2002 Chevy Malibu

I got an oil change last night. Right after I left, the oil pressure
light came on. I parked in a parking lot of a store and went inside,
thinking that it was a tripped sensor that needed to reset after
getting an oil change. Cam back out and the light was still on. I
pulled out and the engine started making noise. I headed straight back
to Valvoline, but the engine "died" about 2 blocks away.

I called up Valvoline and they were expecting my call. They said there
was a leak they noticed after I left due to the cap underneath not
being tight. One of them drove to me and checked the cap under my car
and put new oil in. He put in at least 4 quarts, so I was running on
empty. My guess is that whatever coating was left from the oil that was
in there must have worn off, causing the the engine to lock up. The
engine did not overheat.

I went back to Valvoline where they topped me off, gave me two free oil
change certificates, and sent me on my way. I even asked if there could
be any damage to my engine from what happened. I was told a simple
"No.".

I called a mechanic as soon as I got home a got a much different
answer. Today, I had it towed to a Chevy certified dealership for an
inspection and diagnosis. There is now a knocking/pinging that was NOT
there before. I have spoken with my insurance company to have them do
some of the "work" on my behalf. The consensus from everyone I've
spoken to is that Valvoline will be getting me a new engine. I'm
waiting for the results to give to them since my car has a clean
history and I've never had a problem. I've talked to two individuals at
Valvoline so far. One was very understanding and just needed approval
from his manager to take care of the charges involved (I'm expecting to
get a rental car in the meantime on their budget). The other tried to
convince you that any damage in my engine may not be attributed to what
happened last night. This was the same one that had told me no damage
could occur from running an engine on no oil and having it die. What do
you think?

<joshuasfalk (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

I think anyone who continues to run their engine with the oil light on and
the engine "making noise" should start taking taxis.

Thanks for making it seem like it is MY fault that Valvoline forgot to
put oil in my car.

joshuasfalk (AT) gmail (DOT) com wrote in news:1132513166.079604.294120
@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

the quickie oil shop may be at true fault but that dont mean there going to
pony up any bucks until forced to by a court of law. i hope your case is
settled quickly without the normal 'deny and delay until you go away'
tactics normally employed...........kjun

You have got to give people the benefit of the doubt!!

That's the problem with these new cars, with the maintenance monitor system,
the service reminder light comes on and the owner takes the car in for an
oil change.

There have been many cases reported where the service facility, has
neglected to reset the service light or does not know how to. The car owner
might naturally assume that the light would turn off on its own accord

Instead in this case, the donkeys never put oil back in the engine. I heard
of one case at a well know service facility that forgot to put the filter on
the engine. Filled the car with oil, checked the level and the Tech drove
the car out of the service bay with oil coming out of the filter area. Left
the engine running and turned the car over to the owner.
The smoke and the oil on the ground was the give away. These things happen.


"KjunRaven" <KjunRaven (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

joshuasfalk (AT) gmail (DOT) com wrote in news:1132513166.079604.294120
@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

the quickie oil shop may be at true fault but that dont mean there going to
pony up any bucks until forced to by a court of law. i hope your case is
settled quickly without the normal 'deny and delay until you go away'
tactics normally employed...........kjun

The issue seems to be money, not blame. Since the car had " some "
miles, a slight depreciation might seem reasonable. Rebuilt can be
anything from " Better than new " to pure cheese. A " Crate " engine
sounds good, but very expensive, labor is an issue, same labor to put in
a new engine, as a cheesy rebuild, or heaven forbid, a * used * engine.

The Valvoline dealer is looking to get out of it cheap as possible,
while you want " All you can get " A compromise between both seems
right. I'd price a Goodwrench, and the cheapest rebuild while checking
a flat rate manual for labor allotment [ hours ] Can you throw some
serious bucks in ? As long as so much is happening, might be smart to
do some building up, new hoses and such, the mechanic won't mind, the
parts should be changed anyway, as a safeguard. I don't disconnect /
reconnect hoses. If the car is very new, should the insurance total it ?

As for the comment, won't hurt anything, as a professional
utterance, you might have legal resource, as that was obviously a lie, a
lie meant to help company weasel out of paying up, at the expense of
damage to your property, I'd ask for a new car in exchange for silence,
and bargain down from there.

You'd figure a place that just did oil changes and lubes would be
perfect at doing them. Well, I'm definately going to forego quickie
places from now on, even though one bad experiece shouldn't set me for
life. Better safe than sorry, which I am now. I'm quite sure that my
thinking that the light would reset if it sit for a while didn't help
the situation, but that still doesn't take away the initial error on
their part.

Oh, and they've already taken care of the rental car. 2003 Honda Civic.
As long as they don't flake out when the other bill shows up, I'm okay.
Although, I've talked to my insurance company. They said if they do
flake, I just need to pay my $250 deductible and they will take care of
it. Then, they'll go after the oil change company themselves to get my
$250 and their ???$ back.

I'm not "expecting" a new engine, but that's what I'll push for. If
they just want to keep me happy, they'll say yes. Otherwise, they'll
push for a cheapo rebuilt one or just rebuild what's there. As long as
I get one that is at least in the same condition has mine was, I'll be
okay. From what I've heard, if my particular insurance company has to
get involved, they will be going with the brand new engine and anything
else that could have been affected by this. I'd still like to avoid
losing out on $250 temporarily. I miss my car alraedy, though.

If you wind up with a new engine for $ 250 it's money well spent.

As a final threat to those lying bullies, you might mention the
fact that many Automotive publications may want to buy the rights to
your tragic story. After all, I heard about it [ via this newsgroup ]
so should others. Make copies of all paperwork, get photos of
offending shop, and please keep up posters informed of the outcome.

Too many people are " hit and run " they ask tough questions, yet
never tell us * what * was wrong. Thanks for sharing your horrible
experience.

I'm not suggesting that it was your fault that the oil change was botched,
but by continuing to drive a car whose engine was obviously in distress you
made the problem much worse. Normal troubleshooting procedure for ANY kind
of situation, automotive or otherwise, is "what was the last thing
changed? -- check THAT".

Sorry you're offended, but if my Oil Pressure Light comes on, I pull over,
shut off the engine, wait a minute or 2, and check the dipstick -- whether
the oil change was done 2 minutes, or 2 months ago -- first you eliminate
the obvious, which was exactly the case here. Yeah, they were incompetent,
but you sure didn't do yourself any favors either.

If smoke starts coming out of your TV, do you pull the plug, or leave it on
and wait for the Fire Dept? Nobody seems prepared to accept any
responsibility for anything.

Hope you get it settled to your satisfaction, but maybe take a slightly more
active role in your car ownership in future; the gauges and lights are there
for good reason, because "sh*t DOES happen"

<joshuasfalk (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote