Dealership left cap off after oil change

Some of the blame for this might lie on th OP himself,not checking under the hood since November. Even if you have someone else perform your service you should check under the hood and under your truck before you leave.

 

In this world, victims are born every day. You can either learn from the OP and apply the lesson, or continue being victimized, the choice is ours.

 

That’s what I was thinking wouldn’t this cause a massive vacuum leak and poor performance? How do you not notice that while driving.

 

Ouch. That sucks.

I don't think there's anything that can be done. Ask for a warranty, change the oil every 1000 miles until sand no longer appears on the filter. Maybe start budgeting to prioritize paying down the truck note.

 

I'm going to have to disagree on that one, how is it OP's fault? Out of the thousands of people that go to dealerships/quick lube places for an oil change every day, how many do you think are checking their oil afterwards? I'd bet less than 5%, easily. It's not the customers job to QC the work. If people QC'd every service that they paid for, for everything in life, we'd all be dead at 55 from the sheer neurotic stress of it all. Sometimes shit happens, it doesn't mean it's "negligent" to not spend your days worrying about every little thing that could go wrong and meticulously checking over other people's work with a fine tooth comb. It means your someone who prioritizes their time differently.

 

Good luck with that. I'd venture a guess the owners manual recommends checking the oil level more frequently than every 2 months or so. Common sense for some of us....
You'll be gifted if Toyota owns this one IMO.

 

Only the smart ones, you're probably right on the %.

 

Who's at fault? read below

Owners manual page 454:

To prevent serious engine damage
Check the oil level on a regular basis.
■When replacing the engine oil
●Be careful not to spill engine oil on the vehicle components.
●Avoid overfilling, or the engine could be damaged.
●Check the oil level on the dipstick every time you refill the vehicle.
●Be sure the engine oil filler cap is properly tightened

 

i would get a new engine. take them to court if they don't offer to replace it. but if you haven't checked under the hood since november? you didn't notice all the oil leaking everywhere? the burning smell? i just don't understand how you didn't notice that. Oil gets slung everywhere and it could cause a fire.

 

Words of wisdom my friend, so everything worked out, did they successfully charge the thieving rat/s?

 

Trust….but verify

 

they caught the guy at the dealership and fired him on spot with a deputy there.

he and his accomplice have been charged in court. Pending the judgment. Probably going to be a while.

the banks paid us back for the two checks cashed totaling ~800.00.

our argument to the judge has been that 800 to my GF and I is irrelevant, but what if that had been a single parent that had just been overdrawn, or an elderly person trying to get meds and overdrawn.

Time will tell.

and I used to be a service writer. I have seen the parent company step up and take care of things they didn’t have to simply because how the customer handled it. I have seen the parent company fight the customer tooth and nail to cover as little as possible on a legitimate warranty claim because of the customer’s attitude.

 

At which point the Mega $$$ Corporate legal team will basically say "It's been over 2 months, prove it."

Don't get me wrong, I honestly hope the OP gets this taken care of in a positive manner. But I honestly have some serious doubts that'll happen.

 

1000% don't do this. First place I would go is the dealer and try to sort this all out.

 

I'd trade it back to the dealer for a different color or something. You'll eat some money doing that but you're gonna possibly eat more anyway.

After all was said and done I'd tell the people why you traded, and wish them luck, and never go back there again.

Regardless of who does the work, I always check the oil level after the oil is changed in any of my vehicles, and I check it again on the next fill up just
to be sure everything had been done correctly.

 

This is the way

 

That's in there as a CYA for Toyota, obviously. You can't be scared your whole life.

 

Only makes sense to regularly check fluid levels.
Ain’t about being scared, it’s just common sense.

 

If it was a plane? Sure. On my daily driver, mass produced truck that Toyota sells 250k a year of? I'll check fluids when there's an issue, a visible leak, or otherwise every 5k at services. People have different priorities with how they spend their time.

 

I’m glad it worked out for you and your girlfriend and well played in asserting the overriding principle of the matter, the dire and probable likelihood concerning the rabbit hole of consequences the person/s victimized of theft oftentimes endure from the very agencies e.g., banks, insurance companies, whom so admittedly claim to support their needs.