Engine seized 1,000 miles after oil change

Good Advice for sure. I always do that. In fact everyone should check fluids periodically, and the tires. Very few people do anymore and if something goes awry youll find out the hard way just like this. Here several things had to go wrong for this to happen. No light? but that's called the idiot light for a reason but should've come on

More good advice. - I had a wheel almost come off one time because none of the lug nuts were tightened on one wheel - not kidding! I felt a wobble in the steering wheel and pulled over and one lug nut was holding the wheel on!!! and it was about to come off Took one nut from each of the other 3 went back there and lit up the place. F*^k
As soon as I get home now I check the torque on the lug nuts and the air pressure.

 

You hit the nail on the head, you have to prove the negligence, and that’s the difficult part.

 

Could the oil have leaked into the tranny,rear seal? Did your mechanic check your tranny fluid?

 

If they checked it before the road trip and it was empty they could have filled it up and saved their engine possibly.

 

No

 

No the 4 cylinder has a 5K mile oil change interval synthetic or not... As per the owners manual.

 

What a load of bs. Call your local news and hire a lawyer.

 

Thats BS but you’d believe an engine ran another thousand miles without oil before failure?

 

I would love to see the letter but really it is time to suck it up, bite the bullet, learn the lesson and move on
Clearly your attorney bosses didn't get the response you wanted from JL - probably due to a lack of proof

As someone else said above, proving a negative is hard AF
Prove I didn't tighten those lug nuts
Prove I didn't put oil in
You can't do either unless you check them as soon as you get your vehicle back
So that is kinda the end of this and Jiffy Lube knows this - hence their lovely letter


Sounds like you have a trusted mechanic, why wasn't he doing the oil changes?
Mine would do it for a case of beer + the parts..


While the shop is technically liable for their negligence
And I agree that you shouldn't have to go behind a shop and check their work
Proving it, beyond a reasonable doubt, is a whole other ball of wax
And damn near impossible unless you inspect the work right after it is done

 

Back in the day I had a 1991 4 cyl Toyota, it used about 1 to 1.5 qts between oil changes. I went on a trip out of state and the oil was fine before I left, after I got to my destination the truck seemed a little off for some reason, I checked the oil it only had about 1 qt in it, I thought I had ruined my truck but filled it back up with oil and it seemed ok. I kept the truck for several more years after that and the truck was fine and didn't use any more oil than before the incident and it never happened again. I think a valve or something stuck open and just pushed the oil out of the engine going down the interstate, I will never know for sure but that is my theory. It is possible a fairly rare thing like that happened in this case.

 

MAAYYYYBEEE???

But the oil pressure light would have come on in the dash right away if jiffy lube had not put oil in.

 

MAAYYYBEEE Toyota is liable for a faulty oil pressure light . . .
Or for why the CEL light didn't come on when the oil pressure sensor failed!!
I'm just joking with ya and being a bit sarcastic at the same time


Can't prove they didn't do what they said they did, they even have video of them doing the 'job'
It sucks but case closed

 

No, we must investigate further the mysterious case of the vanishing of the oil

 

OP's choice is to hire an attorney, sell the truck as is or fork out for the repairs and move on.

I'd at least consult with an attorney. Maybe there's something they can work with.

 

Just goes to show that not all quickies have a happy ending.

 

Reads a bit like a Car Talk puzzler lol

Sorry for your loss

 

Glad OP came back.

That being said; any recent bad breakups or any enemies?

 

I would lean heavily on the fact they lied about the vacuuming and window wash, Its provably false (video) and it sets the tone that they're either incompetent or untrustworthy.

But it seems most likely they grossly under filled it, there is zero way to lose, burn, or misplace 5.5 quarts of oil in an engine bay without it leaving a very obvious mess. I'm in the 'just enough oil to get down the road a ways' crowd.

That said, I think the lack of a oil pressure warning light is the bigger mystery.

But please post the video! You should definitely get a copy and we'd all love to help you dissect it!

And condolences for the whole experience, that sucks!