Warranty denied due to oil viscosity.

[Hootbro]

Originally Posted By: wtd
I don't keep receipts for oil changes but I keep very detailed maintenance logs on 3x5 notebooks that I keep in every vehicle. I highly doubt I would have any problems on a warranty claim.


A note book without receipts backing it up is just a story. It's a leap of faith for them to even buy your log book as being factual dates and what was done and a double leap of faith without the receipts. Unless you got a "bud" at the dealership, un-receipted maintenance is not going to fly for warranty work.

 

[circuitsmith]

Originally Posted By: Patman
Originally Posted By: Bladecutter


Even a Blackstone test can tell you the viscosity of the oil.


If someone runs 5w30 in a car that calls for 5w20, that UOA will probably show it as having the viscosity of a 5w20 anyways, most 5w30 UOAs we see posted here are like that.


I can imagine the dealer doing an oil test and finding out it's non-detergent SAE30 from the dollar store.
That should be pretty obvious in the test results.

 

[DoubleWasp]

I actually posed this question to the service writer of a dealership. He just laughed. Told me this was actually considered at one point in time, but that the most extreme cases involve coolant dumped into the oil, no oil remaining (engine blown apart), etc, that they don't even bother. It's just too hard to analyze the oil from an engine that has had critical failure and make a tangible argument that the oil should be perfectly within spec.

They rely on service records, if even that.

 

[AVB]

We just were discussing this at work, but not about the grade of oil. We had a 2.4 Journey dropped off that the engine has two different knocks going on. This one has the added care extended warranty, we will have to tear it down to the point of failure and they will send an inspector. He could ask for a oil sample but we haven't had one do that yet. I am suspecting that this one got run low on oil. The last time we serviced it was nearly 40k miles ago, the sticker is still in the window.

 

[dlundblad]

The only way I could see a dealer wanting receipts or giving heck is if the engine was sludged up and then failed.

That said, hopefully any Traverse or Terrain owner kept theirs. LOL.

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted By: Hootbro
Originally Posted By: wtd
I don't keep receipts for oil changes but I keep very detailed maintenance logs on 3x5 notebooks that I keep in every vehicle. I highly doubt I would have any problems on a warranty claim.


A note book without receipts backing it up is just a story. It's a leap of faith for them to even buy your log book as being factual dates and what was done and a double leap of faith without the receipts. Unless you got a "bud" at the dealership, un-receipted maintenance is not going to fly for warranty work.





Though it was quite some time ago, I’ve actually been involved in one of those...

As long as the notebook isn’t brand new and written in all the same pen it’ll be fine.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: DuckRyder

Though it was quite some time ago, I’ve actually been involved in one of those...

As long as the notebook isn’t brand new and written in all the same pen it’ll be fine.


That could also easily be faked too though.

 

[Hootbro]

Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Originally Posted By: Hootbro
Originally Posted By: wtd
I don't keep receipts for oil changes but I keep very detailed maintenance logs on 3x5 notebooks that I keep in every vehicle. I highly doubt I would have any problems on a warranty claim.


A note book without receipts backing it up is just a story. It's a leap of faith for them to even buy your log book as being factual dates and what was done and a double leap of faith without the receipts. Unless you got a "bud" at the dealership, un-receipted maintenance is not going to fly for warranty work.





Though it was quite some time ago, I’ve actually been involved in one of those...

As long as the notebook isn’t brand new and written in all the same pen it’ll be fine.


It's foolhardy advice to say "it'll be fine" based on limited anecdotal accounts. It is within the dealership's purview to ask for receipts in addition to a log record.

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted By: Hootbro
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Originally Posted By: Hootbro
Originally Posted By: wtd
I don't keep receipts for oil changes but I keep very detailed maintenance logs on 3x5 notebooks that I keep in every vehicle. I highly doubt I would have any problems on a warranty claim.


A note book without receipts backing it up is just a story. It's a leap of faith for them to even buy your log book as being factual dates and what was done and a double leap of faith without the receipts. Unless you got a "bud" at the dealership, un-receipted maintenance is not going to fly for warranty work.





Though it was quite some time ago, I’ve actually been involved in one of those...

As long as the notebook isn’t brand new and written in all the same pen it’ll be fine.


It's foolhardy advice to say "it'll be fine" based on limited anecdotal accounts. It is within the dealership’s purview to ask for receipts in addition to a log record.


It is foolhardy to assume that my relation of one exactly on point account is indicative of “anecdotal” or “limited” experience. I’ve worked in dealerships, I’ve discussed this sort of thing with manufacturer reps (decision makers) and I have several friends who still do the same. If the notebook isn’t fake (and it’ll be pretty obvious if it is really.) the chances it won’t be fine are infinitesimal...

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: Hootbro
Originally Posted By: wtd
I don't keep receipts for oil changes but I keep very detailed maintenance logs on 3x5 notebooks that I keep in every vehicle. I highly doubt I would have any problems on a warranty claim.


A note book without receipts backing it up is just a story. It's a leap of faith for them to even buy your log book as being factual dates and what was done and a double leap of faith without the receipts. Unless you got a "bud" at the dealership, un-receipted maintenance is not going to fly for warranty work.





Agreed. While a "log book" or what ever might be informative to the owner of the vehicle to track costs or maintenance-it's of zero value to the dealer. This pertains to either the service department or especially at trade in time. It's NADA, BlueBook, whatever. Your maintenance book adds zero value.

This isn't just my opinion-it's been posted on here many time dealers don't even take the time to look at them.

 

[hatt]

Not many people keep detailed records with matching receipts. If warranties were being voided because of that we'd have a bunch of stories instead of what ifs and speculation.

 

[SeaJay]

The original poster is looking for something that may only exist in the absolute rarest of circumstances.

First, the lack of oil changes would need to be the proximate cause of the failure, and second-the manufacturer would have to try and prove that fact to some degree. It is not the owner's responsibility to maintain bullet proof records (receipts, videos, sworn testimony, used oil filters, etc.) that the oil change intervals were always done per the manufacturer's recommendations.

As another poster stated, this is not something that the manufacturer's even bother with in 99.9% of the situations, unless of course the dealer or manufacturer is trying to pull a fast one.

 

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: SeaJay
The original poster is looking for something that may only exist in the absolute rarest of circumstances.

First, the lack of oil changes would need to be the proximate cause of the failure, and second-the manufacturer would have to try and prove that fact to some degree. It is not the owner's responsibility to maintain bullet proof records (receipts, videos, sworn testimony, used oil filters, etc.) that the oil change intervals were always done per the manufacturer's recommendations.

As another poster stated, this is not something that the manufacturer's even bother with in 99.9% of the situations, unless of course the dealer or manufacturer is trying to pull a fast one.


Mazda dealers and the RX-8 would be the exception to this rule.
They almost always want proof that the oil changes were performed before they will authorize an engine replacement under the 8 year extended warranty.

When the oil is changed in an RX-8, only about 2/3 of it is getting drained out.
Dealers want that oil change proof, with receipts, and some have caused the owner grief if the I's weren't dotted, and the T's weren't crossed.

BC.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Originally Posted By: Hootbro
Originally Posted By: wtd
I don't keep receipts for oil changes but I keep very detailed maintenance logs on 3x5 notebooks that I keep in every vehicle. I highly doubt I would have any problems on a warranty claim.


A note book without receipts backing it up is just a story. It's a leap of faith for them to even buy your log book as being factual dates and what was done and a double leap of faith without the receipts. Unless you got a "bud" at the dealership, un-receipted maintenance is not going to fly for warranty work.





Though it was quite some time ago, I’ve actually been involved in one of those...

As long as the notebook isn’t brand new and written in all the same pen it’ll be fine.


Mine is worn and creased, with at least three noticeably-different pens used. (Of course, my car is long out of warranty.)

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Patman
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder

Though it was quite some time ago, I’ve actually been involved in one of those...

As long as the notebook isn’t brand new and written in all the same pen it’ll be fine.


That could also easily be faked too though.

What if you're OCD like me and use the same pen for everything, let alone the same oil?

 

[Patman]

I'm the same way, I have a house full of the exact same pens that I love, so all of my notebooks use those pens

 

[Garak]

I keep a refillable Fisher pen in the glove box (you know our winters) and have for many years, so it's always the same.