It is possible to install THE WRONG oil filter, there are MANY choices, and a slight difference in the thread size means the filter was doomed to failure…The fact that filters are sized in both metric and U.S. standard sizes means errors are bound to happen…Either at the factory that made the filter or by the tech that installed it… The argument is moot unless the filter in question can be found…
Further follow up…we ended up trading in the Matrix and taking a loss on the loan roughly the same amount the engine repair would have cost. We bought a more fuel efficient vehicle, and hope to use the gas savings to pay off the new loan. We plan to try to go through small claims and maybe we will be able to get some financial help from the mechanic. We still can’t find the filter, but it’s worth a try at least. Thanks, everyone!
Thanks for updating us, ngwcny. I hope that in the end there is some equity for you. But regardless, life can be miserable if we let others make us bitter.
Irlandes, the tale you tell is not at all unrealistic. Note the thickness of the oil filter reference book at WalMart. It’s the size of a phone book, and uses the same thin paper and small print. There are thousands of different filters. It’d be super easy to accidently pick up the wrong one.
And there are countless millions of filter made every month. Statistically, there WILL be some with a bad threaded hole, or wrong end cap.
And then there are the variables Triedaq mentioned.
Hey, stuff happens. It’s part of the human experience. Irlandes, your son’s lady was a lucky lady. She could have lost the engine.
The iffy part in this is that if the filter blew off because the threads gave way this does not mean with 100% certainty that it was the mechanic’s fault although the initial appearance does point in that direction.
During any manufacturing process the machine tooling is changed out regularly, old tooling sharpened or replaced, etc. It’s possible that a robotic machine threading thousands of filters an hour suffered a damaged thread tap, a piece of metallic debris got caught in the thread tap teeth, failure to change the tap out often enough, or whatever and this led to damaged threads in the filter. A brief run of damaged filters may have never been noticed or even been a problem but through sheer luck of the draw one bad one let go and that’s where this car stands.
Many years ago Harley used what was called a Cateye dash cover on 1939-1946 models. There were 2 versions with the first having a subtle V-shape under the switch and the second version with a squared off chin on it.
The difference was thought to be caused by the tool which was used in a large press originally having a V-shape that eventually was flattened and/or worn off and becoming a chin after stamping out thousands of sheet metal covers.
The same scenario would apply to a thread tap.
I bet they installed a 1396 Toyota oil filter on an engine that requires a 1394 Toyota oil filter. What’s the difference? The thread on the 1394 oil filter is 2mm’s smaller than the thread on the 1396 oil filter. And that’s enough to blow the oil filter off over time.
Tester
They could certainly have a case against the mechanic if the wrong filter was installed but proving it may be difficult. They can’t find the old filter but may have an edge depending on what is written on their copy of the repair order.
If the RO just says “Oil filter, quantity one” then they may have a tough row to hoe in court.
Yup, the receipt does not specify the filter part number, etc., just says "oil filter ". So it is doubtful we could ever find out or prove what filter was installed that fateful day last May…
Good posting, TSM, but my son verified the usual number filter. I do believe somehow the diameter was wrong. Still, this is very rare, IMO.
I think you lost the filter a while ago and never noticed the light. I have seen cars run a surprisingly long time without oil. I threw a rod out through the pan in Niagara Falls NY and drove it home to Buffalo (about 20 miles) and then a week later, started it up and drove it to the junkyard. I have no idea how far it would have gone before it seized.