Fram oil filter spinning off

[Gary Allan]

I'm sure everyone agrees that this is not a Toyota problem. The man, as was stated, just knows that something bad happened and that he (feels so, anyway) did nothing wrong. He has a warranty in place and wants something done. I see no reason why he wouldn't explore Toyota first in this situation. Now, just because Toyota SAYS that it's not their problem, how can a novice KNOW that they're not just shining him on? I mean, tell me that no one here hasn't heard a dodge or some side stepping action by a dealer to dispense with a warranty claim

Now the fact that the engine had to be SCREAMING for relief before this got that bad .. that's undeniable. Something was surely apparently wrong with the engine being operated.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Fram had nothing to do with this problem.

I'm sure even a Prius has a idiot light that comes on when the oil left the engine.

Bill

 

[Vspec]

I sympathize with your father and the car itself, dont get me wrong, I've got my car in the shop for a inspection if it came back destroyed I wouldn't want to spend a cent either.

At the same I dont think I would go to subaru, I would take the mechanic to court if he wont pay up the total due.

You could always part out the car (Tuner in me) that would make you more money then its worth at this point, then take the 2k from the mechanic and get something newish.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Even if you went to court, the mechanic's lawyer would have you for lunch.

Why did you operate the engine when the oil pressure light came on?

Why did you not stop the engine when the Stop Engine light came on?

(Toyota have both of these lights.. At least my bottom of the line Corolla does)

When was the last time you checked your oil level? (Toyota states in the owners manual to check it when you get fuel)

What was the level last time you checked it?

When the engine was not operating normal, what did you do? How long did it not operate normal? How did you tell it was not operating normal?

Sadly, if they will pay him anything he should take it, put new oil in the engine and drive it till it dies.

THEN fix it.

We now can see WHY places that change your oil TIGHTEN the oil plug and filter WAY TOO TIGHT.

To prevent issues like this. Even though I feel the owner of the car owns some of this.

Take care, bill

PS: The car in question is a Toyota! Not Subaru...

 

[VWFox74]

Update
Talked to my Father in law Last night concerning the Prius, but I wanted to clarify what happened prior to his oil light coming on…

He had his oil changed by his local mechanic around 96k miles (Incident at 98k miles). Everything work as normal, no oil leaking... car runs fine. On his way home from work after driving the car 15-20 minutes his oil light comes on. It comes on while doing 70 mph on a local 3 lane expressway; he pulls the car over and sees oil all over the place. So he calls a tow truck and has the car towed to the mechanic shop. No oil filter on the car at this time so Toyota doesn’t warranty the claim. No thread damage on the threads that attach to the block, so the filter was spun off. Kind of fishy all around, because if someone deliberately spun the filter off, the oil light would have went off within a minute of him starting the car. If it blew off on the expressway, you would likely see thread damage. If it wasn't tightened down then it would have slowly leaked out. So we may never know what happened in this case…
Toyota of course denied his claim, as myself and everyone else expected. The local mechanic is picking up the tab to have the vehicle repaired. Now the car is still drivable, but Toyota recommended a new long block. The mechanic is going to put a new lower end in from what I understand to see if that fixes the problem. I believe the problem is some sort of “ping” while being driven. According to my father in law he can’t tell the car was run dry of oil, but both mechanics (Toyota and local) recognize there is a problem.
So that should close the book on this thread. Lesson is to let your Son in law change your oil with Mobil one and Napa Gold Filters since he’s doing this labor free. The Prius is one of the easiest oil changes I’ve ever done... and heck it only takes 3.2 quarts of oil. The oil change comes to less than $25, which is what I am sure his local mechanic is charging for 3.2 quarts of off brand oil and the fram filter.
Thanks for all the replies…

 

[Quest]

A "ping" while being driven is a sure sign of bottom end of the bearings are somewhat worn due to lack of lubrication. If the wear is excessive, sometimes the ping becomes so loud it is commonly considered as "rod knock" (or connecting rod bearing worn) and that calls for a full bottomend inspection and repair.

Good luck.

Q.

 

[Lazy JW]

Here's a dumb question: I don't pay much attention to the newer vehicles since I don't own any. Is this one of those hybrid thingys? Could a hybrid run on electric long enough for the filter to vibrate completely off, then when the gas engine fires up the oil blows out, causing the idiot light to come on?

Just guessing as I'm not sure.
Joe

 

[Dyoel182]

No amount of vibration could have undone a filter that was tightened properly in the first place.

 

[Lazy JW]

Originally Posted By: Dyoel182
No amount of vibration could have undone a filter that was tightened properly in the first place.


Agreed.
How then do we account for the rather long periods of time that elapsed between known events? I cannot imagine a filter spinning itself off before a total loss of oil pressure occurs on a running engine.
Joe

 

[VWFox74]

My theory on what could have happened...

Is it possible that the mechanic left the old rubber seal from the last filter on. Then snugged it down so tight that it didn't show an intial leak. After time it became loose and just spun off because the filter was never infact tight to begin with due to the two rubber seals? My brother who worked at Jiffy Lube said he had heard of this happening in the past.

The other theory is that when it arrived at the Toyota dealer, they simply spun the filter so they didn't have to honor their extended warranty they sold. I would hate to think that a major corporation would resort to that, but its hard to imagine any other way this could have happened. And it could have just been a absent minded tech at the dealer.. getting it up on the lift and forgetting he spun the filter off. Then when the service manager comes by, sees the filter off and right away rejecting the claim.

Anyone like I said, the local mechanic is covering the repairs and hopefully my father in law learns a lesson.

 

[Wheel366]

There was a problem with the S4's using non OEM filters. K&N even took their filters off the market for the S because there were problems with them coming off. This wasn't specific to K&N though. I believe Mobil1 filters had the same problem. However, I used Mobil1 filters until Amsoil made a filter and I had no problems with them at all.

 

[BuickGN]

I've blown three filters off the GN on cold starts and never did it do any damage to the threads on the motor. These actually didn't come all the way off, just slipped a couple threads until the 0-ring blew out. Oil pressure light came on and pressure dropped to ~2psi instantly when I heard the noise. Just saying that just because the threads are fine doesn't mean it didn't blow off and it's unlikely it would blow all the way off. It's possible it blew partially off and then vibrated the rest of the way but the idiot light would've come on the second it blew.