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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@rworne: Actually, this exact thing happened to me with my 2001 Honda S2000. Took it to Honda dealership to get oil/filters/etc. changed, then discovered a thousand miles later (when my engine started making noises) that the knuckleheads had either failed to replace the oil cap or didn’t screw it on tight enough, because it was gone, the oil had leaked out, and my engine now had a cracked cylinder wall. Curiously, the oil pressure light never came on or anything, and the new knocking noise was the only thing that clued me to the problem. Fortunately for me, I had purchased an extended warranty (only time I’ve ever done such in my life), and was able to get a new lower engine block for nothing instead of $8k. For whatever reason, the Honda guys accepted blame for this without any protest.
@mechimike: Agreed.
Get under your engine. Take the screw off. DIY.
@ganzhimself: I don’t even trust a dealership to change my oil. Right after I bought my Explorer, the I took it to the dealer for an oil change because they had given me a free coupon for it. I figured since it was free, why not?
If you’re familiar with Fords, some of them take 5w20 motor oil. Mine DOES NOT. Mine takes 5w30. But instead of reading the big, bright yellow lettering on the oil cap that says “5w30” they just put 5w20 in it anyway.
Didn’t damage anything, didn’t cause a problem, and I just had the oil changed a week later. Point is though, dealers aren’t any better. They are large national chains which have no standards and employees that don’t know an oil plug from a butt plug.
@enine: in many states (my own included), mechanics are obligated to act as a used oil repository (in connecticut, they are not supposed to charge a “recycling fee” either, but i’ve caught more than one doing so). they hate it (obviously, b/c they have to pay to have it disposed of). however, one mechanic i know made a smart decision – he bought a waste oil burner to heat his 3-bay garage in the winter & now happily accepts used motor oil from customers (& charges a nominal fee to other mechanics looking to dispose of theirs). the upfront cost would make you choke, but he probably saves >$1000 on heating costs + the fee for oil he takes in from the competition (+ who knows what in medical bills – his garage used to be a freakin’ icebox in the winter!).
@CCS: I used to change my oil on the side of the street outside my three decker. Since it was relatively easy to change the oil, no lift or jacks needed. Took me about 15 minutes total. Always used synthetic and got 200,000 miles out of that car before the trany wore out.
I use a lift and jack with my Honda V6 Coupe now. Still, all synthetic with an OEM filter runs me about $28. The used stuff goes back to Autozone.
I think the main point here is pay attention to your damn automobile. It’s not going to take care of itself, and for what you’re paying for it, you shouldn’t 100% trust others to take care of it. Watch your gauages. It doesn’t hurt to give the car a good walk around before you get in it. And you should always be watching for leaks right after an oil change. Always.
@RamV10: You must be Reed Richards. I think for most of us non-stretchy type, it is an issue of arm length and leverage, especially with filters.
Make a claim on your auto insurance policy to fix your car while you gather info for your car. You need to show actual damages by getting your car fixed first (save your receipts). $5K might be too high for small claims, but you should try. Gather your information (get written statements from the mechanic, simple timeline of events, receipts, etc.) and head off to small claims.
Your insurance company might even get involved in the suit – mine would. It’s much nicer to have one large company battle another in court so you don’t have to.
@Natheo:
You’re right, it’s amazing what you can see ‘happening’ if you just pay attention.
Yesterday, I noticed oil on the rear bumper of the S-class. My heart sank, and I peeked underneath, immediately…no leaky diff…looked at the trans pan, nothing there, then the engine oil, none gone.
Hmmm. Well, I’d drive it and pay REALLY close attention.
(my apologies for the italics goof, earlier)
I’d forgotten just the day before I’d been at the high-pressure car wash cleaning a Coleman Road Trip grill which had gotten funky in places over four years of use, and I was seeing food grease splatter, even though I thought the car was far enough away to avoid getting anything on it.
I had a nice chuckle when I realized it about a mile after leaving home.
Anyone who thinks qualified people work at Walmart is fooling themselves.
@ganzhimself: Oops, you’re right, I was basing that number on a timing belt instead of a chain.
Still sucks to have one break either way.
@cerbie: FWIW, on a 626, the drain plug is about 18 inches from the edge of the passengers side of the car. A 12 year old can reach that far.
Also, you can’t get to the oil filter from the bottom. Epic poor catalytic converter placement.
Every car i’ve ever changed the oil on i’ve been able to do without jacking. Sure, jacking makes it hella easier, but if you don’t have the required jack/stands, you should still be able to get at it.
In any case, if someone chooses to pay for an oil change, they shouldn’t have to check the oil when they leave, it should be done correctly. If I call a plumber because my toilet overflowed and there’s shit all over my floor, I expect to not have that happen 5 minutes after he leaves. If I call someone to mow my yard, I expect the grass to be shorter and look good. It’s not rocket scientry. This girl paid for a service and it was done incorrectly. Wal-Mart is at fault and I hope if it does go to court they get bent over and raped repeatedly by the judge.
@DarrenO: I don’t know of a single car that has a “low oil” light. That light you think you see is about oil pressure.
You can leak oil but still have sufficient pressure in the lines.
@mechimike: We’ve transitioned from a manufacturing/production economy to a service economy. You screw up the whole system when you do things yourself.
@mechimike: You wrote “If you can’t (or won’t) change your own oil, you shouldn’t be driving a car. Or at least owning one. No excuses.”
I personally maintained 27 of my 29 cars, but these days, being disabled, I can no longer do my own maintenance – and that’s NOT an excuse, that’s a fact.
Maybe when you grow up you will understand that there are legitimate reasons some folks can’t do everything themselves.
Until then, stick a sock in it.
Thanks!
Tom
@t325: I dunno my friend has had some bad experience at a Mazda dealer. He has an RX-8 and would do all service at the dealership. One time he brought it in for a cold start problem and when he got it back the interior roof had grease all over it.
Another time they scratched his rear quarter panel and wouldnt own up to it. Another time they changed his oil but not his filter, they also hassled him about fixing a recalled issue. It really depends on the dealer. Some are amazing and put in the extra effort and some are penny pinchers who screw you whenever you can.
The thing is this dealer was huge and looked really nice so you wouldnt expect them to be such jerks.
@mechimike: So, by your theory we should all be doing our own oil changes.
What about the guy working at Wal-Mart who screwed up this oil change? I guess his car is gonna be farked!
Why don’t all of you people change your own oil? There are countless stories of this happening to people. It takes like 45minutes to do it. Yes you might get a little dirty but take responsibility for doing some of your own maintenance and you have the assurance it is done right.
Get yourself some latex gloves crawl under the car loosen a bolt drain the oil into and old milk jug.
Remove the oil filter put new oil in new filter.
Screw back on.
Put oil drain plug back in.
Put new oil in the oil fill.
Don’t forget to put the cap back on.
Drop off used oil at Kragen,Autozone NAPA etc. to be recycled for free.
What is so hard about that?
@freefallmotion: Actually, WalMart’s lug wrenchs are supposed to set the torque value by looking up the car info in the database, at least that’s what they were working on about 5 years ago.
Way back in ’98, I wrote the app the techs out in the garage use. Bad things do happen, but if you knew how many oil changes they do, you’d be suprised that there is not more problems.
I hate to play “Blame to OP” but Walmart? Eep.
Recently my Stupid Truck blew a tire in the middle of nowhere, south of Youngstown, Ohio. I was reluctantly headed toward $national-car-parts-chain, despite hearing bad stories like this, but wound up pulling into a place I passed by – a tiny little local place that called something like, “{Someone}’s Oil & Tire”. They wanted $110 for a single new tire (before labor & fees). When I said I wanted two (replacing one at a time isn’t good for your vehicle), I wound up paying $210 for the tires, balancing, stems and he threw in a tire rotation! (tiretrax.com says the tires I got retail for $85/per, too).
For quality, Small Local Business will usually win over Big Chain Store. Little places are bound to have less employee turnover and managers who care more about quality work being done, because repeat business means more to them. That means that even if you’re just passing through town, you win.
(Also, never ever ever Jiffy Lube. Just saying.)
@FrankGrimes: Not everyone is able bodied and/or willing to do the work. Getting “under the car” often means ramps or lifts, and while ramps are usually more stable, doing lifts badly can kill you.
However, even my motorhead friends say, “I’d rather pay a shop I trust $ to change my oil than waste my time, unless I’m already under the hood for something else.” Given that today the shops can do it in minutes, why bother? It’s also a good “first test” of a shop — if they can do a simple oil change without a hassle, you can trust them with something more complicated.
I think I’ve changed my oil once, and that was before my spine went to hell and bought a condo there. These days I can barely check the dip stick in Stupid Truck. Can’t reach the tranny dip stick at all!
@RamV10: mine’s in the center, just under the firewall, with wheels and suspension bits in the way from the sides. Jack one front wheel up several inches, and then it’s easy to get to.
True, but even at a good place, errors can occur (less regularly, of course). I think mechmike is reaching a bit far, but you should be able to check your fluids and accessory belt(s), and generally scan for non-uniform nastiness; especially right after stuff has been changed.
.
I in no way wish to blame the victim; Wal-mart is at fault. But, it could have been made a far less severe problem.
I know I would rather storm back in at a couple quarts low than be on the side of the road with a bum engine. There are many better (by which I mean harder to find out about before it’s too late) things to be stranded because of
Im sorry, but anyone who would tie Wal-Mart with quality ANYTHING, merchandise or services, is an idiot.
Granted, I believe in hind site Wal-Mart should pay for the damage due to their employees negligence.
They let those same door greeter people work on the cars too?
I count myself in the ‘could but don’t’ change my own oil camp. To begin with, I don’t have a torque wrench, oil filter wrench, or ramps or jacks for safely elevating the car (and getting at the oil filter is a PITA otherwise). So I suppose I would have to purchase those things. Then, I could go to the auto parts place, buy a filter and oil, go back home, do the work, and then drive back again to dispose of the oil.
Between driving back and forth and doing the work that’s easily over an hour. I can take the car to Valvoline and they do the whole thing in 30 minutes for only about $20 more than it would cost me to do it myself.
Meanwhile, they do half a dozen other things at the same time, like topping off fluids and checking the tire pressure that would otherwise require me to spend another hour dicking around, getting supplies and dragging out tools. I have my own air compressor, but should I need washer fluid, coolant, power steering fluid, brake fluid, transmission fluid…I don’t have all of that stuff on hand around the house.
So, given the choice between spending two of my non-working hours working on my car, or parting with an extra $20, I’ll choose the latter.
do it urself, 15 minute job. Since its an suv there is not need to jack up the car.
@n0ia: Timing BELTS should be changed every 60-80,000 miles. Not Timing CHAINS.
Generally, timing chains should last a hell of a lot longer!
@ganzhimself: ahhh you beat me to it! Didn’t see your comment! Thank you. (And yes I had my car completely serviced for EVERYTHING at 100K, like a good girl)
Change your own oil.
@mechimike: “However, I think the mentality of “I need to work 60-80 hours/week to afford my lifestyle” just means you have an over-ambitious lifestyle.”
Not everybody who works overtime is doing it to afford an over-ambitious lifestyle. I know people who are DIY types, and who would do it all themselves, but they do get travel assignments and work more than 40 hrs a week. Kinda hard to mow your yard or clean house when you’re hundreds or thousands of miles away for a couple of weeks.
@mac-phisto: “my point is, there’s a lot of uneducated people out there that simply refuse to learn even the most menial things – an oil change is not even near the top of that list.”
Sad but true. Worst part is when they ask you for advice, and do the ONE thing you tell them NOT to do.
I am not sure how wide spread this polioy is.. .whether it is just our store or company wide.. but the Walmart I work at requires a salary member of management to inspect every car after the work is done.
@Drowner:
I have to wonder about the people your dad manages. Especially with his/her comment about the oil. Did he/she really say that they didn’t put the GAS cap back on correctly?? Last I checked, the gas cap had nothing to do with the oil. I know I grew up on a farm, but I didn’t think technology had changed that much! lol
Well, now my Wally world experience. I have had 2 experiences like these, both involve them leaving tools under my hood. Thankfully the were nowhere where they caused a problem. But, on the upside, I now have a prybar (why that was in there, I am really questioning!) and my brother has an oil filter removing tool. These were in 2 different vehicles, about 6 months apart. I haven’t looked to see if there were anymore tools in there since my last oil change, hmmm… maybe I should go look and see what the Wally-Lottery left this time. lol
Another thing I have noticed and I will never buy there is the tires. My b/f and I have had the same exact tires on our vehicles, the only difference is that I bought from a tire dealer, he bought from Wal-Mart. My tires were on a 4×4, his were on a 2WD. His tires wore out in half the time of mine. His were not driven on as much as mine were either. Thus, I refuse to buy from Wal-Mart. I believe they wouldn’t be safe if I did.
@ScramDiggyBooBoo:
He knew it was a problem…but did he know it was a TIMING problem?
@planetdaddy:
Great advice, except for:
people with no safe place to do it
people with no place to store oil until they get around to disposing of it
people with disabilities precluding it
people who have homeowners associations (or less commonly, city governments) that preclude it unless they have a garage (or less commonly, even if they have a garage)
And there’s the fact that a lot of people feel that the 10 bucks they’ll save (the first time, more like 20 any subsequent time, if you keep the pan) just isn’t worth the hassle of disposal, or of the work itself. Oh, and that’s doubly true for any car that has an awkwardly-placed oil filter.
Ok, I’m going to call bullshit here. I’m not sure how closely the Mods read the forums, but this probably needs to be removed, and I will email them as well, if I do not see a response on here. I grew up in Paonia. My dad stil lives there. Granted, I haven’t been back there in 2 years, but, if it has grown from the 2000 people that it was into being large enough for a SUpercenter (since they are the only ones with oil change facilities) in that time, th someone must have struck gold. Otherwise, the closest Wal-Marts are in Montrose, Grand Junction, or Glenwood Springs, all of which are roughly 70 miles away, which meant that she would have had to drive that distance with her messed up car. Also, if she was going to Denver, and the car broke down 30 mins into the trip, it would have had to be on the top of McClure Pass, unless she was going the very long, flat, can’t coast down it way. If so, in order to get back to Paonia, she would have had to coast through Somerset, which is 10 miles east. If sh kept driving that far on a damaged engine, she is partially responsible for the damage she did. Also, last I checked, Bob the mechanic isn’t the only guy in Paonia, or Hotchkiss, or Crawford, or Somerset. Pure BS. Probably one of those people whoe hobby it is slanderizing Wal-Mart. They are not great, but they ahve their uses. For everyone who has an issue with them, go build something better. It’s called capitalism.
@chuck0008: Your 70 mile estimate is quite a ways off. I regret not being able to get the exact store location into this story. Look for an update to this story next week.
OK, so they finally built one in Delta. that’s still 30 miles off, and plenty far enough to run a car out of oil. Either way, this still smells fishy.
@Breach: Judging from the talent at my local Wal-Mart, I believe that the greeters would do a better job.
@mechimike: Amen, brother. Back to the ol’ Jalop’.
Certainly there could be some sort of liability, they were paid for a service that was not completed to standard. Well, OK thats my opinion.
Thats why I never let anybody that is not a dealer touch my new RX-8. Even while I’m down here in mexico only a mazda dealer touches anything under the hood. As for my other car, its not a junker but has been a very nice ride for all the time I’ve had it and I now make all the minor changes it requires. (oil and coolant changes, basic tune-up and all that)
P.S. IANAL
@Lithium542: You forgot a few items:
Statistical value of my non-work time: $20/hour
Climbing under my car when I can hire someone else to do it: $15
Total: ~$38
Now, for comparison:
Dealer oil change: $25
Free “car wash”: -$3
Knowing it’s someone else’s fault if something goes wrong: -$5,875
Total: -$5,853
I’ll take the mechanic behind door #2.
Whoa. That happened to my ex-boyfriend at a Valvoline station. The repair station that he took it to said that Valvoline drained the oil (or in any case it was gone) and didn’t fill it up again.
He wasn’t able to successfully get the $4k in repair that it cost to fix, though I’ll admit he’s a lazy sod and didn’t try too hard.
@chuck0008: I agree w/ Chuck. I also grew up in Paonia & the closest SC Wal-Mart is either in Delta (30 mi), Montrose (50 mi) or Grand Junction (70 mi). No matter what, she still had to drive a ways to get back to Paonia. Hello, “Check Engine Light”?
You cannot coast 30 min from Paonia back to Paonia. Ain’t gonna happen. There is a number of places she could have called a tow truck from between McClure Pass & Paonia. Its a podunk town, but not that podunk. 30 mins puts you almost at the top of McClure Pass. There are many hills & flat areas (Paonia Reservoir) that you can’t coast thru. Paonia may be small, but it has numerous mechanics.
There are a number of inconsistencies in her story. I’d like to hear the full scoop.
CyberRanger, aka, Greg Lenderink
These guys can be sued for doing the job wrongly and causing damage to the car.
Get a lawyer. Thousands graduate every year in this country and need work.
@rioja951:
workman like quality – the work has to be up the standard that the profession has.
Considering this is a mistake and not common practice it is negligent to breach that standard. By causing damages the guy now has a lawsuit against them. He just has to prove that the mechanic caused it.
Need to take pictures and document it all. Have the mechanic who saw the car followed up write down what he saw and thinks and then say a short clause about admitting to it under penalty of perjury and it’s an affidavit, i.e. evidence.
Build a case
The one time I got my oil changed at Wal-Mart, they left a wrench of some kind in there and it continually rubbed up against one of the belts in my engine. Luckily it wasn’t in a direction where it would have totally destroyed the belt, but when I got my oil changed again, at a reputable place, they were like, “Yea, whoever did this last time left this wrench in. Do you want it?” Not really a good sign.
@mechimike:
I _can_ change my own oil. I choose not to, because it’s worth the $20 difference in cost to me to get someone else to do it. I’m not lazy, I just have better things to do with my time than waste it on menial tasks I can easily outsource.
Ah, the risks of owning something you refuse to learn how to maintain yourself. FFS, no one even waxes their own skis anymore. You’d think, in the age of the internet, where there’s a how-to complete with pics and excerpts from the service manual on everything from fixing windows to changing timing belts, people would be more resourceful. What percentage of car owners changed their own oil in the early 20th century compared to now? You can even wear sexy latex gloves to keep your fingernails clean
If I had a dollar for every dollar I saved by maintaining my own cars…
Quit crying, YOU made the decision to go to Walmart.
I used to work at a Wal-mart. In at least two instances, the TLE guys failed to put the plug back in the oil pan, which ruined the customers engines. The immediate (rote?) response from management was to pay for repairs.
I don’t bring my car to Wal-mart for oil changes as a result.