EZ Lube - Endangering your Life w/ an Oil Change

[kasia]

long story short, they forgot to tighten on the oil drain plug after an oil change so all the oil leaked out and the engine died on the drive from los angeles to san francisco for Christmas. thanks EZ Lube!

just fyi, EZ Lube called today and said that they will not pay for any repairs on my car. it took them 10 days to send an investigator out to the dealer where my car is held. the dealership manager said that the investigator checked my car for less than 5 minutes. i later called the investigator and he told me he couldn't see very much because the engine had not been taken apart but he's "pretty sure" it's not the fault of EZ Lube - it's just that my radiator overheated and killed my engine.

get your oil changed at EZ Lube at your own risk.

[hooligan]

That's fucked up. I hope everything's ok. Sue the bastards and get a new car.

Has your insurance company said anything?

[moser]

^ Sorry to hear (read) about that.

[MovingForward]

this unfortunately is more common than you think. as in most fields, positions granted for employment generally far outpace training and competency. various gas stations and the like have done this to family/friends.

KASIA - did you retain maintenance or state inspection records w/mileages prior to this disaster with EZLUBE? what's the year/make/model of the car? i'd be interested to see what your own mechanic can put in writing documenting what would have to happen OTHER than the oil change slip up in order for this vehicle to suffer an engine burn. i'm guessing they wouldn't have to take the engine apart and cost you labor on diagnostic.

interested to know the progress of this.

[>:^|]

it took them 10 days to send an investigator out to the dealer where my car is held.

This is interesting. It seems to me that an investigator engaged by EZ Lube would hardly be impartial.

Sorry to hear that this happened to you, Kasia. Hope you are able to collect damages for your car.

[Chu Chi]

I always do my own oil changes to avoid the experience Kasia had.

Any able bodied male or female can perform this procedure if the have the correct tools and follow the OIL CHANGE CODE.

The oil change code is a step by step instruction program you can find in a "Chiltons" auto repair code book. Or you can write your own by following the logic and using correct DEFINITIONS of all parts and procedures.

As Kasia has indicated, oil Drain plug failure can be a life threatening event.

According to the oil change code, the best way to prevent drain plug failure is the following:

1. Verify plug "o-ring" is on plug and not stuck to oil pan, or missing all together. The "o-ring" is very important to create a seal that is tight, but not too tight. Failure to correctly install "o-ring" on plug could result in "LOMVC" (loss of mission, vehicle and/or crew)

2. Seat plug in pan and HAND TIGHTEN. Plug and pan threads are easily stripped when incorrectly aligned. When attempting to HAND TIGHTEN plug in pan, DO NOT FORCE! If you meet resistance, back the plug out and re-seat until threads align. Forced mating of mis-aligned threads can result in a permanent oil leak and possible future LOMVC event.

3. Use a torque wrench. Most of these "quick lube" places violate the oil change code by failing to use a torque wrench to tighten the oil drain plug to the specified number of ft pounds. In many of these so called "quick lube" places, I suspect they just guess and HOPE they got it right. The torque wrench removes the guesswork by indicating when the correct force is used to tighten the plug.


In addition, just like a bowel movement, very important information regarding engine performance can be revealed by observing your old oil. Viscosity, contamination and particulate matter can indicate correct wear or potential problems.

But most importantly for females, experience changing your own oil will enable you to ask the best questions when you take it for an oil change. By ASKING QUESTIONS you minimize the practice of "mechanics" ripping off females because they think they don't know about cars.

CC

[DragonKnight]

Man, that sucks kasie. Hope you can find a case against them cause it should've been obvious to that so-called 'investigator' that there's a big difference between an oil leak and an overheated radiator.

[Cipherous]

thats why I never ever take my car to cheap oil places, they always hire some 16 year old to do the work.

Take it to your mechanic (pay the extra 5-10 bucks), dealership (I am even hesitant to take it to the dealer cause they've been known to rip people off) or even do the oil change yourself.

long story short, they forgot to tighten on the oil drain plug after an oil change so all the oil leaked out and the engine died on the drive from los angeles to san francisco for Christmas. thanks EZ Lube!

just fyi, EZ Lube called today and said that they will not pay for any repairs on my car. it took them 10 days to send an investigator out to the dealer where my car is held. the dealership manager said that the investigator checked my car for less than 5 minutes. i later called the investigator and he told me he couldn't see very much because the engine had not been taken apart but he's "pretty sure" it's not the fault of EZ Lube - it's just that my radiator overheated and killed my engine.

get your oil changed at EZ Lube at your own risk. Your insurance company should handle these claims. If they don't, you can easily make a lawsuit against them by getting 2-3 professional opinions.

was there a leak in the radiator? If so, then he could make a case that it indeed not their fault. However, it doesn't mean that you don't have a case against them. Any mechanic would tell that a leaky radiator without any coolant causes the car to overheat and shut down (the 90's and later cars automatically shut down to prevent any engine damage). Not having any oil not only cause the car to over heat and shut down but significantly damages your car (you may have to replace alot of the engine internals).

Try looking up similiar complaints (which I am sure there are many) and trying to doing some research. If you win, I am sure you'll get compensation for the time invested to fixing the car, renting a car, etc, etc.

[Yeahman]

Something like that happened to me once. They drained the oil and didn't put new oil in. Luckily they didn't drain it too well. My car survived.
After that, I always changed my own oil. You can drain better and use higher quality oil. Well worth the extra time, effort, and money (yes, it's actually more expensive to change your own oil since you'd probably want to use quality oil). Using higher quality oil, you can go longer without an oil change too. Another plus.

[kasia]

oh, just an update. the investigator actually checked out the wrong honda at the dealer :) looks like they're probably going to pay for my repairs after all.

[537]

checked out the wrong car....



what a dumbass.

[mr. x]

oh, just an update. the investigator actually checked out the wrong honda at the dealer :) looks like they're probably going to pay for my repairs after all.
you know what though, shit like that only scares me more, what with rumors about DNA tests in trials sometimes getting mixed up

"expert" witness: "Mr. X did in fact kill that man"

judge: "This case is for a traffic violation"

[mrazntre]

Don't ever go to EZlube again.