Dealership left cap off after oil change

Alright I’m going to start this off with I should have checked, but back in November I got an oil change at the local Toyota dealership and found out today that when they added new oil they never put the cap back on. I recently made a trip from El Paso to Houston and on every road sand was poured to stop ice buildup. There’s some discoloration to the oil and a good amount of sand on the dipstick when I pulled it and there was sand ever other check I did which was about 6 times. How much hell should I raise in the dealership and what long term consequences could this have on the engine because it was run thousands of miles like this.
Ive been using the free oil changes since I purchased the truck from this dealership

 

surprised it’s still running with sand in the internals. I’d escalate all the way up to the dealership owner. They’ll probably give you a hard time to prove it since it’s been months.

 

I would contact them right away. it may be hard to prove it was left off but hopefully you got some photos. Any time of dirt of sand is going to prematurely wear out all sorts of things. thinking of this is like sand getting into the intake x1000. You should have no sand visible on your oil dipstick. It could be grounds for a new engine. One time long ago we had a mustang and the oil plug was left off causing as you expect catastrophic engine failure. They put in a new engine. I would expect something similar here as there is no way they are going to get all the sand out without pulling the engine apart is my thought. Dirt/Sand in engine is no good.

 

also if its been recent it will be easier. I had a recent brake job done and they forgot to put the cap of my brake resi back on. I drove 8 hours and noticed it before going into the desert (thankfully). I took it back and had them look it over and put in new fluid and flush it all out. If its been awhile as @chinoxmk22 noted it will be harder as they now can find a way to wiggle out of it and they will try. But one thing to remember is they have insurance for things like this.

 

lol, almost as good as the other dude that didn't get a filter with his oil change.

I would politely bring this to Toyota corporates attention and explain and express your concerns. Corporate will want proof from the dealer's tech. Then I would politely bring this to the service department manager's attention, have them document it and then ask them to change it again for free.

See if Toyota corporate will kick down an extended warranty for free. Then do your own service like the rest us or find another dealer.

 

New engine.

 

That sucks. It's stories like this that keep me doing my own service work.

 

Sorry to hear that. With the time that’s pasted it’s probably going to be tough to prove but maybe they’ll admit it was them.

I must be lucky with the dealer I go to. They check/show the oil the dipstick and that the oil cap in on in front of customers. Maybe they had something similar happen and this is their SOP now.

 

not intended to be critical of you but i'm curious if you lifted the hood between november and early february, maybe to check the oil?

i check that the oil fill cap is tight when i check the oil and i have found it loose in the past and had to tighten it.

i recall another thread where someone had the same issue. maybe the dealer is not tightening the cap enough, and it is vibrating loose and falling off...?

i also had a bad experience with the dealer doing the first oil change. afterward there was a small oil leak around the filter housing, the clips for the air filter cover were not tightened, and the cover not placed back over the positive battery terminal. it just tells me they did not complete the final visual check of their work before sending it. i always have and will do my own oil changes and maintenance.

i won't return to the dealer for anything other than warranty or a recall, both of which i hope are never needed and why i bought a toyota.

 

Best of luck!!

i feel for you !

This is going to be so hard to prove .

A few days I could see but not opening the Hood for months.

 

Yet another reason to take 30 minutes and DIY.

 

Lesson learned. Tough one though

 

No way it has been off all that time. You would have had a check engine light on for lean codes, due to the massive vaccum leak, from the cap being off.

 

Take it to your nearest reputable garage in the future, no need to go to dealer unless you have warranty issues. Just keep your receipts just in case. I have been doing this for years and saved a lot of money compared to the maintenance prices of the dealer. My dealer is 2 hours away so it is good to get the maintenance closer to home. just saying

 

One thing that most people forget is that even though you didn’t screw up (supposedly), neither did the service writer or the service manager.

manners and polite, but firm communication go a very long way with everyone that you will be involved with for your situation.

Side story that proves this, my GF and I have a shared checking account. I checked it last year to see that she wrote a check. Odd. She deposits money into the account. I pay joint bills out of the account. The check number was off too. Long story short, a lot tech at the Toyota dealership stole two checks from two check books out of her center console (I know…) and cashed them that day.

I politely explained the situation to the service manager and he personally checked the cameras and found who did it and gave me the info. Legally, he didn’t have to do any of that. He then gave the deputy the info quickly and easily. Took 4 months to get the videos from the bank because they wanted warrants.

more flies with honey than vinegar.

 

This is ALL on the OP for being so negligent as to not even check the oil level at home, so I have to ask, what was OP thinking?

Anyone can make a mistake, and someone has to supervise or do a QC check on all the work done to one’s property.

A plumber can leave a leaky pipe underneath the sink, a HVAC tech can strip/leave cabinet screws on the ground, so unless you’re a total Willy-nilly, someone needs to do an inspection.

That said, I’ve seen oil filler caps left off with no apparent consequences, and it’s too late now anyway. All that can really be done is first and foremost learn something from this, hope for the best and not lose sleep over it.

 

A reputable Toyo store will take your word for it.

If I am not the one doing the LOF, I check the cap, the oil level and the undercarriage for oil leaks later that same day.

 

I love some good victim blaming.

 

With all due respect to the OP, if it were my call at the dealership I wouldn't honor it either. Not after that much time has passed.