NO OIL IN THE ENGINE

I did this too over my brakes. The dealership could not reproduce the problem... even though it was obvious the pedal wasnt holding pressure. One call to Toyota and their tune changed the very next day.

 

I'd demand a new engine. If damaged, you have no idea when/if it'll crap out on you.

 

File and get a claim on file with BBB as it will help time stamp event and allow some time before closure. Make sure you have documentation in hand now from them on their letterhead stating truck ran out of oil after being service by their shop and it's not conversations but something they documented as I'm sure you were pretty keyed up and may have walked away with the conversation. At the least voice your concern and have them benchmark the engine compression and oil pressure at low idle and high idle and put in writing (then have ab independent certified shop do the same in same day). Do the same in 1000 miles to look for change.

I'm going with the idea that the old filter o-ring stuck to the block and and the new filter doubled up o-rings causing a breach and leakage when under operating pressure. I'm pretty handy and never have anyone change my oil but this happened to me once helping my nephew on his Accord. In a hurry, reaching up and swapping blind but evident when pulling out of the garage.

Also had a lost drain plug on a 84 Subaru. Wife changed the oil and it came out a day later while driving. Light came on she made it to closest gas station called and said no oil after checking. I came out put a plug and oil in and we had thought we dodged a bullet being broke and in college. The next day she drove 70 miles to Denver and called again when heading back. Needless to say it gave up the ghost and the engine was trash and the we brought the car home on a trailer. Good thing is we took the motor out of my 82 and put it hers.

Moral of that story is it's still my fault. She did ask how tight to make the drain plug and I said "hand tight" but she did not the universal 4 point torque scale being new first time and made it "finger tight" ( 1 - finger tight, 2 - hand tight using a wrench with some effort, 3 - torque it use a calibrated tool to match a specification, 4 - king kong tight use a cheater bar not to be undone)

Moral of your story is you are in a bad spot. The 1000 miles they are hoping to get lucky or defer responsibility. Quality of engine health is hard to quantify unless it just out right pukes blue smoke out the back but all of it is made easier if you start compiling technical documentation. Good luck time of the essence.

 

WOW, I am humbled by everyone's replies. I cannot thank you enough. The overwhelming consensus is that there is a good possibility the engine was compromised. A couple of the post support the mechanics of newer engines holding up to the stress of losing oil, oil pressure then stalling out.

This was my first ever brand new vehicle purchase, I have always wanted a Tacoma and the Lord opened doors to make it possible. After a tremendous amount of research, I purchased this truck, replaced the tires with BFG's and installed running boards...now it is/was perfect. I have a son and granddaughter in South Carolina and a daughter in California, I wanted a vehicle that would confidently get me, my boat, my kayak, my English Cocker Spaniel, etc to either location safely. My husband works out of town as a forester about 75% of the year, so I travel along most of the time. Well, here's the deal, now, I do not feel comfortable driving the truck to the grocery store (I am exaggerating here). If you look up Monticello, Florida you will see everything important is about 30 - 40 minutes away. I work in Tallahassee, a 35 minute drive every day. For my piece of mind I want to get rid of this truck, which makes me sad. I definitely want another Tacoma!

Stephen Covey, in 7 Habits of Highly Effective people talks about WIN-WIN situations. I am shooting for a WIN-WIN compromise with Toyota. There have been problems with Legacy Toyota's service department from the beginning. I will not go into details about each one but they range from communication to a code at 5K saying I had a bad air filter (I did not replace it) then at 10K the air filer was fine at 25K, the air filter was changed (no charge) and this last visit at 30K, the air filter was bad AGAIN ($44.00)? There are a few other issues with the service department too, I am putting it all in writing and will submit the documentation to Legacy. When I left Legacy, I handed the service manager my card which I used tp pay for the 30K service with ($179.00) and said to him, "reversing the charges from today's service, will be a very good idea." His response was, "Once the transaction is in the system, it cannot be reversed." This comment has fueled my anger, previously my husband and I owned a hardware store, we "reversed" charges all the time.....I KNOW it can be done.

The biggest tragedy in this entire story is I had plans to skip church today and go fishing, the trout are stacked! Since I spent my entire day yesterday at Legacy Toyota, I was not able to get my coursework for my class I am taking (I am working on my Master's degree in Special Education). So, today I will stuck at my computer!

I will keep everyone posted on the events. Thanks again for all the advice, you guys are THE BEST!!
Brenda

 

There are times that being nice and understanding will be used against you.

This is one of those times. Stop it. Don't be a raving lunatic just be the customer of "no". Stop asking what they are going to do for you and start telling them, I guarantee they will not budge initially. Tell them what steps you are going to take, then proceed. Don't bluff, do it. At a minimum contact Toyota and consider the next step of hiring a lawyer. If you have to take them to court for a new short block and labor plus legal fees.

The loss of engine oil compromised your engine. Not might have, it did. The plain bearings in the rotating assembly (crankshaft and connecting rods are thin strips of an aluminum alloy that encircle the oil journals on the crankshaft. The oil pump supplies high pressure oil through the journals that creates a thin film between the aluminum bearing and the steel crankshaft. This film of oil is captured between the bearing and shaft is the only thing preventing abrasive wear of the bearings. It is guaranteed that they now have a shorter life expectancy. Your dealer is betting that you are ignorant of that fact, and will go away. When (not if) the engine fails it will likely be 20 or 30 thousand miles from now and the passing of time will be his ally. "The engine ran fine for years/miles it is unrelated to this event she is over reacting to, it leaked little oil no big deal"

Watch this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43kEygGVZPA#action=share

 

So sorry
Hoping for the best

 

Dealership is responsible for this. 30k miles is low. I’d want an engine warranty for as long as I owned it. The knocking noise and stall are a very bad sign. Get it in writing.

 

Look familiar?

 

If they hadn't filled it back up, it have started knocking by the time she left the parking lot.

 

My condolences.

 

Sounds like that Dealer was screwing you over for the 30K service as I believe it is basically just an oil change and tire rotation, $179 is pretty steep. Good luck with everything and hope it works out.

 

Sorry to hear about the trouble. Here is my take on things.

Three truths:

1 - If you did your own oil change and had then run your engine with no oil in it, and confessed this to the dealer or Toyota, they would void your warranty due to the possibility of engine damage. All future issues with the engine, even those unrelated to the oil, would result in “it’s probably from that time you ran with no oil. I’m not sure we can offer warranty”.

2 - Now the Dealer has run your engine with no oil in it through their negligence. They may offer some token to you, but I guarantee if you do have future engine problems, out of warranty, and you ask the dealer if it has anything to do with them running the truck dry, they’ll say “Unfortunately the two issues are unrelated, we can’t cover these charges. Please see the cashier”

3- No Toyota dealer is so strapped for cash that they cannot do whatever it takes to make you happy. They have situations like this built into their corporate insurance policies and their contingency funds. They can afford to send you out the door in a new Lexus. They’d like to offer you a free tank of gas and a Toyota coffee mug and have you go away. Not because they don’t care, but because they want the least amount of hassle in their own lives.



I really can’t see a way forward without at minimum one the following offered to you:

-New Engine, or

-Lifetime (300k miles?) engine warranty on existing engine, or

-Rebuild of existing engine with new bearings, crankshaft, valve guides, piston rings, cylinder honing, etc.......all that is required to “reset the clock” on the wear surfaces, or

-A deep discount on a new truck. Dealer cost less full trade-in on yours.

Good luck with this.

 

by running poorly and clicking?

 

If you go with the Lifetime warranty option, be sure it's a Toyota Warranty, not an aftermarket warranty provided by the dealer, or worse, one only good at that dealership.

It must be from Toyota corporate so it will be honored anywhere you are, at any dealership.

 

I agree. There are lots of Mickey Mouse aftermarket warranty companies....many that aren't worth a cup of warm spit.

I don't believe Toyota corporate actually offers a "lifetime" powertrain warranty. I would shoot for their maximum factory warranty which is the Platinum....which if memory serves me right, is 10 year/125K mile coverage from the orginal in-service date that's close to bumper to bumper in what it entails. Zero deductible too.

Beyond that if the dealership is willing to offer powertrain coverage once the Platinum is done....get it in writing and take it

 

@Brenda Wirick

please read this post again.

@Stocklocker - props brother.

 

Great point!

 

the ' O ' on the oil filter isn under quite a bit of pressure
IF it wasnt installed or tightened properly ......... the time factor U remarked about would
result in oil being pumped out of the engine

either way U would see copious amounts of oil at either location
at the oil filter
at the oil drain plug

under ANY circumstance the only ' codes ' the master computer would indicate would be
Low OIl pressure
Engine Shut Down
little else

this respondent is correct in that it would not indicate ANY definitive damage
no less 2 steps remain at Ur disposal
send an oil sample off to an Independent lab........ results in week to 10 days
standard compression check all cylinders

the oil lab test would indicate decisively ANY big end bearing damage
trace ' babbitt ' metals would be present

meanwhile document any / ALL interactions with the dealer
in the future
Always check ALL work done by / at dealers before U leave

your service writer should Want to recap Any / ALL work done by
at Ur request or by necessiity

good luck

 

Maybe the tech forgot to put the new O Ring on the filter canister, seems like it would leak out pretty quickly without it.

 

Or the one from the old filter stuck where it was and they put a new filter on top of it.

Dealer owes a new engine, running an engine dry gives a range of possible damages, none of which you can see from the outside.