instant oil change disaster

[fitness freak]

About a month ago I had an instant oil change. After that change I begin to notice oil on the garage floor. It hadn't been leaking until that oil change. Two weeks after the oil change I went back in the the instant oil change place and asked them to check to make sure the plug and filter were tight. I was told they were tight and they didn't find evidence of an oil leak. I kept seeing oil on the floor so I took in into my regular garage today. They found the oil pan threads were stripped and recommended a new oil pan, plug, liquid gasket, and steam cleaning of the lower engine for a total of $500. I asked my garage about installing an over-sized pan plug or other inexpensive fix. They said they wouldn't do that because of liability issues. I then called the Pontiac dealer and was told the same thing. The technician at my regular garage said the oil plug was just hanging on by a thread and I shouldn't drive the car until it is fixed. I then called the instant oil change place. They agreed to go to the garage to look at the car and see if they can do an inexpensive repair. When the guy from the instant oil change place arrive he met with my regular garage technician. My regular garage technician wouldn't allow him to make the inexpensive change he proposed. Bottom line is this: My Pontiac will spend the weekend in the garage. On Monday the $500 repair will be made. The full cost of the repair will be absorbed by the instant oil change place. Should I swear off instant oil changes?

[MaxxVibe]

Well, to be quite honest with you..................id recommend you doing oil changes yourself from now on. Unless that it that pulling a plug draining oil and putting on a new oil filter are above your mechanical abilities. At which point, id seek a mechanics teachings and save yourself any future grief on these issues and save money changing your own oil from now on. Ive been changing my own oil since i was old enough to drive and think its something that all people should do or at least know how to. Good Luck in the future.

[zionzr2]

Sorry that had to happen! These Things can be extremly frustrating.Not neccessary to write them all off.It Probably goes without saying never go to that one again!At least they are making it right by paying for it and you are only out the time while the repair is made.No one is perfect all the time and mistakes do happen. But the quickie place do tend to have a higher reputation to make mistakes...If they are rushed or inexperienced these things can happen.I love to do the oil changes myself. So I only have to worry about me messing something up, but i take my time and do it right. So I dont forsee anything going wrong.

[Herb]

I do my own oil changes on my Vibe as well, that way I can control what happens and what goes into the engine.The one time I took it to a quick lube place they refused to use they Toyota OEM filter I provided, insisting that they had to use their own crappy brand due to "liability" problems. Last time for sure.As for my work truck, because my employer leases it, I have to take it into a shop to get any work done, so it's the only vehicle I bring to quick lubes.Anyways, oil changes aren't hard. In fact it's one of the easiest maintenance tasks a car owner can do.

[fitness freak]

It isn't that I don't know how to do oil changes, its that I don't want to. I'm not willing to put up with the dirty clothes, oil disposal issues, and a cold garage floor in winter. I'm going to stop using the instant oil change places and go with my regular garage. What I loose in convience may be made up with conmpetency.

[keithvibe]

you should also insist that the igget that did the oil change be fired and that they agree for 6months worth of oil analysis done by :http://www.blackstone-labs.com/To insure that no damage was done to the engine long term due to their negligence.sorry to hear about your problems but this is exactly why you NEVER have your oil changed by any "quick" change

[lovemyraffe]

I wouldn't write them off completely. There are some that nearby, that I personally wouldn't take my cars to.

[moongdss]

I use Valvoline Instant Oil Change, where you drive in and sit right in your car while they change the oil. That's the only way I'm comfortable letting anyone aside from my regular mechanic do work on my car. I don't even trust the dealership with it.If i'm sitting right in the car, i *know* how long it should take to change the oil, if it takes any longer, then I know there's trouble (that and the Oh $#*$^! coming from underneath)

[DarkVibe]

Quote, originally posted by fitness freak »Should I swear off instant oil changes? YES! it's really not that hard to do yourself.

[ToolGuy]

Retapping the pans holes can be done. Somone needs to get the proper Time-Sert to use. GM dealers have these kits and the sleeves to do the job. Time-Sert is a specific product used for thread repairs.If this same kind of thing happens to a Volkswagen Touareg, and it does happen, the entire engine needs to be dropped to replace the pan. TimeSert came up with a fix for these pans too saving the dealer and customer $$$!

[pljenkins]

If at all possible, you should be doing oil changes yourself. Quicky oil change places are just that... quick. A proper oil change will take longer then 15 minutes. You want to give as much of the old oil as possible a chance to drain out. Not to mention, you have no idea the experience level of the lackey they have working on your car and you don't really know for sure the correct oil is going in. Sure, the joint that did the work is on the hook for the repairs, but why suffer that grief when something bad happens.Not to mention, in the realm of compact passenger cars, the Vibe is one of the easiest to change your own oil in.If you're not able to do your own oil, I'd recommend either having the dealership do it or a reputable garage. Might take a little longer, but you can feel a little more confident that the guy doing the work knows how to do the work without destroying your car.P.

[NibCrom]

Sorry that happened! That's one of the reasons I change my own oil. Of course if I ever screwed up I probably take it to the oil change places from then out. Hope you get it fixed!

[Sublimewind]

I've read allllll sorts of instant oil change horror stories.. Consider yourself lucky that it didn't fall out and fry the motor... I used to take mine to the instant places, for the very same reasons, till I found oil under the car and that it had been seeping for some time... Turns out that the threads on the pan didn't go, but from all the strong arming of the plug, the welds for the plug "bung" had cracked and was letting oil seep out NEXT to the plug.. I replaced that pan myself in a few hours...