Oil change negligence

T

Tony Gonzalez

New Member
Jurisdiction
California
A few months ago I went to my car dealership to get an oil change since the oil life reminder appeared. Checked in with a service representative and they mentioned around a 2 hr wait. It took them about 3 hrs to finish since they were busy and the associate appoligized for the wait and did not charge me for the service. The Oil life was reset to 100% when they finished but now after a few months of driving, I noticed a knocking sound and burnt smell in the engine a few days ago. They never added oil but they did reset oil life indicator so I never would have thought it would be empty. The car hasn't been driven since. The engine is probably really bad after driving without oil. Would I be able to sue them for negligence?
 
Tony Gonzalez said:
A few months ago I went to my car dealership to get an oil change since the oil life reminder appeared. Checked in with a service representative and they mentioned around a 2 hr wait. It took them about 3 hrs to finish since they were busy and the associate appoligized for the wait and did not charge me for the service. The Oil life was reset to 100% when they finished but now after a few months of driving, I noticed a knocking sound and burnt smell in the engine a few days ago. They never added oil but they did reset oil life indicator so I never would have thought it would be empty. The car hasn't been driven since. The engine is probably really bad after driving without oil. Would I be able to sue them for negligence?
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Have you been checking your oil level regularly? If they drained your car and never added oil, your car wouldn't have lasted for a few minutes of driving, let alone a few months. After a few months, you won't be able to show that the dealership did anything wrong.
 
did the light say "maintenance needed" or an actual oil change was needed? I found out after sitting at the dealership for close to 3 hours and driving home that they didn't do an oil change at that visit (ever) and that the dealership just reset it in between so they could check other stuff (and upsell) UGH! I found out when I looked on my receipt and saw no listing for an oil change. So you might want to make sure there was actually one even done.
 
I agree- it is too late to pin this on the dealership. You could have an engine problem that is consuming the oil. You could have a leak and lost it offo the course of several weeks. You won't be able to prove they did not fill the oil. That you went so long without a problem suggests you did have oil.
 
hrforme said:
did the light say "maintenance needed" or an actual oil change was needed? I found out after sitting at the dealership for close to 3 hours and driving home that they didn't do an oil change at that visit (ever) and that the dealership just reset it in between so they could check other stuff (and upsell) UGH! I found out when I looked on my receipt and saw no listing for an oil change. So you might want to make sure there was actually one even done.
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My car was like that. Maint. at 5,000 mile intervals, oil change at 10,000 mile intervals. It's probably laid out in your owner's manual.
 

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