blown motor after valvoline oil change
Hello everyone. Its been awhile since I've posted. Some may remember last year I went through a break up and my ex has the hummer. Anyway she just called me and said the motor is blown. She has it at a garage now and they diagnosed that the motor is fried.
There was one quuart of oil in it. I always took care of the oil changes but obviously I don't now. She's contacted valvoline corporate and they are supposed to get back to her today. I'm expecting that they are going to pass the blame. If you remember my hummer it was in mint condition. We took care of it meticulously. I guess my question is have any of you encountered an issue like this? And what can I do if they offer no resolve to this which is what I am expecting? She doesn't have the money to haave that motor rebuilt or even buy a used motor. Valvoline screwed it up. There is no way that it should have been almost completely out of oil. The garage she hhas the vehicle at said that there are no leaks and they will back her up that there is nothing she did wrong. I don't believe they put oil in it or something. I have no clue. But I have a feeling she is going to be without her hummer now when it wasn't her fault. Any ideas really appreciated. Thanks everyone. George |
I'm sorry. I have a hard time seeing what I'm doing on my phone. Can a moderator please move this to the h3 section? Thank you.
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Dissappearing oil
Originally Posted by egroegart
(Post 321679)
Hello everyone. Its been awhile since I've posted. Some may remember last year I went through a break up and my ex has the hummer. Anyway she just called me and said the motor is blown. She has it at a garage now and they diagnosed that the motor is fried.
There was one quuart of oil in it. I always took care of the oil changes but obviously I don't now. She's contacted valvoline corporate and they are supposed to get back to her today. I'm expecting that they are going to pass the blame. If you remember my hummer it was in mint condition. We took care of it meticulously. I guess my question is have any of you encountered an issue like this? And what can I do if they offer no resolve to this which is what I am expecting? She doesn't have the money to haave that motor rebuilt or even buy a used motor. Valvoline screwed it up. There is no way that it should have been almost completely out of oil. The garage she hhas the vehicle at said that there are no leaks and they will back her up that there is nothing she did wrong. I don't believe they put oil in it or something. I have no clue. But I have a feeling she is going to be without her hummer now when it wasn't her fault. Any ideas really appreciated. Thanks everyone. George |
It was only a month or so since being changed. She put less than a thousand miles on it. She's waiting to hear back from valvoline corporate offices. I doubt they are going to do anything or accept any blame. We always averaged between 6 and 7 thousand miles between oil changes and sometimes more. So something went wrong somewhere
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I'd say you have a case especially if the shop is backing her up with the claims. That is the main reason I don't have shops change my oil-I don't trust them one bit! Best of luck!
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I am confused, or I am not reading it right.
There is no oil in the car and you are blaming the manufacturer of the oil that is not in there for the blown engine??:confused: The only person responsible for this would be the person that conducted the service, IE the workshop that last serviced the vehicle if in fact it was serviced, and the owner/driver. I am pretty certain that if the oil was that low warning lights would have been flashing all over the dash well before any engine damage would have occurred. My guess would be that it is her problem to fix, certainly nothing to do with Valvoline, unless you are claiming that the oil was faulty and evaporated or something. Another thing to consider without knowing the details of the damage to the engine is that the oil will often be burned off when engine is damaged, I damaged a motor in a work vehicle recently when a piston cracked and the oil got burned up in the engine, however oil warning light came on when oil got low and I shut it down before further damage could take place, engine ended up being fine after the faulty piston got replaced under warranty. EDIT: How many miles on the engine and what is the actual damage and how long since it was serviced by a workshop?? And have you spoken to that workshop that performed the service?? |
[QUOTE=Aussie H3;321794]I am confused, or I am not reading it right.
There is no oil in the car and you are blaming the manufacturer of the oil that is not in there for the blown engine??:confused: The only person responsible for this would be the person that conducted the service, IE the workshop that last serviced the vehicle if in fact it was serviced, and the owner/driver. I am pretty certain that if the oil was that low warning lights would have been flashing all over the dash well before any engine damage would have occurred. My guess would be that it is her problem to fix, certainly nothing to do with Valvoline, unless you are claiming that the oil was faulty and evaporated or something. Another thing to consider without knowing the details of the damage to the engine is that the oil will often be burned off when engine is damaged, I damaged a motor in a work vehicle recently when a piston cracked and the oil got burned up in the engine, however oil warning light came on when oil got low and I shut it down before further damage could take place, engine ended up being fine after the faulty piston got replaced under warranty. EDIT: How many miles on the engine and what is the actual damage and how long since it was serviced by a workshop?? And have you spoken to that workshop that performed the service??[/QUOTE I think it is a quick lube place not the oil company. |
Ok, so this Valvoline place is the workshop that serviced it??
Not the Oil Company Valvoline, that makes various oils for vehicles and other purposes?? |
I think some of you guys above are a little confused by this.
The way I see it is, 1) perfectly running vehicle was taken to Valvoline Quick Oil Change for service. 2) vehicle has issues and is now at a different garage which says the engine only has about a quart of oil in it and engine is toast. 3) the question is, did Valvoline actually put oil in the vehicle during the service? |
Bunger has it exactly right. It has almost 170,000 miles on it now. But as those of you who remember me I took meticulous care of my hummer and it was mint inside and out. I took care of every maintenance issue myself and all of the oil changes when we had it together. I was even taking care of it still after she moed out for probably the first six months. At some point I told her I wasn't going to take care of it anymore because she turned into a pretty nasty person. Anyway I guess she started taking it to valvoline instant oil place to change the oil. This is all she told me. She just called me out of the blue the other day so I was just curious. I too question the oil light. I didn't think of that. I know there are a lot of safety systems on this vehicle. I knew that hummer inside and out. I'm now wondering if there could have been one catastrophic event that seized the engine. But where did the oil go then? The garage she has it at now says there is no sign of leakage anywhere underneath. So if there was oil then where did it go? And if they didn't put enough oil or any at all I think the oil light would have been on. I have no clue but I told her I would try to help.
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Egro, this woman left you and took the H3. In my opinion it is her issue now.
Yes, the low oil light would have been on if they didn't put enough oil in it as soon as she drove away. |
Follow the paperwork trail. It was fine the whole time that you took care of it.
Then she got so nasty with you , that you stopped. Now you guess she took it to a service station. where is the paperwork? I believe she drove it to the ground with engine light on. (nothing worse than a woman's scorn.) oh by the way she wants you to fix it now........she'.s really gonna be friendly to you again cause she has nothing to drive!!! I may not know a whole lot about auto's cause I spent a whole lot of time with woman.:p Dude I feel sorry for ya but there is just something not right with this story she telling you. Sounds like your a nice guy always trying to help her just don't let her take advantage of you they call them ex's for a reason:rolleyes: |
You are a really nice guy to make any efforts to help her. Most of us would have simply responded "Sucks to be you!".
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Thanks guys. I do agree with what all of you are saying. I was a very active member here up until last year here. Always great advice, and I miss that hummer. I'm not going to fix it for her. There's no way. After the replies I don't believe she's going to get anywhere with valvoline because that light had to be on if they didn't fill it up with oil. I just didn't think about that until you guys mentioned it. I really appreciate it. I'm afraid she's going to have to rebuild it from her own pocket. Thanks again. Hopefully I'll be back again with my own hummer some day soon. I really really really miss that thing.
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Also, I honestly don't know how she's taken care of it since she left as far as keeping up with the oil changes and maintenance. This oil change is the only one she told me about. I just told her to let me know what happens. Other than that I don't talk to her.
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The way I see it, you will have to prove that he Valvoline shop acted negligently. They are going to use the high mileage of the vehicle against you and the length of time before the engine broke (in months and mileage). The question is, can an engine operate for 1000 miles with minimal to no oil in it for many start cycles over the course of a month before seizing? Next thing to defend against is that the operator should have checked the oil level at some point during that period as indicated in the owner's manual. I would push hard to get it fixed on their dime, or at least a portion thereof.
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The 'oil' light illuminates then flashes when oil is low. 'Blink, blink, blink, ad nauseum' Hard to miss. Sucks. But I know a woman who had her Jeeps oil changed at one of these quick oil change places and they put on the wrong oil filter. Left her stranded on the freeway. Oh, they paid for the new engine. Good Luck
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Have the last laugh..........
Why don't you offer to "take the problem off her hands" and buy it back at a heavily discounted price. Do the motor change out yourself. It would be a "win-win". She would no longer have a problem and you would get your H3 back.
BTW, those quick oil change shops usually have you sign a work sheet that basically resolves them of any issues once you drive away from the shop and it seems like your EX put at least 1000 miles on the vehicle before the engine went. Checking the fluid levels is the vehicle operators responsibility. I also find it hard to believe there were no indicators of a low oil level. |
Originally Posted by egroegart
(Post 321857)
Bunger has it exactly right. It has almost 170,000 miles on it now. But as those of you who remember me I took meticulous care of my hummer and it was mint inside and out. I took care of every maintenance issue myself and all of the oil changes when we had it together. I was even taking care of it still after she moed out for probably the first six months. At some point I told her I wasn't going to take care of it anymore because she turned into a pretty nasty person. Anyway I guess she started taking it to valvoline instant oil place to change the oil. This is all she told me. She just called me out of the blue the other day so I was just curious. I too question the oil light. I didn't think of that. I know there are a lot of safety systems on this vehicle. I knew that hummer inside and out. I'm now wondering if there could have been one catastrophic event that seized the engine. But where did the oil go then? The garage she has it at now says there is no sign of leakage anywhere underneath. So if there was oil then where did it go? And if they didn't put enough oil or any at all I think the oil light would have been on. I have no clue but I told her I would try to help.
Situation is still the same, the oil light would have been going mad for ages and ages before the engine went, depending on what actually happened. Women are stupid with stuff like this, a mate of mine had his misses pick their car up after getting work done, the workshop forgot to fill the radiator, and the engine started to boil almost instantly, dash lights flashing, alarms beeping she just kept driving till the engine seized. When asked why she did not stop she just shrugged her shoulders and said,"well I had to get home what could I do?" Workshop did not have to pay as she contributed greatly to the damage, if she had shut the engine down when warning lights were flashing no damage would have been caused. Like I mentioned before, the oil could have burned up in the engine, my work car cracked a piston and slowly burned the oil in the sump as it was driving along, then the oil light stated to flash (first thing I noted), so I shut it down straight away and had it towed. Anyway, just leave her to it, no longer your problem, she has caused her own dramas, and now expects you to bail her out. |
Lol here's what really happened. By the way have you actually seen the hummer since she "told" you all this?? Since you said she turned into a nasty person she probably got tired of you asking about the hummer and sold it behind your back then told ya the oil story and will soon tell you it's toast and can not be fixed. She's keeping the money from the sale so she does not have to give ya half. This is all speculation of course and I hope I'm not right. Good. Luck either way.
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Originally Posted by Gomer
(Post 321923)
Lol here's what really happened. By the way have you actually seen the hummer since she "told" you all this?? Since you said she turned into a nasty person she probably got tired of you asking about the hummer and sold it behind your back then told ya the oil story and will soon tell you it's toast and can not be fixed. She's keeping the money from the sale so she does not have to give ya half. This is all speculation of course and I hope I'm not right. Good. Luck either way.
then ruining it. That's Sadism:eek: |
Thanks guys. I have seen it. she has stopped over a couple times in the last several months driving it, so I do know that she still has it.
I believe honestly that she didn't keep up on the maintenance. I showed her how to check the oil and how to reset it after the oil was changed if whoever was changing the oil didn't know. but I don't think she kept up on it to be honest. but that's just my opinion. She called me today and valvoline says that they are assuming no responsibility with this. So, she's going to either have to get it rebuilt or buy a used motor. I agree, it's not my responsibility anymore. and I'm not fixing it whatsoever. I told her that the oil light would have come on if it was low on oil, but she say there were no warning lights. She said she left work and a block down the road it started to shake violently and then it just made a bad noise and shut off. That's all she said. The garage she took it to said there was only maybe a quart of oil in it. It doesn't really make sense to me. but my hands are washed of it. I would buy it back if I could but I'm still not at the point where I can afford one yet. I'm working on taking my real estate classes, and hoping to get in with a company here this summer. So things are looking up finally. and I WILL have another hummer someday. hopefully it will be sooner than later. I'll be back here full time again at that point. and I can't wait. Thanks everyone for your responses. I don't know if I'll hear anything else from her about it or not, but if she does call me with anymore info I'll post it here. Thanks again, George |
Lesson learned.... girls should only be allowed to play with a man's toy
not have one of their own. :D |
Interesting in a sad similar sort of way. I so don't trust, hoping for, depending on, any supposed warning by the dummy lights! Just this last Thursday my best friends husband was driving her '08 H3, 120K miles, home, up a rather steep grade, suddenly god awful noise like rod going through side of a cylinder. Up until that point, all was normal, no warning lights or sounds at all! Afterward as he limped to shoulder of the highway, both the check engine and oil lights are on! Forced it the last 1/2 mile home, Called us that night I could hear the torture of the unit through the telephone! He goes and buys oil - Pours 3 quarts into the unit! 3 whole quarts! No oil on the ground, It did not smoke! She parks in garage every night Not a hint of a single drop of oil ever! And never had the oil light come on! Today my husband drained out all the oil and sadly at first glance there is fine metal and copper in the oil :-( Tomorrow he's going to pull the whole pan and see what he can see . . . But not very hopeful. He's always done 100% of of our vehicle maintenance, and most of our repairs and rebuilds (except when our '07 dropped a valve keeper under warranty and totally shelled our engine at 70K miles which also never had any warning lights light up aka dummy lights, never to be trusted) Our friend has had all her service done in same walk in department store shop that makes my husband cringe since she bought it new, last service was 4 months ago and very few miles. I have to wonder if they screwed up and didn't fill it? Granted it should still have been at least checked a bit more often but I ask - where was for-warning light on this one on this one also? Come on 3 quarts low and no light!!
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