UPDATE: Walmart Refuses To Pay For Engine Damage Caused By Faulty Oil Change
Having just arrived in Paonia, Colorado for the summer, reader Ashlee thought she should get her oil changed. Not yet familiar with the area, she went with a name she recognized–Walmart. The oil change seemed to go fine so Ashlee and her friend decided to embark on a trip to Denver. Thirty minutes into the road trip, she heard a strange noise coming from the engine. She pulled over and intuitively checked the dipstick which revealed zero oil. Ashlee then looked underneath her car and saw oil covering much of the undercarriage. Eventually, she got the car to town where a mechanic discovered that the oil cap had been put on improperly, allowing the oil to escape. Later, she received an estimate from GMC of $5,875 to replace the engine. Ashlee’s letter, inside…
I needed an oil change. After all, I had driven across the country from Georgia to Colorado. Walmart seemed to be an obvious choice, be it that I was unfamiliar with the area, and a familiar name would just be easy and reliable–or so I thought.
Last Saturday I made a decision I would soon regret… I got my oil changed by “oil technicians” and Wally-World. Driving no more than a mile or two each day after that I noticed no problem and was relieved to have the oil changed and taken care of for the time being. Thursday afternoon Courtney and I were excited to be let out of work early, so we packed up the vehicle and hit the road toward Denver for the holiday weekend. No more than 30 minutes into the trip Courtney heard a strange noise and made me listen for it. It didn’t sound normal so we pulled over as soon as the road permitted. Having just gotten the oil changed it was my first thought to check the dipstick. Empty. Nothing. A glance under the car lent a horrifying view of a filthy bottom covered in leaking oil and a smoking drive-train closer to the rear.
My next thought was to get On-Star. Push the button. Nothing. Empty rings into oblivion, then the automated operator informs me that she is unable to connect to On-Star. A lone biker-man stopped, and confirmed what we had already gathered… which was that we were pretty much out of luck. Then another car stopped, leant us a few drops of oil that was left in a bottle he had in his trunk. They advised us to coast back down the mountain and try to get back to Paonia, where we had come from. We made it back, barely. Coasted into the only mechanic in town. Bob the mechanic then informed me that the oil cap was put back on improperly when the oil was changed, causing the o-ring seal to bust and the oil to simultaneously leak out, leaving the engine to run metal on metal and in turn ruin my engine. $4000 was his initial estimate, and that was just a courtesy as he is not actually equipped to replace entire ENGINES!
Keep in mind that I own a 2006 Saturn Vue, which only has 54,000 on it. No prior mechanical problems to speak of, until Walmart’s “technicians” got their hands on it. Currently trying to work with Walmart and their insurance company to see if they will pay for the replacement of my engine, parts & labor, the cost a rental car (since the GMC dealership told me it would take about 2 weeks for repair)… and I want quarts of oil for LIFE! Final estimate from GMC was $5,875!
BOOOOOOO Walmart for sure this time!! Don’t get your oil changed there, go to a REAL mechanic! Just do not shop there, period.
We would like to see Walmart take responsibility for the botched job. Our thinking is that if they can’t even do the retail store thing right, what chance to they have on a car with hundreds of moving parts? You would have actually been better off if Walmart didn’t change your oil at all and just lied about it.
Wal-mart Automotive Center = DEATH & DESTRUCTION! [Ashlee's Blog]
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saturn vues have a cartridge oil filter. you unscrew the cover and replace only the filter element. they must not have tightened to the specified torque. or the didn’t get the new o-ring thats comes with the filter on right.
a trained monkey could do it right.
leave to the idiots at wal-mart to muck it up.
never take your car to walmart, even if you just going to shop there.
Why did we go to Wal-Mart of all places for an oil change? And why didn’t we notice the low oil pressure light?
@mechimike: You’re dad has 10 thumbs? Wow, guess what I have…MONEY…and I use it to have people do things I cant or dont want to do my self. There are qualified professionals who can do everything from change oil to clean my appartment to making me a ruti tuti fresh and fruti.
Hell under your assumption, I shouldnt drink beer (cant brew it) or scotch (cant distill, make oak barrels or find a place other than the garage to age it and I dont really like the taste of ‘hints of garage’) and that aint happening because me, I’m an alcoholic, yes, but you are a meanie.
@msbask: What do I have to be able to do in order to have sex under his assumption. (I’m prety sure I’m gonna qualify under this one)
@RamV10: I never bothered with the filter. I listened to my friend explain it, and just told him to do it. But I have to agree about not needing a jack. I never used it to crawl under there. It’s a great excuse to get filthy.
Speaking of Mazda, I really need to check the process out on my 3. I just bought it a couple months ago and am terrified some douche bag is going to break my brand new car. :/
@Natheo: My thoughts exactly, about seeing the low oil light. Also driving the car for any length of time after you realize there is NO oil is just plain the wrong thing to do and will ensure that you fry your engine. This story seems almost as fishy as the other Wal-Mart story they link to above about Wal-Mart not changing the oil. Is it possible we just have people making stuff up??
@mechimike: You’ve got to be kidding. I live in the city of Boston, and only have street parking. What am I supposed to do, jack up my car in a parallel spot?
I bet it was the cheap Chinese oil.
@MrEvil and ganzhimself: Working under a car supported only by a jack is dangerous, as if the jack fails (and I had a hydraulic floor jack do just that less than a week ago) you could be trapped under the car at best, or crushed if you’re not lucky. However, supporting a car while you work underneath it is *exactly* what jackstands are for and you shouldn’t be concerned about it so long as you using them properly.
I blame the Bush administration. If it weren’t for his underhanded catering to the monopolistic practices of his cronies in the oil industry, our cars wouldn’t “NEED” oil in the first place.
@DarrenO: On my car, a GM product, if the engine is a quart low, the Low Oil warning light comes on.
@backbroken: I’m not sure if it’s 100% true or not, but Wal-Mart’s “private label” oil, which they use in the standard oil change is re-filtered, recycled oil. Supposedly, motor oil doesn’t go bad, it just gets dirty. Anyway, changing my own oil with Mobil One Extended Mileage Full Synthetic and a K&N filter FTMFW!
This is suspicious.
First, the oil filter on a Saturn is in the front of the engine and its the only part that has an O-ring. The cap does not have one and the plug doesn’t either. Its possible that she misunderstood both mechanics, but she better get it straight if she is going to court.
Second, she states that she drove too and from work for the first few days. IF the oil filter was improperly put on and somehow managed to fall off there would be a HUGE puddle of oil on the ground at her work, home, store wherever. If it happened while she was driving the engine would have smoked something crazy as the filter is located in the FRONT of the engine, sending oil all over the block.
Third, 4 cylinder engines are notorious for burning oil. I owned one saturn in my life, had regular oil changes every 3000 miles, and after 2 years the engine seized due to lack of oil. Saturn swore up and down it was my fault, but the leasing company took my receipts, and had no problems taking the car back. In fact the CSR I talked said it happens more then you think.
As far as I am concerned she has no case and can prove nothing. Why would she take her car to a GMC dealer when its a Saturn? Too many holes to be real.
Not to mention, an oil change is one of the easiest things to do on a car provided you’ve got the necessary tools, and if you don’t, they can easily pay for themselves over the life of the car. Plus you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing exactly what’s going into your engine. If you really can’t or won’t do the change yourself, take the car to a good and trustworthy mechanic to do it. Avoid Jiffy-lube and Walmart like the plague. Cars are just too complex and expensive to treat like disposable appliances.
@Thrashy: I never work under the car without jackstands. I figure getting crushed by a few tons of American (ok, Canadian) steel would be less than pleasant. It only takes few seconds more to do it right… Hell, I live in an apartment complex and I do it right in the parking lot, I don’t care. The management and maintenance aren’t there on the weekends, so, who is going to stop me?
@VicMatson: As usual there might be the other side here. There hasn’t been any O ring on any oil fill cap on any car I’ve ever owned. Drain plug yes, but I check the oil regularly because “ALL” mechanics can cross thread the plug on not tighten it or the cap(lose cap causes slow leak not gushing).
If you want to understand why this story is missing something just look at an O ring at a car parts store!
While the mechanic could easily have been wrong or simply have been mistranslated by the owner, I’m pretty sure that my:
Ryan OMC has an O-Ring
V-Star 1100 has an O-Ring
1984 Dodge Omni had an O-Ring
1990 Ford Tempo had an O-Ring
and I’m pretty sure that my
2001 Dodge Intrepid’s O-Ring is simply in a plastic groove.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the O-Ring part though, as my 1990 Tempo got the oil changed at one of those lube places and lo, they put the cap back on wrong. What saved my car? I worked 3rd shift so I happened to see the smoke of the oil burning off the top of the engine. I stopped the car and looked at a hot dipstick that read half-full. Ironically my previous car, a Dodge Omni, had taken to burning a LOT of oil towards the end. When I traded the car in I had taken what was left of a case of oil and put it in my trunk.
Did I ever go into that oil-change place pissed. They bought a new hood sound / heat dampener (the oil had sprayed up on it causing it to separate layers, an engine steam clean, and my money back.
I now check my car’s fill cap before I get a block away.
I can’t help but think that * (if that’s their logo I’m gonna use it) has got to be the worst place to go to to get your oil changed. I pretty much have to take my car to quick-change places because it has almost no ground clearance (leastwise not enough to get my fat ass under there) but the only way for me to trust ‘em is for me to call around and see if they’re good. There ARE good quick-change places, and you can usually spot them by the presence of an old man who used to own his own garage before everything went corporate. These ones staffed by working-for-the-summer teens and fired-from-everywhere-else fourty-somethings aren’t worth spitting on, though.
Save Money. Live Better….
had a much more minor version of this happen. I used WalMart for oil changes when I lived in San Diego, since they were close to work and the dealership where I bought the car was evil. Had had them change the oil maybe 6 times, when on the seventh, the tech came out and said that there was “something wrong” with the car and the plug couldn’t be reinstalled – it just spun and wouldn’t tighten.
Turns out that they had repeatedly over-tightened the plug to the point that it tore the threaded insert lose from the pan. They tried to claim that it was the previous service, but when confronted with the paperwork proving that THEY were the previous service, they initially agreed to fix it.
But when the evil dealership presented an estimate of over $1,000 (seems the entire pan plus quite a bit of labor to switch it out) it took some serious pressure to get them to finally own up to it and settle.
In the end, they did the right thing but a) it never should have happened and b) shouldn’t have taken an act of god to have them fix it.
I only “cherry pick” with WalMart – only buy a few things that either can’t be found elsewhere or are at such a low price that I’m guessing (hoping) they lose money on each one. Currently, a $19.95 oil change is one of them, but I check the car out each time I get it back.
@Stormslanding:
Because GM owns Saturn…
@VicMatson: what cars don’t have them, and what do they use, instead?
@rworne: if it was in such a way that pressure was required, or if it was a leak above the oil pan, a noticeable puddle might not exist. A puddle, for sure, but not necessarily an obvious problem puddle.
@Jim K: I’d like to know that, too. Does the car not give an oil warning light after a change?
@RamV10: right…’cause everybody has ’3 arms and can fit past their shoulders. We’re not all lanky bean poles, dude. In any case, that’s what jack points are for, are they not? Jack, apply stand, wiggle in, do work, wiggle out, cursing occasionally.
@msbask: given that analogous refrigerator maintenance is pulling it out and vacuuming the back once every few years…probably not. Also, I have no idea what an oil burner has to do with a house—must be a regional thing.
@ganzhimself: Ah, for some reason I missed that you were using jackstands
My car is of the variety that could probably be team-lifted by a few people but it’d still be less than pleasant to have a faceful of transaxle come down on me. Jackstands all the way…
This has happened to me before. It’s pretty common. While Walmart is responsible for this accident, you should always check your dipstick after an oil change. I check it right after and the day after.
This poor girl drove the vehicle too long. WalMart is NEVER going to pay for this damage. They’ll be in court for years over this, and will end up settling for less than half of what it cost to get the engine replaced.
It’s very disturbing to read just how many “That happened to me too…” stories that have popped up here. This may be a new Consumerist hot-button issue.
not sure what the oil cap looks like, I used to own a 2000 SL2 and the oil cap was a bitch to get on and off, and mine did have an o’ring that made it even harder. This story is a pleasant reminder as to why I insist on doing my own vehicle maintenance.
Another reason to learn to do your OWN MAINTENANCE. oil changes are not that hard. you can do them in a parking lot in 15 minutes. but at least if you’re going to go somewhere, go to a place that specializes in working on cars, not in selling discounted chinese kitty litter.
Walmart is good for one or two things, but I wouldn’t trust them to replace my wiper blades let alone do anything more detailed with my car.
If you have to take it to a walmart to get it done, stand there and act like you know what you are about. This’ll make them slow down and THINK before they act.
After the change, make the shift super stand there while you pop the hood, check the dipstick for the proper level and look under the car for any drips (or runs in this case). If you see anything out of the ordinary, raise a stink with he/she/it. If they balk, walk into the store and DEMAND to talk with the store’s general manager. Be civil, but be firm and take no guff off of them over it. Politely and subtly remind them of the best way of them getting business is word of mouth. If they don’t get the idea, whip out the cell and call for a tow to your mechanic. Take their names and prepare a EECB to home office.
Best case, no damage done and reimbursements. They close their garage up and the Smart Bat applied to the monkeys they hired.
I used to work at a Sears Auto Center, and I can’t tell you how many times we had people come in to ‘fix’ problems with new tires they’d had installed at Wal Mart. They apparently don’t know how to properly balance tires or simply don’t bother trying. I wouldn’t take my bicycle in there to get the tires aired up. It makes you wonder how many people out there have had problems like this with them. I suspect this is the very top of the tip of the iceberg.
This story makes me feel like my suspicions about my Walmart oil change are probably true. A month or two ago I went to get an oil change on my 07 Malibu at Walmart. Normally I take it to get done at the dealership, but I decided not to on this occasion. Convenience being the biggest reason. I asked the guy to fill up my tires since they were looking low, which he agreed to. I thought he finished awfully quick, but when I went to get my car he verified that the oil was changed and the tires were filled up, no problem. When I got home, I noticed that it didn’t look like the tires had been touched at all. Ever since then, I have had a sneaky suspicion that my oil was never even changed either. I don’t have any proof, since I never checked immediately afterward. Stupid me. But the speed with which it was done and the lack of air in my tires makes me think that my oil was never touched either. I won’t be going back to Walmart. Convenience, time, and cost aren’t nearly as important as driving a car that I know won’t break down and cost me tons in repairs.
pretty common occurrence – & not just at walmart. be very, very careful anytime you let someone that is not ASE certified under your hood – places like walmart, monroe, jiffy lube & firestone are essentially training grounds for mechanic n00bs. only a fraction of those workers will pass their certification, so BE WARY!
also, it helps to educate yourself a bit. what type of oil does my car use? what is the filter #? where is the drain plug located? knowing the answers to questions like this can save you big $$$ in repairs down the road.
also – ANY TIME you get work done & notice something is not right (new sound, different handling, etc.), turn around RIGHT AWAY. this is your car telling you there is trouble. DON’T IGNORE IT!
Hayne’s Manual – $12.99
Oil Filter and 5 Quart Special @ Autozone – 12.99
1/2 Inch Ratchet for Oil Filler Plug – 4.99
Tire Change jack and 4 cinderblocks you borrowed from your neighbor – Free
The knowledge that your oil change was done properly, and if something breaks it’s your own darn fault – Priceless.
I can change my own oil (that and changing a tire were my parents’ requirements for me to get my license when I turned 16 *mumble* years ago) Its a good thing to understand.
Do I? No on either. I have AAA for the tires, and various mechanics for the oil. Currently I’m not allowed to change my own oil, I have a company car. I can take it anywhere I want, but between the lying to the car people and going against my lease to do it in the parking lot of my apartment… I’ll stick with checking the dipstick after paying someone.
We no longer live in a world where it is possible to do everything for yourself – you get to pick and choose. I don’t build or maintain my car myself, its a choice I’ve made.
That happened to me too! Me and my pappa went to Wal-Mart to get a cheap oil change, then drove down to a tire place for the brakes and such. Lucky we did because the tire people came in and said “Your engine is COVERED in oil. We cleaned it off for you but someone didn’t put the gas cap on right.”
Worse part? My dad was their frickin manager. They couldn’t even do a good job on their boss’s daughter’s car.
And yes, he was ripshit.
I worked for Wal-Mart for four years, and our store did the same thing several times. All she has to do is sue Wal-Mart (she’ll win) and they’ll pay to replace the engine. It happens all across the country, all the time at Wal-Mart TLEs (auto departments).
YES, I OWN A 2002 SATURN VUE, AND HAVE HAD TO GET A FULL ENGINE REPLACED. I totally believe what happened. My car had 117,000 miles on it, had oil changed regularly (receipts to prove) and out of nowhere, my timing chain snapped. My initial quote was about $4000 as well. Screw THAT, freakin hippies. I found a used engine for $700 with 32K miles on it, and it cost $900 to remove and install the new engine. So $1600 in total.
My timing chain snapped, and since my engine (2.2 ecotec) was a “zero tolerance) engine… metal on metal, BAM.
I feel for the OP. I tried getting Saturn to help with the costs, they said I was SOL, I must of not changed my oil regularly. I showed receipts, nada. The same month my timing chain blew, Saturn did a recall on the timing chains on the 2.2L engines. It sucked ASS, my car had the same problem but because the engine wasn’t an L-series, Saturn gave me the finger, threw trash at me while driving away in their new Astra.
pfffft. I hate Saturns now.
[www.consumeraffairs.com]
Something similar happened to my boyfriend’s car several years ago after an oil change. New engine for his ’91 Corolla: $7000 with labor. A crappy lesson to learn, but we are much more picky about our cars these days.
@enine: You’re right that most dealers have specific lube techs, but for what it’s worth, most of them are trying to become apprentices.
@Stormslanding: As wgrune said, Saturn’s a GM division, and odds are, a GMC dealer (most likely a Pontiac-GMC dealer) would be closer than the (formerly) shiny happy plastic people. Generally, any GM dealer can work on any GM car (except for warranty work, the rules are weird that way).
And although mechimike might’ve gone a little extreme, everyone should have done at least one oil change by them selves, have some general concept of how their vehicle works.
Two responses:
1) You (OP) should have done this yourself. Come on, people. Get over this kind of thing and realize that not everyone has neither the time nor expertise nor desire to perform every activity that truly can be done myself. I personally have no desire to do an oil change, but I do my own taxes because I like to. Others among us I’m sure would balk at doing their taxes and gladly shell out some money to an accountant–which is fine. Criticizing the OP or making yourself seem to be self-reliant and therefore brilliant is ridiculous.
2) As usual, the theme of this site pervates. Caveat emptor–buyer beware! You get what you pay for, etc–however, this all comes back to the reasonable person standard and product liability. The OP had a reasonable expectation that W*M would change the oil for the certain price, and that came with continued operation of the car. Resulted in a major issue, this W*M should pay. Simple, end of story. Our posts should be helping the OP communicate with W*M and document conversations to launch an EECB *IF* the need arises at a later date.
@Stormslanding:
Where did she say she had a 4 cylinder? Many VUEs have 6-cylinders, with some of them made by Honda depending on the year. For someone who seems to know everything you assume a lot.
@ganzhimself: Yeah, I was kind of joking.
they did the same thing to my friend’s car, only difference his car lit on fire and was destroyed, lawyers would not take the case saying it would be impossible to take on wal mart to prove this.
I had the same thing happen at the local TiresPlus although not as bad. I got my oil changed there because I had a coupon and needed my tires rotated which they are supposed to do for free. A couple days later I notice a decent amount of oil under my truck and see it leaking from the drain plug. I took it to my regular mechanic, because I didn’t trust them to fix it and sure enough they had somehow slapped in some different drain plug that didn’t fit right. I think the moral of this story is forgo the quick change type places and just pay the few extra bucks for your regular mechanic to do it. Of course in the case of travel, you don’t have that luxury.
@backbroken: I know, but I wanted to see if anyone else had heard or knew if that particular rumor of the WalMart store brand of oil was actually recycled/refiltered oil.
I had Sears replace my oil pan because they stripped it out. I found a local mechanic who became a personal friend, and I will never go somewhere else. This is one of those cases where you do not want to be saving the $3 or whatever less you pay at a crappy chain.
I think every oil change shop ends up replacing the occasional engine.
If you want it done right, do it yourself, but if you screw up, well, nobody can bail you out.
@verucalise: P.S.- to the OP- It only took 1 full day for my engine to be yanked and the new one to be put in, at a Chevy dealership that I can honestly say I trust with all my cars. Don’t, scratch that, CAN’T see how it would take 2 weeks.
Once the warranty expires on my 2007 Saturn Vue, I will be having the guy down the street who loves to borrow my riding lawn mower to cut his grass change my oil for me. He’s a mechanic and an all-around good guy.
@Stormslanding: I TAKE MY SATURN TO FUCCILLO’S CHEVROLET OF NELLISTON, NY. They are cheaper than Saturn’s mechanics, and their parts system can cross reference Saturn’s parts system. This helped immensely, as I needed an axle seal on the transmission. Saturn said it would take a week or more to come in, but using the computer BAM! My car shares the same seal as some Chevy cars, most likely the cavalier.
I wouldn’t bring my vehicle to a Saturn dealership if they offered to work on it for free, the frauds.
As soon as I saw the words “Walmart” and “oil change”, I knew this was not going to end well. Were there no gas stations around?