Oil change disaster advice needed

Did you notice,was there no warning like a low oil pressure light or something?

 

If the dealership believes there is no damage to the truck let them buy it back at current market price - that’s what I’m saying. If they then sell to someone else let’s hope they’ve added an extended warranty.

 

If that was the case, the tech would have seriously over-torqued it!

 

Yes sir lights did come on simultaneously accompanied by loud knocking.

 

Sort of.., but when buying a used car, isn't the first thing your advised to do is to take the car to an independent shop and have it inspected? This isn't much different and is akin the leaving the coyotes to guard the henhouse.

IF the only recourse is to allow the dealer to make the decision with out any oversight at all, then he is relying on them being ethical and doing the right thing. At the end of the day they are car dealers first and foremost and many have trouble doing the right thing.

Another, questioned the ethics of passing this off to another unsuspecting buyer, which ultimately is where this is all going to fall in the end at some point. Myself, I have always sold cars before they have significant issues and I am confident that I can look in the mirror and say I am good with myself and how I treat my fellow man. However, should I have a car with issues the first place I am going to go to sell it is a trade-in to a dealer. That is their business, they are OK with what they do, and they have the ability to repair cars at a significant discount, and in some cases even offer a dealer supplied warranty on a high mileage used car. (you know the kind, 6 months - 6000 miles included in a used car purchase). I don't view that as an ethical/moral issue, but rather it's just business. It's also the reason I have chosen to predominantly deal with a handful of places over the years who have proven to me that they care about our long term relationship rather than a one shot sale.

I agree that there needs to be some sort of drop dead date, and that the next course of action is to get the regional rep involved. While this is dealer negligence, the car is still under a factory warranty, and the OP still likely has some Lemon Law protections in place. Having also been through a LL arbitration myself, it is important to note that you want to retain all of the records and insist that the work order is closed out each and every time you take the car off the lot. State laws vary on this, but here in Washington the dealer has 3 attempts to resolve a significant issue, and one of the tricks they will try to pull is that they will leave the work order open and tell the owner to drive it and "see what you think" with the "unable to reproduce" notation. Keeping the work order open, is a clerical trick to show that they are "still working on it" and it lumps multiple attempts to resolve the issue under a "single visit" to skirt the spirit on the lemon law. Because this is a Toyota dealer, providing contracted services as a franchisee under the Toyota umbrella ultimately this is a Toyota problem. If the dealer calls in a week and says, it's all good, we got it fixed for you without involving me in the tear down and inspection.... my next visit would be to the sales managers office and I'd unload it immediately.

Dealerships and their allocations, thrive on their review scores. The owner certainly has nothing to lose by asking to speak to his regional rep, and asking that an independent mechanic be allowed to inspect the engine once it's torn down, prior to any work being done. It's not an unreasonable request and he will be getting a survey about his experience at some point.

With all that said, the things the OP has going for him is being calm and collected, and a good, long term relationship with the dealer. Should he not be satisfied or confident in the repair and decide to trade the vehicle in, it's most certainly not on him to worry about where the truck ends up.... that is on the dealer and a reason I hesitate on used car purchases. Especially low mileage, newer cars... as they always seem suspicious to me...

 

subscribed for the resolution

 

I wouldn’t expect dealer negligence to fall under a Lemon Law umbrella. This is an induced issue, not a manufactured one.

 

Unlikely to fall under lemon law — that covers manufacturing defects. We don’t know what caused the leak but we’re all assuming the oil change was performed improperly. Even if it was lemon law, though it varies by state, typically the dealer has the opportunity to correct the defect. Only after being unable to correct does the lemon law come in to play.

Which reminds me, the one thing I would have done in the OP’s place before turning the truck over is take pictures of the oil pan / drain plug and the oil filter assembly.

 

I believe he indicated he resides in GA.

 

Ok, Georgia’s law is pretty typical. Dealer gets 3 repair attempts, or a cumulative repair time of 30 days.

The owner can then demand dealer repurchase at original price minus a calculated usage offset.

The GA law would not cover maintenance done incorrectly.

 

Times are a changing... back in the day it was a Fox guarding...

 

One of the tabs on my OEM plastic oil filter housing broke off (I was unaware until later) during removal, taking a small chunk of the housing with it, leaving about a pencil sized hole in the housing. Once I had completed my service and went to double check my work for leaks, I cranked the truck, and 4 quarts of oil sprayed out in the matter of seconds. The only good news from that ordeal was my confidence in the trucks oil pressure! I was glad I double checked my work instead of waiting until the next morning to drive to work. Was able to source a metal housing from the parts store and replace same day. Makes me very interested to see what the source of the problem was for OP, if he's ever made aware. Possibly just a small crack in the housing that eventually blew after a mile or two of oil pressure?

 

There's debate about the plastic housing...at least from the replies I've seen about not NEEDING to buy the metal one.

I had my oil changed by the dealership in Feb; she had 8301 miles on her. I just hit 10K miles the other day! I'm due another at 13K which is around July timeframe. I've got all the parts and tools for the job except I'll purchase the oil closer to the oil change.

So, did OP mention whether he looked under the Tacoma before it was taken away? I can't remember but will read first post.

EDIT: He did! Mentioned where the oil traveled on the underside as well as the ground. But I have not seen/read where he inspected the source of the leak. Example: from the oil filter housing area or the oil pan. Granted, when in a stressed situation, our thought processes can be muddled considering what happened.

The chances of the filter housing breaking vs the oil pan bolt not tightened are the obvious suspects. What about an oil cap not being put back on?

Man, this is just a reminder that inspection is crucial after receiving service from any shop to include a dealership.

 

Definitely, and I agree, there's no need for a metal housing; until the plastic one breaks of course lol. I would have never replaced the plastic for metal, until it broke. Looking at same day options, I found a few metal options for cheaper than an OEM one from the dealer, so I went with it.

As for the OP doing a check, thats a negative. But he shouldn't have had to (doesn't mean some of us wouldn't though).

 

Not a bad time to mention the ‘old Baxter Performance spin-on filter adapter and relocation kit. Love mine to pieces, oh sorry, too soon?

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ilter-oil-change.582655/page-16#post-26746595

 

Wow!! A realistic take.

 

Doubtful

 

i could see them giving you a new long block considering those are the engine elements that were affected by the lack of oil. Anything less than that i would be a little underwhelmed.

 

This is why I did my first oil change myself and replace the plastic oil filter housing with the tundra metal one. I didn’t trust a dealer to do it. Now after doing the oil change myself and reading this story I will keep doing it.

 

I am glad others can learn from this event. I’ve certainly learned to always take a quick glance at the basics after having a service performed.