider.

Going forward, I would email or certified mail a letter to the dealer documenting the incident and responses. Document as much as possible, including their verbal remarks and comments.

As to remedies, start with SCCivic's new engine. Next, lifetime engine warranty for you and resale buyers. As to possible excess oil consumption, hard to say. Maybe others can.

When "Car Talk" was on, they half-joked that if an engine under warranty lost oil pressure after a dealer mess-up like this, the best thing to do was run it until it seized up. It wouldn't take long and there's nothing to argue about after that happens!

Best of luck.
 
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latole

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Another hundreds of examples that too many dealers are neglecting.
And that for oil changes and other small maintenance is better to do it yourself if possible
 

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I'd go to jiffy lub over a dealer any day. Jiffy will clean my windows, vacuum the interior, and the techs aren't wanna be master techs who think oil changes are beneath them. The dealer takes 1 1/2 hours, and their "inspection" missed a blown headlight, twice.
 

latole

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IMO, dealer may give this easy job to a beginner and he learn at your expense.........
 

BABY NSX

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Sorry to hear this. how many miles in your car? Just curious. Yeah I would worry about the turbos life as it spins at a much higher rpm than the rest of the engines rotating assembly. Can’t visually check internals like bearings but keep an eye on the oil level in the future in case the rings suffered any damage. Look for smoke out tailpipe, oily residue in tailpipe. Don’t know if this type of damage is possible from no oil in the engine but just keep an eye.

Some oil consumption is normal and also keep an eye oil dilution too so technically oil levels can go up too. Just theorizing stuff.

Really crappy this happened and as others have said try to work on your own car. That’s my motto. I try to do work myself but once in a while I have to send out my car due to I don’t have the tools or “free service” with new car.

Last incident was two weeks ago at a “free service” for my Toyota van at 15,000 miles was a 15k service which included a tire rotation. All was fine...until the lug nuts started coming off. My wife drives the van and I noticed two missing lug nuts and checked and the remaining passenger lugnuts were not torqued down. Thank God nothing bad happened and she’s been driving less due to the Covid19.

I’ve had other issues too. Having someone work on my car is like getting a root canal to me. I used to be a foreman at Acura of Boston a looong time ago and no one is perfect but there are some that are just pure negligent.

It’s ok to be that guy. Check other people’s work, check your torque and count your lug nuts!!!
 


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SCcivic

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This doesn't help anything. But did you use the 'Express Service'?

I'd pay more to have an actual certified mechanic do the change. It seems that some dealerships hire Jiffy Lube grade folks to do these menial tasks.

There's a law guy on YouTube, Steve Lehto, who does lemon law work. I believe he did a video re: this topic. And there's a shit-ton of anti Jiffy Lube websites where folks may have shared advice. I myself witnessed a guy drive back and raise holy hell after experiencing the same thing.

Document *everything*. Even a handwritten journal has value.

Unfortunately... the paperwork you sign gives them most of the advantages.

*sigh*

Thanks for the heads up. I resisted popping the hood in the parking lot because I didn't want to be 'that guy'. But I have lost faith.

Good luck.
I did in fact schedule an oil change through their quick service.
 
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SCcivic

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IMO, dealer may give this easy job to a beginner and he learn at your expense.........
When I asked who it was non of them would tell me. Not even the shop foreman or the Service Director. And the day of, the service director and the Shop Foreman were the ones looking over the car and filling it with oil. The tech who botched the job on my car was nowhere to be found.
 
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SCcivic

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Sorry to hear this. how many miles in your car? Just curious. Yeah I would worry about the turbos life as it spins at a much higher rpm than the rest of the engines rotating assembly. Can’t visually check internals like bearings but keep an eye on the oil level in the future in case the rings suffered any damage. Look for smoke out tailpipe, oily residue in tailpipe. Don’t know if this type of damage is possible from no oil in the engine but just keep an eye.

Some oil consumption is normal and also keep an eye oil dilution too so technically oil levels can go up too. Just theorizing stuff.

Really crappy this happened and as others have said try to work on your own car. That’s my motto. I try to do work myself but once in a while I have to send out my car due to I don’t have the tools or “free service” with new car.

Last incident was two weeks ago at a “free service” for my Toyota van at 15,000 miles was a 15k service which included a tire rotation. All was fine...until the lug nuts started coming off. My wife drives the van and I noticed two missing lug nuts and checked and the remaining passenger lugnuts were not torqued down. Thank God nothing bad happened and she’s been driving less due to the Covid19.

I’ve had other issues too. Having someone work on my car is like getting a root canal to me. I used to be a foreman at Acura of Boston a looong time ago and no one is perfect but there are some that are just pure negligent.

It’s ok to be that guy. Check other people’s work, check your torque and count your lug nuts!!!
Car just turned 2 years. got it brand new from the dealer in early 2018, freshly delivered day of purchase. It now has less than 20k miles. Time of incident it had 18,300 miles. This is just so upsetting. This is my first time getting a brand spanking new car. Mine have always been used or 4-5 years old. And for them to take this away from me is so dreadful. I worked so hard for years to build the ability to obtain a brand new car. I am bummed. I really enjoyed this car but now I feel like its a ticking time bomb until my next oil change.

I got my black stone test kit today but I've only put 500miles on the car since they refilled it. I have an attorney right who has reviewed the incident. I just don't want to move forward just yet until I get at least 3 samples tested from my current oil.
 
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SCcivic

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Make sure that the incident is documented or have some proof that they forgot to fill the oil.

In the event something does break prematurely and they try to act finicky with honoring the warranty, you can refer to this.

I would personally get an oil analysis done after about 500-1000 miles to see if theres any signs of wear that their little test didnt catch
would they be able to give me an accurate reading at 500 miles? I've almost put just about that much on this new oil. also should I mention on the sample paperwork that they put MOA additive into the engine?

I've been stress-testing the engine on Hecker Pass to see if I notice a diff in performance or smell something burning from the tailpipe.

I did at first smell something like a burning clutch but not the same. hard to explain.
 

Troy Jollimore

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Same thing happened to my grandfather, years ago. He made it halfway home (about 15 minutes country drive) when his engine grenaded. No oil after a dealer change. So stay on them. OTOH, everybody makes mistakes, and you would be surprised how resilient modern oils are. They leave a coating on internal parts that does a remarkably good job, even when the oil’s been drained. It helps that you didn’t ‘run’ the car, especially with the turbo. That gets VERY hot when ‘worked’. Just idle, with a little light running? You may have gotten away with no internal damage...
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