Valvoline or Ford

[Andy Howren]

Jurisdiction

Missouri

I have a 2014 Ford Edge with approximately 32,000 miles on it. It is still under warranty and has received regular maintenance. On the morning of Sunday 11/20/16, I was sitting at a stop light when my low pressure light came on. I headed to the nearest oil change place, but before I got there my car shut down in the middle of Manchester Rd. I had a tow truck take me to the nearest Ford dealership, Bo Beuckman Ford. To make a long story short…My engine is completely shot. The dealership says that during my last oil change on 7/15/16, Valvoline used a filter that eventually malfunctioned and resulted in my car losing all of its oil at once. Naturally, I contacted the Valvoline that did my last oil change (Valvoline Instant Oil Change, 11333 Olive Blvd, Creve Coeur, MO 63141 ) and let them know what had happened. Apparently, they did their own inspection of the filter, and they claim that the incident is the result of an oil pump malfunction, which should be covered by my bumper to bumper warranty. Both sides seem to be dug in with the position that it is the other sides fault/problem/responsibility. Any advice on how to proceed would be helpful.

 

[adjusterjack]

Lawyer up.

With both companies pointing fingers at each other, you go nowhere without one.

Unfortunately, a lawyer will be expensive and take many months while you cannot use your vehicle.

Consider paying for your own engine and take a chance on suing both companies together in small claims court if your costs are within or near the $5000 Missouri small claims limit. You can do that without a lawyer.

 

[txls]

This is a very good reason to have all of your service work done at a dealership. You can ask the dealership to get a factory representative to look at the filter and the oil pump for a second opinion. It probably won't get done in any hurry though. If you purchased the vehicle from a Ford dealer, you might have better luck going back there. If you do decide to have the work done now and pay for it yourself, be sure that you save the filter and any other replaced parts.

 

[Highwayman]

You could try having the car looked at by a good independent mechanic and get a write up on what the issues are with the car and possible cause. That might give you more leverage with Ford or Valvoline.