Who else has family that neglects their cars?

[flatlander757]

Note: this concerns a 2008 Nissan Sentra 2.0l.


So I get a call last night on my way home:

Sister: What does it mean when the red can dripping symbol light comes on? It was coming on and going off all week but now is on more often.

Me: It means you've neglected your car and can expect to be putting an engine in soon. Don't drive it. Have you or Chad(her husband) checked the oil level at all?

Sister: No.

Me: When was it changed last?

Sister: It was only about 6k miles ago

(Keep in mind this is her going off memory. Which isn't good. Could well be longer)

Me: Check the level and get back to me.


20min go by...


Sister: its not on the dipstick. He added the half quart that was leftover from when the oil was changed on the other car(an older Kia Rio5 that was also low when I changed it a few months ago)... And it's still not showing on the dipstick.

Me: I'll be over tomorrow.





-------


So I got the stuff together to get this taken care of... Some Castrol GTX High Mileage 5W30 and a Fram TG6607. Also 2 more qts of some old 5W30 Valvoline I bought for our 2012 Equinox in an emergency when finding it was consuming oil on a long road trip.

Get over there and check it. Nothing on the dipstick. I wasn't doing the change at her place so added the extra oil I brought along. It took 2 quarts(in addition to their half quart added the night before!) just to get to the minimum of the safe range. Ugh. It's about a 4qt sump for reference.


Get it to my place and change it. The oil was surprisingly not bad. No tons of metal glittery [censored], no chunks, etc. Then again I just added 60%+ of the capacity in fresh oil... Heh.


The filter was cut and found some sludgy bits caught in the filter:

No markings on the filter, just a plain white thin can with hard feeling ADBV, and very weak media, it did not appear torn before me handling it, but did tear very easily.


I couldn't believe it wasn't worse than it was. I had to dig that crud out with a small pick from the pleats. Thankfully wasn't caked in doo doo butter.

So I changed the oil and filter and it now is SO much quieter.

Hopefully they learned their lesson and check the level regularly from here out.. Without needing an engine soon.


The kicker? I'm a tech. I offer to do this stuff for the cost of parts. Yet they still take it to [censored] quick lube places and pay more for worse quality oil/filter, and ignore the recommended intervals for service.


Who else goes through this?

 

[daves87rs]

Wow....

Kinda sounds like my aunt....

 

[dishdude]

What kind of car was this?

 

[flatlander757]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
What kind of car was this?



Oops! Added a note to the OP. It's a 2008 2.0l Nissan Sentra.


I'm going to try and convince them to run a UOA on it in 5k miles to check for excessive wear, but I doubt she'll spend $28 when they have a hard enough time just maintaining the car.

 

[florida92]

Family is good about getting their maintenance done, friends however lol.

''Oh what do you mean I can't run conventional 12,000 miles?"

That was a conversation with a friend with an 04 Impala 3.4 with 267,000 miles at the time. Didn't run much longer after that.

Sad thing is five years in the auto industry and it's a pretty common theme especially with certain places now charging $40 for a basic conventional oil change.

 

[Run]

Don't bother with the UOA in that case. Sounds like they could be a lost cause. Only way they might learn is by getting stranded in the middle of nowhere.

 

[dan_erickson]

Yes. I am a bodyman and take a lot of pride in keeping my car spotless and free of parking lot dings and scratches. I am over the top OCD. I also mostly maintain my moms car. It's a 2009 Fusion and has well over 200,000 miles now. I finally got her to take it to Ford for oil changes and tires because I live to far away to just pop over when ever and crawl under the car for a simple oil change.

But what irritates the [censored] out of me is that she never washes the poor car, it's gross. Does not care when she gets a parking lot ding or bump. Backs into stuff, hits stuff with the front bumper, and she does not care because she knows that I will get it fixed. I have had multiple dings fixed by my paintless dent guy, replaced the front bumper cover 3 times and she just hit something again. Repaired the rear bumper two times and if it gets hit again in the rear I'll have to replace the rear bumper cover due to material thickness. The car was hit real hard in the drivers side when almost new with a $11,000 bill that I fixed. I make it sound like it is just a beat to death car but it actually cleans up really well for the age and miles. When I give it a good detail in the spring Ford can't believe how nice the car is for miles. Well they can thank me.

My dad's old truck is just a lost cause. He drives a company car so the truck just sits most of the time. I have never ever seen him change the oil, wash it, or do anything. I dont even know how it still runs. It is being overtaken by rust and I think is currently not drive-able because of a rusted out brake line. I used to do the upkeep on the truck too but gave up.

 

[Pepsibottle1]

I say often I was destined to be a service writer. A smaller me used to completely pester my parents about the benefits of preventave maintenance but they never listened. My mother usually didn't change the oil until the dummy light came on anyhow. Tires ran until the cords showed, brake fluid was magical stuff that turned green and you get the geist.

 

[bvance554]

Many people never check their oil, believing that if they get it changed at the recommended interval everything is fine.

 

[Nitronoise]

when my folks were alive , I hounded them on maintainece , so my dad took the car to the the local quick change place they left a wrench up on the frame and a copule of days later the wrench fell and lodged itself between the block and the harmonic balance and the balance was screwed and a tow job to the dealership ensued , from then on I drove the 95 miles to my mom and dads to take care of the cars for them

 

[06VtecV6]

Originally Posted By: flatlander757
Note:

The kicker? I'm a tech. I offer to do this stuff for the cost of parts. Yet they still take it to [censored] quick lube places and pay more for worse quality oil/filter, and ignore the recommended intervals for service.



This is unconscionable because the hallmark of maintenance is bringing in the oil you get on clearance by simply scoring big right when you need the OC-I or that you rack up, hoard or form your "oil stash" . Then you "bring your own parts" and pay for the labor to install (think: not a auto tech like OP). You might still have to shell out 15-20 bucks for 10-15 minutes of labor but it will still come out cheaper cause you got your oil on clearance at AZ like I did. 2 bucks a pop for 6 single qt 5w30 Ultra platinum with all certs you can shake a stick at. I thought only folks "up north" got those deals!

 

[Nick1994]

My grandmother and her 2012 Jeep Patriot with about 57k miles, what a mess. Still under warranty but she won't get the oil leak fixed. Jiffy lube conventional oil changes every 10-13k+ miles. I've changed the oil twice. Other than that nothing has been touched.

 

[Shannow]

Yep....must be the season.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3962808/1/I_mixed_today...and_badly

 

[B320i]

P.O. of my car (family) got wind that I had checked the coolant and oil level.

Next thing, an email pops up in the inbox:
"You don't need to do that because the black box inside tells you when to get the car serviced. I'm concerned that the cooling system might be depressurised now and you'll have to pay to get it fixed. The mechanic told me to never open the coolant cap"
(Presumably because she did this when she wasn't supposed {i.e. hot engine/missing steam} to and caused an annoying call for her mechanic).

Me (to myself): Given that the coolant was sitting about 8cm (3") below the "COLD/KALT" mark on the expansion tank at that point because of 2-3 weeps on the radiator and a thermostat housing weep that her "mechanic" overlooked, yeah...

If I had waited the full 13000 km (another year later) to when I got the cooling system overhauled - I wouldn't have a car to work on, because it probably would have overheated.

Other family that has a farm neglects the machinery:
- New Polaris quad-bike (don't ask - seemed to be peer pressure/talked-into-buying) not being serviced on time, because it needs to happen at something like 30hr intervals and costs $400+ a pop.

- Massey Ferguson tractor from the '80s (model notorious for overheating), after my father left, the radiator and hydraulic coolers were not maintained and kept free from debris. By end of its service last year, it would boil several litres of water during a couple hours work, and was filled with BORE (well) water with large amounts of iron.

- New John Deere tractor: Only used on 10-15 minute runs to deliver hay to cattle, and "idled around" - Obviously killed the old tractor as the engine fan never ran fast enough to adequately cool the thing, and will kill the new one from varnished cylinders.

- 2005 Toyota Camry: Bought new for reliability, never been washed in its life, probably vacuumed still by the Toyota dealership, thankfully.

(Previous) 1993 EB Ford Falcon: Never or rarely washed till we purchased in '05. Underneath all the dirt from South-west Australia, the "Everglade Green" paint was still in awesome condition, albeit from rust near the drivers door (water gutter).
Was due some major work to brakes, suspension etc and was obviously chewing through head gaskets due to a warped head, and Ford's thoughtless design for coolant circulation for the rear cylinders. Thankfully was cheap to fix (yes, even the head) and lasted another 100,000km before we sold it for nearly the same price we bought it for 4yrs later.

Unless people are concerned about looking after things like my father was (and mostly still is) - its likely they will never live the full extent of their useful lives.

Look after a car mechanically: It will look after you (spare manufacturing short-comings) and won't surprise you with major problems.
Look after a car cosmetically: It won't fall apart on you when you hit that pot hole.

Before I forget: Is it some kind of coincidence that people who neglect their cars are the first to complain when it doesn't work properly?

 

[Gasbuggy]

If that was my sister I would overfill that car about 1/2-3/4 of a quart.

 

[Olas]

There are two types of car-neglecters;
Those who genuinely have no idea and think the yearly service is the only requirement;
Vs
Those who just don't care and run it till it breaks.

The honestly clueless in my family get all the help they need, but those who don't care about their car wouldn't care if I fixed it so I don't waste my time.

 

[Ducked]

The Taiwanese.

 

[Jetronic]

my sister has company cars now. that's good for her, as servicing her own cars isn't her forte...

 

[edwardh1]

never ask when your kids homework paper is due (tomorrow)
never ask wife when the tapping started (last week)

 

[demarpaint]

Don't be surprised if that engine develops problems and you get blamed. I've said it before and so have others, no good deed goes unpunished. I hope I'm wrong.