What do you do when you leave a Quick Change oil change & they didn't tighten the plug.?

Question

The motor ran out of oil & the motor shut off. After putting in more oil it runs.

Answer 1

was the plug loose or did it actually fall out. Either way you should contact them and make them aware of the problem. Not only for your car but for the sake of other people who go there. Maybe they hired an incompetent employee who is not doing things correct they need to know about this so they can either work with the employee or get rid of him or her before they screw up another car. You should pay a little more attention to the oil light or pressure gage though. If you see the oil light come on turn the car off immediately. The oil light normally comes on because of loss of oil pressure or low oil level. The fact that you ran it until it died kind of hurts your credibility. Not to say that they aren't responsible but people need to use common sense. People make mistakes and that is unfortunate but really pay attention to the gages in the car that is why they put them there. By the way you would do the same thing as if you left a dealer or mechanic and they left the plug loose as you would if you go to a quick lube.

Answer 2

Go bakc there and complain to the manager there about it. This happened to me one time and luckily I notiiced it leaking before it all leaked out. I went back and they did a ghetto leak test (put a shop vac over the oil cap at the top of the engine and then remove the plug at the bottom and see if anything leaks out of the open plug) and determined that my engine was not leaking oil from anywhere except the oil plug. Then they gave me another oil change for free. Unfortunately, if the oil did run out and caused the engine to shut off it could have done extensive permanent damage to the engine because basically the metal parts inside the engine were grinding against each other without much lubrication. However, the fact that it started running again after adding more oil is a good sign that the engine probably was not damaged. Without tearing down the engine, the only way to tell the true extent of damage is to add more oil then have a mechanic you can trust do an oil change and have him cut open the oil filter and see if they is a lot of metal shavings in the oil filter media. A few chunks of metal the size of say grains of table salt means there is little damage and the car will probably be fine afterward. If the metal chunks are bigger, like the size of rock salt or unground peppercorns, then there may have been more extensive damage and you will have to monitor your car carefully to determine if anything bad happens from here on. If something does happen then you will have to make a claim with the oil change place for whatever repairs need to be done.
BTW, if you simply tell a mechanic "my engine ran for a little while without oil and then stopped" he will probably immediately say you need a whole new engine or extensive work. However, if the engine didn't go veyr long without oil then it may not be a big deal. On 2 different cars of mine the oil leaked out but the engine never froze up and after rechanging the oil it didn't affect the later performance of the car.

Answer 3

All quick change oil lube shops are required to carry liability insurance to cover these types of damages. I've seen plenty of them. If your motor doesn't knock during start-up or while driving your most likely safe. I congratulate you for turning off the ignition immediately when you noticed the oil light turn on. Personally I've done my own oil changes since I was ten years old. I lived on a dairy farm and my father was extremely particular concerning maintenance on all engine equipped equipment. It's too easy not to do it at home. All you need is a set of Rhino Ramps (available at most auto parts stores and at Wal Mart) a 5/8 or 15mm. end wrench and a cup style oil filter removal tool. You'll also need a 3/8 ratchet wrench with a couple of 3/8 extent ions. If you choose to do it you can let the crankcase drain for as long as you like. Quick change places let the oil drain for 1-2 minutes at best.

Answer 4

Call and talk to a manager. As someone else stated, you should at least get a free oil change. I would also say reimbursement for the oil you had to buy to add. Hopefully there are no other damages. Keep records of everything. I worked with a woman who went to one of those quick change things and they put the oil in the transmission fluid tank. Ruined her car. They had to pay a lot in damages and the tech got fired.

Answer 5

It's really good that you caught it in time and your engine isn't permanently damaged. Check the paperwork you signed when you had the oil change done, and see what it says about liability. You may be able to get reimbursement from them, or you may have grounds for a lawsuit.

Answer 6

Call them and let them know of their oversight. Then, find out what they're willing to do to keep a satisfied customer. They at least owe you a free oil change!

Answer 7

I would call and complain. That is something that shuold be done right away. I would also have them pay me back for having to put more oil into something they were supposedly have done correct.

That is unprofessional to half do a job. that could have really screwed your car up.

Answer 8

First of all,you should avoid those places,I'd contact them and ask them what they intend to do if you experience engine damage.

Answer 9

You are entitled for a refund and/or free towing and a free service.

Answer 10

go back to where you had it serviced and have them fix it they are responsible for do the job correct not half a$$