cpayne5

I have a 2k1 Civic LX 4 door. I've had it since day 1 and have put 92k miles on it over the past 41 months going back and forth to school. It has never had a problem, as I try to take really good care of it.

I took it in for its routine 3k mile oil change today. Afterwards, the tone of the engine was a bit off - it was lower than usual. (The sound was very slight, but after 92k miles I heard it right away). I popped the hood and found that the oil filler cap had been left off. I found the cap sitting on the driver side wheel well. The back side of the engine was covered in oil, as was the underbody. I checked the oil level and found it to be very very low (barely showing up on the dipstick). I plan on going back to the place that did it first thing in the morning (in another car).

Here are my questions:
1) Is there a potential for engine damage here (I drove the car 25-30 miles after the oil change)?
1a) If so, what should the shop do about it? (I'm sure they have insurance for these kinds of things.)

Any ideas, concerns, comments, etc?

Thanks.
--Chris

Boilermaker1

iTrader: (16)

Oil usually does a good enough job coating everything that in 25-30 miles nothing should have happened, if there's still oil in the pan, then it was still pumping oil through the system. What I would do is call them first thing in the morning and tell them what they did. Then I would tell them that you're going to come back with the Civic, they're going to clean up the mess in your engine bay and give you your money back for the oil change. In the mean time, I would go out and get a couple quarts of oil to dump in, then give them the bill for those too.
If they give you ****... sue 'em. Its work below the standard of care.

masarak

iTrader: (1)

Go back and raise heck. Make them redo the oil change and clean up the mess in your engine bay for free. Then see if your car still runs okay. If there is any damage as a result, tell them you want them to pay for the repairs. If they protest, get in touch with a lawyer and try to get the shop to pay for the repairs and your legal fees.

D17thgen

iTrader: (1)

i'd go back their and start busting heads... thats pretty serious comming from a "professional tech" im guessing? which place so other ppl know in advance.


in the end, make sure you dont pay one more penny because its 100% NOT your fault. it was the ppl who done the work on YOUR car. if they reject you, you can sue or file a claim of some sort? thats if you know what your doing