Need an opinion

bigballsbilly

Active Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2014
I’m a regional manager for a chain of tire and auto repair stores. One of my stores did an oil change in a 2009 Toyota Hybrid Thursday. The customer picked up the car drove a few miles home, parked in the garage and had no issues. The next day his wife drove it about ten miles and then the oil light came on and she drove it straight gone and parked it in the garage and now there’s a puddle of oil under the car.

The customer called us and we had it towed to the store. We checked it and it had no oil filter, so we put a filter on and filled it with oil. And the engine is now noisy.

I watched the video, and when we backed the car out of the shop there was no oil on the ground or in the snow in the parking lot. My thinking is that if we used the wrong filter and it didn’t thread all the way on, or if we left it loose then there would have been a streak of oil under the car as we pulled it out.

Has anyone seen a situation like this? Obviously the guy wants us to replace his motor for free. Or maybe this engine had a problem already and he’s trying to play us.

Opinions?
 
Even if the car was let out of the shop with the oil filter loose, it wouldn't fall off and "disappear". Besides, you'd have seen a track. I vote for getting played...
 
Your store should have a record what filter was used. Tough one here. If loose should puked oil instantly, never heard of one vibrating loose but im sure its possible. How trust worthy is the guy that did the work? You would have to be pretty devious to loosen it after you took the car home then claim it was faulty work. One of two people is lying. People are the worst,thats why i only like dogs.
 
A common problem is when the grease monkey doesn't take the old o ring off the engine, and installs a new filter.
I rescued a damsel on the Interstate, with that issue. The oil was changed at a quikie place, driven some 30 miles, and the filter had backed off, as it was never seated. The filter was within 1 turn of falling off. I took the filter off, removed the "extra" ring, got her 5 qts, and she was on her way.

Put an engine in the mans car.....A LOT cheaper than a lawyer, bad publicity. Refuse, and then watch Facebook, Twitter, and maybe the evening news.
Your company will be "famous".
 
How long did the woman drive it with the engine oil light on, you can't drive it with the light on and not do extensive damage. If the owner drove it any more than to get to safe parking spot after the light came on, I don't see how they can expect you to replace the engine.
It is a 2009 with x mileage, they are not entitled to a "new" engine. If it is your shops faults, fair would be the value of the engine prior to the failure, plus the cost to swap it out, or the book value of the vehicle, whatever is less. What's the book value on the car in the condition it was in prior to the failure, if you have any doubts about the work that was done, you could say you will give them a check for the car and be done with it. If they refuse, tell them to take it to court.
It is a judgment call you have to make. Is the shop reliable? Have you many customer complaints? What's the best business decision?
 
I do think I’m getting played. We double checked and the paper work definitely had the correct filter on it. If the filter was double Gasketed it would have puked oil all over the floor,ive seen it many times. It was a reliable store and a reliable tech.
 
I find it hard to believe a filter fell off after less than 30 miles, There was no oil trail at your shop. The problem is this person is going to talk badly about the shop and everyone is going to believe them. How many 8 year old toyota's have a failed engine? A good business decision would be to offer to put a used engine into the car because it was not a new engine in the 8 year old car unless he has proof to show a new engine was put in the car. Your shop will be talked about either very badly or very well. I wish you good luck with this situation because I fear you will not be able to satisfy the customer unless you put brand new engine into the car. If you can satisfy them, you may want to never service any of their vehicles again.
 
I do think I’m getting played. We double checked and the paper work definitely had the correct filter on it. If the filter was double Gasketed it would have puked oil all over the floor,ive seen it many times. It was a reliable store and a reliable tech.

Then, if that's the case, step up w/ your big balls, Billy, and go to court...:D
 
I do think I’m getting played. We double checked and the paper work definitely had the correct filter on it. If the filter was double Gasketed it would have puked oil all over the floor,ive seen it many times. It was a reliable store and a reliable tech.

Years go I worked as a shop manager for a large chain store auto center and encountered 2 or 3 customers a year who tried to scam us for a "defective" repair.

A few of them got irate when told it was not our fault for a "bad or faulty" repair, and even wound up in court which sided with us, not the customer.

Your situation is one I would gladly take to court with an expert witness to give testimony, and back it up with facts, logic and the tech who did the job.
 
Thanks for the advice guys.

Just so everyone knows, I’m not one to shirk our responsibility when it comes to stuff we screw up. I’ve replaced 2 engines at no charge in the 13 months I’ve had this position. We certainly aren’t perfect.

But in this case, I just don’t see how we did anything wrong. So I gently explained the facts to the customer and explained what led to my decision, and believe it or not he took it very well. That could change any day with a phone call to the corporate office or by him taking us to court. I’ll roll the dice for now and see what happens.

But I’m glad everyone concurred with me that if we were responsible there should have been an oil trail.
 
Dumb question about hybrids but don't they use the electric motor until it needs a charge? So if she only drove a couple miles (plus pulling it out of the shop) wouldn't that only use the electric motor?

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A few years ago my brother in law took his car in for an oil change as he could not do it himself if his life depended on it. A day or so later the oil light came on and the car died on the way home. He honestly did not know what the oil light meant and called me from the side of the road. He drove it for some distance with the light on. The car was towed to his local mechanic (different shop) where they found the motor froze up and no oil plug in the pan. The shop that did the oil changed said they would put a used engine in as his car had roughly 125k miles on. He was nervous as he had bought his car new and always did proper maintenance on it. He did not know the condition of the other motor. Engine swap was done and he’s had no troubles with it since. My point is it does happen. When the car was in your shop wouldn’t the tech noticed a noisy engine when starting it up after the oil change? You said he was a good tech. When I worked at one of those shops 20 plus years ago the techs noted oil leaks and engine noises as CYA. It was written on the receipt and signed by customer. I remember we would get people trying to scam us from time to time. I also remember a lady who brought her car back with no oil plug in it and making noise. Clealry our fault but management put a plug in it and filled the motor with oil and sent her on her way. Good luck to you.
 
My Wife and I have a Prius and yes when you " Start " the car sometimes you will hear nothing cause its running off the batteries . When they get low the gasoline engine will start and run for a while to re-charge them . But I think the OP is in the right and trying to get scammed but strange things can happen .
 
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