Engine Seized after oil change...filter fell out car....owner won't pay at all

holy crap.
.
I hope you come out of this one kicking some appropriate nice person,
and teaching some permanent lessons.
.
The reasons for just doing your own oil/filter changes are really
piling up fast... and I'm beginning to wonder if the effort to get
independent techs up to speed on all the hybrid stuff isn't like
just shouting into the void ...
.
_H*

 

Just another reason why I do my own oil changes. It is easy to do and takes less than 30 minutes to complete.

 

OUCH. sorry to hear that, man. i don't think i've heard anything about major ICE trouble in a prius yet.

get a statement from the dealer indicating that the diagnosis was seized engine due to improperly tightened oil filter. keep track of dates of everything through receipts- so the oil change date, tow date, dealer evaluation date, everything. keep records of your communications with the local garage owner, etc.

one thing i think might slip you up is the fact that you kept driving with the oil warning showing. big, big no-no in automotive life. hopefully they won't use that to nail you.

the TSB he's referring to is [attachmentid=10661] and has nothing to do with his liability for their screw-up.

good luck! fight for a new engine, what are the chances of finding a used prius engine with 16k or less on it anyway?

 

Sad story, I've heard similar stories about oil filter loose or suddenly break and leak oil leading to engine failure. They weren't fancy hybrids though.

 

I had a car leaking oil about four months ago. Was surprised as the car had been trouble free prior to that - had it looked at and it was due to a filter being loose, so it does happen from time to time. I had noticed some drops in my garage and caught it very quickly, fortunately.

You may want to find an attorney. The dollar amount is sort of boderline but it might help.

 

..."when the red triangle came on with oil sign.
A minute or two later the car seized forward and I lost acceleration. "

Sorry to hear about the damage and cost. It sounds like you continued driving after the warning light came on. I'm wondering if you may have avoided the need for another engine if you would have pulled over immediately. Here's a question for some of you Senior Prius Posters. How soon after the oil pressure is lost does damage to the ICE occur? Can similar incidents be avoided?

 

This is why I never use the corner gas station for anything other than gas.

Get everything the service department at the dealership is telling you in writing on letterhead.

Write down everything you remember now, dates, times, etc. everything.

Then take him to court.

If you can get any of the Toyota technicians to come with you, that would go a long way to refute his "expertise" with any service bulletins he might use for smoke and mirrors.

Very painful and expensive lesson learned. Saved a penny and cost a pound.

 

Similar story but no comparison, I got new treads & alignment at firestone, they said it was off, but now the car seems to wonder, and there is a loose tine fealing now in the steering column. I think they
F#$%eD it up, although it did drive perfect for months. I should have left when they couldn't start it. I'm not sure whether to go back to them or the dealer. Then there's the dealer parts guy told me never to use any other brand than toyota brand oil filter, that they have a "one way valve". And in texas, destroyed tire in fort stockton... found a home town station to replace on Christmas day, they had no idea how to start car even though I gave & told them about the smart key. The advanced Prius technology has not propagated to the whole world... only us advanced shuttlepod pilots...

 

As I recall there have been 2 previous catastrophic oil losses. Once was OK and the other took the engine. I don't think we knew the timings, so we can do little more than (somehow) realize we need to stop immediately when the light appears.

Trouble is (and I've said it before) that oil pressure light is not significant enough. It should correspond with its severity. If Prius can go beep when the gas starts blinking, it can jolly well go beep beep beep (etc) when the oil light appears.

C'mon Toyota, this is an easy software change. Doesn't matter if it's very rare event.

 

Keep in mind, though - "stop immediately" may not always be a possibility.

If I am on the HOV lane in downtown Phoenix, it's not going to be possible. It will probably take 1-2 minutes to get across the 5 lanes of freeway to the shoulder. Stopping immediately in this case is a recipe for a bad collision.

That sucks that they won't take any sort of responsibility.

 

See if a lawyer will take the case.

Change your own oil. It's very easy in a Prius, and your example shows that doing it yourself can avoid a lot of grief, because you can be careful and do it right. Read the label on the oil filter for directions on how much to tighten it.

Harry

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(noillusions @ Aug 14 2007, 11:22 PM) [snapback]495875[/snapback]</div>

Sorry to hear about your problem.
I see you are from NY and in NY state the small claims limit was increased from $3000.00 to $5000.00 a couple of years ago.
Good luck and don't give up the fight.

Another thought..... how about telling the gas station owner you are going to a local paper to see about putting this in print and also better business bureau

 

Dont waste your time doing anything but sueing this guy, if he really did what you claim, and is not willing to pay for the damages, you have to sue, get a judgement, then try to collect on it, it is unlikely this guy has any assets, but he may have insurance, either way you need to sue. And yes you are out the 5000 bucks, which is why you probably need to sue in a higher court in order to recover your other damages, interest and punitive damages. I would suggest you find an attorney at least for an intial consultation. The gas station could be liable for the fees they charge too. You need to put this guy out of business, I am sure this is not the first time this has happened. It just sucks that it happened to you.

 

Bummer. Good luck suing that @sshole. Have you asked your insurance company whether they can be of any help?

Always check the oil level before driving away after an oil change. Of course this probably won't detect a loose oil filter, so it's a good idea to check the oil again after a day.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(syncmaster @ Aug 15 2007, 09:33 AM) [snapback]496094[/snapback]</div>

Forget the Better Business Bureau. They're toothless and a waste of time. Pursuing a piece in the local paper would be worth it. Especially as it's a Prius. They seem to be interested in the car even if the problem is nothing to do with being a hybrid.

Go for the $5,000. Get a judgement. And he has plenty of assets. He has tools. Power tools. Tools with which he cannot do his job. You can garnish all sorts of stuff with a judgement. You can also search out his assets and put a lien on anything of value. Like if he owns his home. He can't sell it without you getting your money.

Go to small claims and sue him for every expense involved including court costs.

BTW did he use a Toyota filter? If he didn't, that's another strike against him.

 

Small claims max is $5000 for most states. Definately take him to small claims court. You will win. Just bring as much documentation as you can. Pictures are good. It can be a problem collecting, but if he owns a gas station it should not be a problem getting $5000 from him.

Don't hire an attorney, it is not worth the risk.

The guy made a mistake and he should pay. Putting him out of business should not be your goal. He is not a brain surgeon, he is a mechanic. They screw up sometimes.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Aug 15 2007, 11:43 AM) [snapback]496145[/snapback]</div>

assuming this guy is the owner of the shop and does not do the work himself, no. each of his technicians will have his own set of personal tools. depending on the facility he may have a couple lifts and an air compressor though. the business itself may be of some value.

 

Once I was driving a bit fast on a country road (mostly dirt & gravel), and in a rather wet dip, I hit the gas kinda hard to not get stuck.

As I topped the rise, my engine light came on. I'd bottomed-out in that dip, ripping the oil filter away from the seal.

I drove about a quarter mile to the house of a friend, and from there, we determined what had happened, and took another vehicle to go get an oil filter and oil. Fortunately, there was no serious damage to the car, as the engine hadn't seized yet.

That wasn't a Prius. I also am a lot more careful of how I drive on muddy gravel roads