Worse service mistake ever!

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I read that someone took their car in for an oil change, and the place unknowingly drained their automatic transmission oil instead. Then they added oil to already full oil pan (without checking oil level afterwards).

The person didn't get far, both transmission burned up and engine broke!

True story.
 
That is a disturbingly common thing to have happen to Subaru vehicles.

Someone drains out the front diff, AT, or CVT, then dumps in fresh oil. Car no happy.
 
My old GF from the 80's had her CJ7 serviced and an OC, They drained the oil , put on a new filter but never added the oil. Next day she said Engine was clattering. I checked oil saw no indication. Added x# qts then it ran quiet ever since. I think she drove 50 miles with maybe a remaining 1/2 qt but no OUTWARD signs of engine damage after I topped off the oil. Amazing. Straight six running on a tiny bit of splash.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Amazing. Straight six running on a tiny bit of splash.


Yep. They are tougher than we want to give them credit for. And we stress over viscosities and extended intervals, LOL.
 
WM drained a SAABs tranny instead of the engine once around here,they filled the engine to the top with oil.They noticed it though and corrected the error before the car was started.
WM asks dumb questions to prospects,like do you know what a dipstick and drain plug is.But no training or require previous mechanical experience.You get what you pay for!
 
I guess the lesson here, again, is to learn your vehicle and do your own maintenance. I don't trust anyone to touch my truck unless the job is just too big, such as an axle change. Then, at that point, I have someone I know and trust to do the work. If it is just vehicle upkeep, every owner should know how to so simple things like brakes, oil changes, all filter changes, etc....I almost feel like that should be a requirement before getting a car registered.
 
I believe there was a guy on the Ford Freestyle forum several years ago who did this while DIY. IIRC, he didn't actually destroy the engine though, because the transmission failed before he had a change to destroy the engine.

There was also a guy who added ATF (for power steering) to his brake fluid (I believe he posted on here to ask about it! I think it was his son's Freestyle). That was a really expensive mistake as well--everything in the chain had to get replaced. Ouch!
 
Originally Posted By: cowhorse01
I guess the lesson here, again, is to learn your vehicle and do your own maintenance. I don't trust anyone to touch my truck unless the job is just too big, such as an axle change. Then, at that point, I have someone I know and trust to do the work. If it is just vehicle upkeep, every owner should know how to so simple things like brakes, oil changes, all filter changes, etc....I almost feel like that should be a requirement before getting a car registered.


The major caveat is doing it correctly. Many DIY'ers think changing the oil is enough and never think to check tie rods, ball joints, etc. Doing the jobs they can do need to be done right as well, ie cleaning/replacing brake slides and lubing them instead of just pad slapping. I don't mind people doing their own work correctly, but when we're fixing DIY'er shortcomings in the shop it makes for headaches.
 
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my brother had a reasonably new outback around 2001 or so. he brought it in for dealer maintenance while it was on warranty. they once changed the filter and added oil without draining it. the engine had some form of catastrophic failure in a week. the dealer saw it was overfilled and blamed him until he pulled out a service receipt. the dealer bought the car back from him and gave him a deal on a new one.
 
Originally Posted By: Corvette Owner
I read that someone took their car in for an oil change, and the place unknowingly drained their automatic transmission oil instead. Then they added oil to already full oil pan (without checking oil level afterwards).

The person didn't get far, both transmission burned up and engine broke!

True story.


If he had treated the motor and trans with Slick 50 prior, he could have gone all year without noticing!!
 
Originally Posted By: Corvette Owner
I read that someone took their car in for an oil change, and the place unknowingly drained their automatic transmission oil instead. Then they added oil to already full oil pan (without checking oil level afterwards).

The person didn't get far, both transmission burned up and engine broke!

True story.


Must have been a subaru. lol
 
Originally Posted By: cowhorse01
I guess the lesson here, again, is to learn your vehicle and do your own maintenance. I don't trust anyone to touch my truck unless the job is just too big, such as an axle change. Then, at that point, I have someone I know and trust to do the work. If it is just vehicle upkeep, every owner should know how to so simple things like brakes, oil changes, all filter changes, etc....I almost feel like that should be a requirement before getting a car registered.


+1000.
I'm sure people think I'm weird because I won't even let the dealer perform tasks like oil changes or tire rotations.

I rotated the tires on my Mazda on Sunday afternoon. The locking lug nuts (a dealer-installed option) were not torqued down properly... they came off with probably ~20-40 ft. lbs. of force (the other four on each wheel were torqued properly). Granted, I should have found this problem closer to 5,000 miles instead of 10,000. At least now I know that ALL lug nuts are now torqued to 90 ft. lbs., and I'll re-check them this week just to make sure.
 
Originally Posted By: Hollow
That is a disturbingly common thing to have happen to Subaru vehicles.

Someone drains out the front diff, AT, or CVT, then dumps in fresh oil. Car no happy.


It's happened quite often in the Audi community as well. The factory fill ATF (Pentosin ATF1) is almost the same color as lightly used motor oil and the oil drain bolt is covered by a belly pan. The ATF drain bolt is right out there in the open, but it is an Allen head bolt instead of a hex head.

The first time I went to change my oil, I saw the Allen head bolt and started to get set up under it. The fact that it was an Allen instead of a hex made me pause, and then I noticed straight above the bolt was not where the engine was.
 
When the S-series Saturn first came out and had the spin on transmission filter, it wasn't uncommon for the quick lube place to remove the wrong filter.

Too bad spin on transmission filters never caught on.
 
Older FWD VW's had a plug in the bellhousing for checking/setting timing. Unfortunately, some people thought it was for topping off the trans, and would pour in trans oil.

Right into the clutch. Oooooooooooops!
 
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