Help! Dealer forgot to put oil cap back om after oil change

[Soniccar]

Hello, i took my sonic with the 1.4l to a local chevy dealership for a simple oil change. Went on the approx 5 mile drive home and noticed the engine bog down for a second and the rpms were going erratic. They would climb with the clutch pushed in and would go slower up and down in general.

Stopped by a store on the wayand it sounded slightly "clunky" when turning off but didnt think much of it. Came out and started driving when the check engine light came on, so drove couple miles back to dealer but due to construction got stuck in stop and go traffic in dusty conditions. Also noticed when running the vents the smell of oil coming out strongly and smoke.

When arrived at dealer they opened the hood and the oil cap was off and the entire engine bay and under hood was absolutely covered in oil. Smoke was also coming out of the oil fill hole. What damage has been done and what should be done. New car? Engine replacement? What should i look out for?

Any advice or guidance is greatly appreciated.

 

[Papasonic]

Despite making a huge stinky mess, I doubt there has been any damage done to your engine; as long as there is still sufficient oil in the crankcase. They probably should change the oil again to assure that any contamination from the dusty conditions is removed. Then a thorough cleaning and under hood detailing would be in order. Don't forget to have them replace the cabin air filter too, because the oil fumes no doubt went through the HVAC system. They also may need to clean the heater core and AC evaporator to remove oil residue and prevent future odor problems.

It's amazing how much trouble a simple service error can create. I do my own maintenance just for this reason. I double, and sometimes triple check my own work.

 

[spacedout]

Make them clean the entire engine bay, change the oil again and you should be reimbursed for the oil change or the next one is free.

 

[RMinNJ]

I had them forget to put the dipstick in and the engine bogged down... im really the idiot for continuing to use this dealer. I'm going back today because I couldn't get the oil pan bolt off to change the oil..they torqued it on too tight. I think the dealers are just too high volume service and not enough attention to detail.

 

[Natesriv]

NOTE TO ALL (CAUSE IT HAPPENED TO ME)

IF THEY DO YOUR OIL CHANGE, TELL THEM TO NOT USE AN AIR WRENCH TO TIGHTEN THE OIL PAN BOLT.

Stripped the **** out of mine trying to get it off... It only takes 15 ft/lb to tighten it..says on the damn oil pan itself!!!

Had to buy new bolt on eBay...

 

[RMinNJ]

NOTE TO ALL (CAUSE IT HAPPENED TO ME)

IF THEY DO YOUR OIL CHANGE, TELL THEM TO NOT USE AN AIR WRENCH TO TIGHTEN THE OIL PAN BOLT.

Stripped the **** out of mine trying to get it off... It only takes 15 ft/lb to tighten it..says on the damn oil pan itself!!!

Had to buy new bolt on eBay...

How did you get it off.. I was up to about 50 ft/lbs and it was starting to strip.
They denied they tightened it that much and may sure the new bolt was 14 newton/meters.

I think they may use it as a way to ensure you come back to them for an oil change ?

 

[bluejay]

sorry to hear bout ur troubles . good news is u noticed the mistake b4 driving too far . ur engine should be fine . as a precaution i would get another oil change and have them do an engine flush like others have suggested . u could also do the engine clean urself (recomended) nobody cares as much about ur car as you do . there are a ton of informative videos on youtube on how to clean ur engine bay its pretty simple and gm did a great job making off the locations under the hood not to spray with water . the bright side to all of this is the oil that sparyed under ur hood probably loosened up some of the existing engine /road grime making ur engine clean job easier . i would clean the mess under the hood b4 u put too many more miles on ur ride. and the bogging down u noticed was probably a vacuum leak caused by the oil cap not being on.

 

[cxexa]

Mine stripped too, when I tried to remove it. I ended up using big Channellocks (460) to remove it.

 

[Stew]

It's amazing how much trouble a simple service error can create. I do my own maintenance just for this reason. I double, and sometimes triple check my own work.

Word.

Soniccar that really sucks when stuff like this happens, looks like you've got some good advice from others, keep an eye on it and document everything.

 

[Shinrin]

I work at a chain oil change shop, and the stock sonic oil plugs are just junk. The standard 10mm one. Probably 1/3 that come in with the original plug are rounded off or round far too much on removal, using the correct size wrench.

 

[RMinNJ]

The torx oil plugs are better than? One would think the 10mm ones have more metal..amazing. one should not need a grade 8 bolt for plugging a hole.

 

[Papasonic]

I work at a chain oil change shop, and the stock sonic oil plugs are just junk. The standard 10mm one. Probably 1/3 that come in with the original plug are rounded off or round far too much on removal, using the correct size wrench.

I wouldn't condemn the stock drain plug: If the correct torque and proper tools are used, the OEM plug would last indefinitely.

I'm sure that you do see a lot of damaged drain plugs in your line of work.

The advantage of the small 10mm head assures that there won't be enough torque applied to the plug, to damage the threads in the oil pan. The sacrificial small head of the plug will shear off long before damaging your oil pan.