If the root cause of the problem were due to the most recent oil change I would expect the oil pressure warning light to have illuminated.
If the root cause were due to previous oil depletion having caused bearing damage and the bearings finally having seized due to the damage, it’s entirely possible that the oil light would not have illuminated just before the seizure.
Damaged bearings do not always seize immediately.
One missing variable here is whether or not the OP monitored her oil level since buying the car 12,000 miles ago. If not, that’s just one more variable in the equation.
A different part number on the filter doesn’t necessarily mean a problem. There can be dozens of part numbers for the same application. As long as that number is the correct fit no matter the manufacturer that’s not the issue unless double-gasketed or left loose.
The factory warranty would not apply on a used car with a possibly suspect oil change.
Does check engine light mean the yellow CEL or the red NO oil pressure lamp? Sometimes people use those interchangeably and while the former may be surviveable the latter is not.
I might ask again. Did you get stuck in a snowbank and try to rev it to the moon in an attempt to get out?
If so, there’s always the possibility of the filter being damage during a slide into the snowbank, ditch, or what have you and which could then cause a leak. If so, warranty by anyone is a non-issue; even a used car warranty from the people who sold you the car.
Getting answers to questions is at times similar to removing wisdom teeth with bare hands and no anesthetic.
I tend to agree that the most recent oil change was not the cause. When an engine throws a rod, it usually punches a hole in the block or pan and that would explain the oil spilling out at the time of the incident.
The OP only owned the car for 12k miles of its history, so there very well could have been damage before she bought it due to neglect and abuse. She inherited someone else’s bad behavior.
Yup, they can do a whole lotta damage…
If you can’t open this it’s because I’m not good with this technology stuff. I went to school in BC (Before Computers).
fyi OP, referring to the drawing link below, the connecting rod is that shaft connecting the crankshaft (the round thing at the bottom) to the piston (it’s just below the spark plug).
So it’s one of the most important parts of the engine and because engine technology is over 100 years old and well understood, that part rarely fails in modern day engines, esp with a car posting that few miles. As long as the oil pressure is ok and the engine isn’t overheating that is.
A couple questions: How much oil was in the crankcase after all this happened? And before anything was removed from the engine, did an independent mechanic inspect the oil filter, its condition, and how it was installed? If so, was anything unusual noted?
The connecting rod is likely the most highly stressed component in an internal combustion engine. At 6,000 rpms on a 4 inch stroke it accelerates from zero to 80 mph, stops, then accelerates to 80 mph in the opposite direction 10 times per second. And all that reciprocation is done against a significant load. And compounding the rod’s misery is the restricted oil flow path. It is unlikely that a single failed rod big end bearing would cause any significant oil pressure drop at the pressure sensor.
To the same mountainbike- If your message was Page Not Found - you nailed it. Don’t feel bad, I was retired 10 years before I ever used a computer and still have only ever used a Mac. I’m still not sure how to make a file, or why I would want to. Books like Macs for dummies are no help, even they assume a digitial understanding I lack.
As far as the lady with the broken rod, her only recourse would be if the filter or drain plug were missing or it could be shown that an incorrect filter had shut off oil flow,
There’s still too many unknowns to even have a vague clue about what caused this.
What needs to be known:
Is the oil drain plug in place and tight?
Is the oil filter in place and snugly tight with no visible signs of leakage?
Normally I might not bring something like this up but there was a reference to the car being stuck in a snowbank or something like that.
I axe for the 3rd time; did the car get stuck in a snowbank/ditch/canyon/whatever and if so did at any point you try to free the car by revving the engine excessively or holding the pedal to the floor?
I would just LOVE to see some kind of shop try this with me… Oh Good Lord. Then again…I don’t let anyone touch my stuff
A CON ROD Failure…IS SERIOUS ENGINE FAILURE… and it doesn’t just “Happen”…
As for what to do? Definitely research that filter for compatibility… I would be all over these guys as a mechanic. Jeez… I cant believe this stuff still happens with modern vehicles.
This (and virtually all modern) engine has a rev limiter.
I don’t see how with an automatic transmission the engine could have been over-revved to the point of busting a rod.
What is the horsepower rating on the engine @circuitsmith? The rev limiter would be set to reach the rated horsepower when the transmission was in drive even though a much lower limit would be programmed for neutral/park.
Oil Starvation with high engine stress will do it… It doesn’t even need to reach its RPM limit. Oil starvation will hollow out the plain bearing and then it will hammer itself to oblivion…who would continue to push the engine even after so much motor noise is the question. This didn’t just “Go quietly into that dark night”… This was ugly…AND LOUD…and preventable. I say preventable but…that’s with one of US behind the wheel. What caused the main con rod bearing to go dry is the culprit…but what caused this? We all know how serious a failure this is… Once the bearing was oil starved it would then start making VERY serious noises… At that point…its really too late. The two options are IMMEDIATELY shut down the engine and then repair this serious issue…or…continue to drive saying to yourself…whats that knocking noise, while your engine rips itself apart and it shuts down for you.
This is all caused by oil starvation. Like I said…once that happened…what can you do? It was pretty much doomed. Who knows how this happened, we know how it ended. Could it be as simple as the wrong oil filter? The OIL LIGHT should have made its existence known at some point whether due to the wrong filter or low oil level… Most people think the oil light is some kind of SUGGESTION light…or like a “When you get around to it” type of thing… They should immediately shut down the engine…but I know that can be dangerous in some cases… My car will shut down if the oil light comes on… But I did that myself…I can handle it. This really sucks… Catastrophic engine failure is never pretty.
In searching several key words I found a few complaints of similar rod failures in Hyundai/Kia engines but those who wrote the complaints were like most people and totally unfamiliar with engine noises, engine failure. Possibly the OP will be persistant and find a blog for unhappy owners of Kia/Hyundais who suffered thrown connecting rods. I would suspect that reducing the RPM limit would significantly reduce the advertised horsepower but might also significantly reduce engine failure of this kind. With a little persistance the OP and other disappointed owners might find some satisfaction from the manufacturer.
There are several factors regarding the rev limiter though. The engine may balk while revving in neutral but if stuck in a snowbank with the wheels spinning that rev limit may be the valves floating point.
The rev limit before destruction could also be lower due to engine wear. That 63k miles could be the equivalent of 363k miles depending upon how often, if ever, the prior owner serviced the car.
Odds are it’s oil starvation but the mention of snowbank makes me wonder if the car went into a ditch and damaged the oil pan, filter, etc.
When a complaint is made and some factor is mentioned that could point to self-inflicted without a response to that factor then I hesitate to blame the shop.
Con rod failures are very rare, but not unheard of. I had one, but it was an old engine, over 150k but it did not have oil starvation prior to failure and the bearing did not spin or fail in any way. Tear down revealed that an exhaust rocker arm failed too and I am pretty sure that happened first.
Edit: I see a reference to a snowstorm but not a snowbank.
The snowbank or ditch is an assumption on my part seeing as how a snowstorm was referenced.
Obviously a snowstorm is not going to cause this problem but the mention of it by the shop led me to wonder if the car had gotten stuck in a bank or ditch and suffered overrevving or damage which led to oil loss.
The reason for a rod being thrown should not take more than minutes to determine and I was simply trying to root out whether there was even an oil leak and if so where; along with whether or not the car had actually gotten stuck or not.
We had a VW towed in once that had an engine wiped due to a snowstorm. The car slid partially off the roadway and plowed into some piled snow and ice shoved there earlier by a snowplow.
The owner got the car moving again but not for long. The oil pan was dented which in turn broke the oil pickup tube loose to some degree and which then led to loss of oil pressure. He kept going oil light be dxxxxx until it seized.
