it looks like I will have to solve this problem, not sure yet how it will all turn out. But I believe I will need to trade in my car. What is the most reliable car and that would last the longest - a Honda Civic or another Toyota Corolla? I’ve never owned a Honda, but I heard good things.
I called my car insurance and it looks like this is not the type of loss they would cover. However, they are sending an inspector to check it all. I wonder how much they know. A trusted friend tole me that it seems like the oil was never added and that there is some residual oil in the pistons that could have taken me the 2.6 miles down the road before the final break down. Also, since the car was making noises right when I left the shop, although not extremelly loud, indicates that oil was never added.
We wish you luck with this and hope you’ll come back and keep us informed.
Yosemite
An engine can make it 3 miles on residual oil and it will make noise which will get progressively worse and also cause a loss of power…
If it took 4 quarts to top it off in approximately 3 miles this means it left with little or no oil in it or there’s an oil trail behind the car. Pick the poison.
I have seen failed oil filters. They do not “burst”, the thin sheet metal case gets a micro crack that lets oil leak away. The engine is toast, you should have the dead filter for your day in court if the small shop does not pay for a new engine
Thank you, Redghost! I don’t have any filter. When the mechanic came to the scene to bring oil, there was no filter, he simply put a new one.
If your engine had no filter they neglected to install one during the oil change or the filter fell off. They can’t claim that the filter burst if it doesn’t exist.
Did you return to the shop and look for a line of oil on the pavement leaving the shop? One shop that I worked at always had oil stains leading away from the shop, the owners son was the lube tech.
“Also, since the car was making noises right when I left the shop, although not extremelly loud, indicates that oil was never added.”
Yes, but a car low enough on oil to make noise would ALSO be low enough on oil to set off the oil pressure light…which was why I suggested that you might have been mistaken about no warning lights being illuminated.
You emphatically and categorically denied that any light might have been illuminated, which shoots the “oil never added” hypothesis out of the water. The noisy engine and the light go hand-in-hand! Either they filled the car with (some) oil, the light’s busted…or you’re mistaken in your recollections.
In any rate:
- Why are you going to YOUR insurer?!? That’s what you do when YOU mess up! This is the shop’s problem; THEY need to go to THEIR insurer. If not willingly, then through small claims court. (As much as I steer clear of the law, I’d go to them–they won’t accomplish anything, but there’ll be a record of your complaint in their record.)
- Why are you replacing your car?!? Everything (save the engine) is exactly the same as it was, pre-incident. Replace that one part (granted, a rather big and expensive part) and you’re back to where you were.
- Legally, they have to “make you whole”: that is, restore you to where you were, prior to the incident. At that time, you were driving a used car with a used engine. You are owed a used engine with roughly the same amount of miles as what you had on your own engine. A brand new/fresh rebuilt engine is over and above “made whole,” though it would be nice if you were afforded the option of purchasing the "delta’ between a used engine and a reman–it’s what I’d do.
About 12 years ago, my son’s g/f called him by cell phone. The OIl light was on on her high mileage used Toyota, I think Camry but not sure after this long.
He took a bunch of oil and drove to where she was. He discovered the filter had come off and was lying in there somewhere. He carefully screwed it back on and filled the oil. Half a block down the road it came off again. He went and bought another filter and added oil again. then it was okay, same as normal.
We assumed it was somehow a bad filter, with the mechanical specs out of spec. After reading this thread, I am convinced it was the same thing, a stuck pressure valve. It is just too obvious.
I have seen one filter strip off the nipple and it appeared that the threaded filter base was much too light. Another filter was installed, the oil topped off and I never saw the vehicle again. A stuck pressure relief valve could have been the problem. In fact the OP described an unusual noise when leaving the shop and extremely high oil pressure might cause some noise. At this point could anyone make a definitive autopsy on the engine?
If the oil light was off when the car left the shop but came on after a few miles when there was no oil indicated on the dipstick I must assume that the oil light worked and that there was a filter and adequate oil in the engine when picked up. So far the “Chumps are Stumped.”
I only drove for 3 miles. I had just left the shop. The mechanic had hooked my car to the computer right after he made the oil change because he saw a light on (not sure about the details since I did not see it myself). He blamed it on a loose air hose near the air filter. Therefore, as far as I know, he could have turned it off. I drove for about 3 miles only prior to the final stop.
There’s more than one warning light on the dashboard. A loose air hose around the air filter housing could trigger a Check Engine Light; generally yellow in color.
Lack of oil pressure for whatever reason would illuminate the red oil pressure (or lack of) lamp which is entirely separate.
No matter who damages your car you have the right to be remunerated for the financial loss. Take them to court, and the sooner the better. You will lose your rights if you wait too long.