Help, BITOGers! Dealership error - engine lost oil

[MoparMan1891]

Hello all,

This post is to seek help for a really good buddy of mine.

I'll provide details and hope to keep the story short :
Car : '16 Subaru Legacy, 2.5L 4 cyl.
Last oil change : 3/15, at a Subaru dealer

We were travelling to Chicago on 3/17. Noticed smoke in the rear view mirror. Immediately got off the highway into a McD 0.3 miles away. We shut off the engine just as soon as the Low oil pressure and low oil level lights came on. Definitely clanking from the engine.

Towed it to a really friendly dealer in Indiana for brief diagnosis on 3/18, Saturday.
The DRAIN PLUG WAS MISSING!!!!
Dealer filled fresh 5 qts of oil and a new filter. Technician says the car hesitates over 3000 RPM and slight knocking sound when its up on the hoist. "At least a short block replacement is needed" is what he mentions on the service receipt.

We drove back home (~250 miles) yesterday, keeping the eRPM below 2000. No weird noises noted, except a whining noise when letting off the gas at idle, where the oil pressure is the lowest.

How do I help my buddy, who isn't well versed in engines?

1. Have the Subaru dealer who did the oil change 2 days before the failure provide a new short block?
2. Thorough inspection of rods, bearings, metal shavings in the pan, Used oil Analysis?
3. Contact Subaru Corporate?

Please share your thoughts and ideas.

 

[demarpaint]

First things first. Contact the dealer who screwed up the oil change and see what they plan on doing to resolve the issue. Then go from there. There might be a simple, painless, and hassle free resolution they have for your friend. Otherwise you might have to gear up for a battle. Let us know what happens.

 

[sasilverbullet]

Great - another oil change horror story! What's happening to this country. Americans for a quality oil change unite!

Hope this works out for your buddy.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

If there was no oil in it, the bright red oil pressure warning light should have come on and stayed on the second it was started up and rolled out of the dealer's garage. Nobody noticed it?

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
If there was no oil in it, the bright red oil pressure warning light should have come on and stayed on the second it was started up and rolled out of the dealer's garage. Nobody noticed it?


The plug could be been loose and fell out while driving. No oil in the sump and no drain plug from the dealer and the car wouldn't have made it off the lift w/o warning.
Either way another reason for DIY oil changes for me.

 

[MoparMan1891]

This is what happened.

I inspected the threads in the oil pan and it was fine. The plug wasn't over-torqued. Just not tightened enough and fell out while driving.

I will try to post images I received from the Indiana dealer and the images from the disassembled engine if the original dealer agrees to do a deep dive tear down.

 

[MoparMan1891]

Also, should I use my spare bottle from Blackstone and get an oil sample from the car today? The new oil has 300 miles or so, sufficient time for it to collect all the metal particles (if any). Its at the dealer lot now.

The car didn't run too long without oil, but I can definitely bet on the fact that some bearing life was indeed lost.

The current mileage is 36400 or so. Should there be reduced bearing life and larger clearances, will this engine last a Subaru standard 200-250,000 miles?

 

[demarpaint]

If you can get a sample get a sample. The problem is going to be if they fill the engine with oil, it runs right, good luck getting a replacement engine. How long will the engine last? That's like asking how long a person is going to live, a lot can happen. See if they can give your friend a free lifetime warranty for their screw up if they don't do anything with the engine. I doubt that is going to happen but its worth a shot. I've seen this happen before, and if they button it up and it runs, all bets were off.

I'm interested in what the dealer who did the oil change has to say. Like I said before, wait and see, then plan the strategy.

 

[RooflessVW]

It may be too late now. I would have called dealer #1 and Subaru corporate while you were at dealer #2.

Now it's all he-said, she-said.

 

[Leo99]

Don't waste time with Blackstone. The first dealer screwed up. Demand a new car from them. Settle for full pro-rated retail book value for the 2016 towards a new 2017.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
If there was no oil in it, the bright red oil pressure warning light should have come on and stayed on the second it was started up and rolled out of the dealer's garage. Nobody noticed it?
This ^ I would expect to see the MIL lit up as well.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
If there was no oil in it, the bright red oil pressure warning light should have come on and stayed on the second it was started up and rolled out of the dealer's garage. Nobody noticed it?
This ^ I would expect to see the MIL lit up as well.


If the plug was installed loose with the sump properly filled and fell out as the OP said, it would light up when the plug came out and the sump emptied while driving, not in the shop.

 

[Mr Nice]

This really sucks. Not surprised it happened.

 

[bullwinkle]

I've heard of this happening exactly once, on one of the company S-10s where I used to work. The driver shut it down, had it towed in, fortunately didn't kill the engine (2.5 Iron Duke).

 

[KrisZ]

+1 about forgetting oil analysis. Aside from professionals that track trends over many, many UOA's in their fleet, these $20 reports are only useful to boast one's "knowledge" about oil on internet forums. Blackstone laughs all the way to the bank of course.

Make sure you have all your oil change receipts along with the newest one that says the short block change is needed and contact the original dealer that messed this up. Opening up the engine is the only way to check if damage was done and to what extent and the original dealer should pay for that as a start.

If not, at the very least I would want a full extended warranty that specifically mentions this event and fully acknowledges that it will not be grounds to voiding the warranty.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: Leo99
Don't waste time with Blackstone. The first dealer screwed up. Demand a new car from them. Settle for full pro-rated retail book value for the 2016 towards a new 2017.


Then he'd sound like a fool. They're never giving you a new car, mainly they might put in a rebuilt motor...

The owner needs to document everything and contact the dealer as soon as possible, it sounds like you're waffling...

 

[Olas]

I feel bad for the guy whose car got damaged, but on balance he should have done it himself.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Nickdfresh
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Don't waste time with Blackstone. The first dealer screwed up. Demand a new car from them. Settle for full pro-rated retail book value for the 2016 towards a new 2017.


Then he'd sound like a fool. They're never giving you a new car, mainly they might put in a rebuilt motor...


Pigs will fly to the moon and back before the OP's friend gets a new car. If it is running I doubt he'll get anything w/o putting up one [censored] of a fight.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: Olas
I feel bad for the guy whose car got damaged, but on balance he should have done it himself.


So? That's not an excuse for [censored] workmanship...

 

[Nickdfresh]

Again, this story sounds a bit weird, but the guy needs to contact the dealership and see how they react. The next steps are to insure that everything is documented and if the dealer tells him a couple times that they will do nothing then he needs to threaten them with bad press via online and through service surveys...