My daughter had her car’s oil changed at Meineke. The following day, her oil light came on. She stopped the car and checked the oil. It barely registered on the dip stick. She put in a couple of quarts and noticed that it was dripping from the oil filter which Meineke changed.
1. What would you do to determine whether the engine has been damaged?; and
2. What should we do to rectify the problem with Meineke?
I don’t think that there should be any real damage to the engine, but you should go back to Meineke and have the filter replaced free of charge.
i doubt the engine was damaged. BUT your daughter is REALLY lucky she was observant and checked the oil level (that IS what the light is for)
i AM surprised at this happening at meineke, out of all the chains they seem to have one of the better reputations for quality or dependability!
they should put a new filter on at the least. or maybe throw in a freebie oil change for the aggravation this caused your daughter.
If the oil light only flashed on momentarily and she added oil instantly then any engine damage was probably minimal if not non-existent.
The part of the story you did not fill in is the part between the oil light coming on and WHEN the couple of quarts was added. Are you saying she had oil in the vehicle with her? Did this couple of quarts fill the sump or what?
If not, and she drove this car to wherever before adding the oil then all bets are off on engine damage.
Just verifying some details is all.
Since the filter was leaking one would assume they either used the wrong filter, an inferior knockoff brand filter, or the filter is double-gasketed due to the old filter seal remaining in place.
Meineke is responsible and the main thing you’re going to have to do is get documentation, in writing, about this oil filter and low oil problem. And you can safely bet that Meineke is going to assure you, verbally, there is no problem.
Every time the oil is changed, the oil light will come on for a few seconds (5 - 15) before oil refills teh filter and pressure builds up. If the light was on for only a few seconds after the light came on, then there should be no damage.
It is hard to figure out exactly the timing of events. Assuming it was not driver far after the light came on and that oil was added when it was still showing on the bottom of the stick, there should not be damage. It is not a good idea to drive it that way, but it should be OK once.
I had a similar experience with a Ford, where the oil filter gasket let go and oil sprayed over the exhaust manifold, causing an underhood fire. I was able to put the fire out with an old coat I kept in the trunk. The car was towed to the neatest service station and the oil was down to just over a quart. No engine damage was done. I presented the garage (EXXON) with the towing and oil change bill and they happily paid up.
There was no damage. Let them know what happened and maybe it won’t happen to the next customer. It would be nice if they paid for two quarts of oil.