Dealer Service Center Oil Change Nightmare
 

Hey guys.... I'm looking for a little guidance here.... Below is an accountof what is/has happened the past few days.



My Scion is a 2014 Argento FR-S that was bought Feb. 2014. Before itwas dropped off at the dealer, it had about 8400 miles on the motor.

On August 9, 2014 I took it to the Service department of the Dealer I boughtit at for the 7500 mile service and oil change (Yes, it was a little late).

After waiting about 1-1.5 hours, they said it was finished. I got thekeys and went about my day, running errands, lunch, etc.... Well, about1-1.5 hours later I got a call from the Service rep that they "may havenot put enough fluid in, or may have made a mistake". Since I wasover 10 miles away they wanted to tow it "because it may do damage to thecar".

So, the tow truck towed the car back to the dealer with me riding shotgunsince the Service rep said it may just take 10-15 minutes........ (HAHAHA!)

After 20-30 minutes the Service rep approached me and said "The serviceTech accidently filled your oil pan with Transmission Fluid instead ofoil".... My reaction was.... Huh??? What the..... He thenproceeded to say, they were flushing out the transmission fluid and doinganother oil change, the right way.....

When he walked away, I proceeded to make phone calls to anyone and everyoneI knew who may be able to give me advice....

One thing they all said was, "DO NOT ACCEPT THE CAR!!!" (Which Ididn't, but that parts coming up)

I then called my insurance company to get their advice.... the claimsrep.... thought I was pulling a practical joke.... (Wish I was doing that)

I started the claims process which is on hold currently....

During my long conversation with my insurance company the Service rep wastrying to give me my keys, which I kept refusing... Then the Director ofService started to approach me trying to give me my keys.... I told him,"I'm on the phone with my insurance company", he took off running...

After I got off the phone, the Director of Service wanted to talk. Heapologized for the issue and what they did, he took full responsibility for itand wanted to work with me to resolve the issue...... We discussedseveral options:

1. Extend the warranty to 100k miles

2. Replace the motor

3. New car swap

Well, my first reaction was go with #2 or #3 because who would want toextend a warranty on a car that will probably have issues later....

Monday afternoon I met with the Director of Service, their SalesManager and a Scion Sales guy to discuss what happened and what I waslooking for in the new car swap..... Up to this point I was upset theymade the mistake but I was willing to work with them to resolve the issue inorder to maintain a relationship with the dealer.... This is where they startedto go downhill....

The sales team basically were trying to sell me a NEW car at MSRP, giving mea bad Trade-In value on my now destroyed car, and a payment plan that didn'tadd up (72 months at $465ish per month)....

That deal would mean, I would owe my current loan about $2k, and pay about$33k for a new FR-S because they put transmission fluid in my oil during aroutine oil change......

And they also said they couldn’t replace the engine…… (didn’t give me a reason why)

Needless to say, I walked out....

I received a call later that night to "offer me" them paying offmy current loan, they keep the car, and I could go somewhere else.... So theywanted me to take a loss of about $10k (Down payment and 6 months of payments)for their mistake.... Putting Transmission Fluid in the Oil.... During aROUTINE OIL CHANGE.......

During the call, I mentioned I filed a complaint with Scion which theyresponded, the offer I just got will not be there for a long time....

Needless to say, I said thanks, but NO thanks.....

Scion just called me back..... They said they CAN'T HELP because it's aDEALER SERVICE ISSUE and not a MANUFACTOR DEFECT..... I asked to speak to his manager, who issupposed to call me tomorrow….. Which he said, she will just reiterate what hetold me….. Oh and they refused to send me any documentation stating that theycan’t intervene….

So….. That’s where I am folks…. I need help…. I have no idea what to do…. Ifyou have real suggestions, I’d like to hear them…. Please, no jokes, no sarcasm,or trolling…. I’m not in the mood….



Thanks for reading and hopefully (praying to baby Jesus) this will getsettled soon….

A good lawyer... and you have a very good case.

Document everything. You can't really say the car is screwed yet. Unless the motor is seized. If any damage at all has been done, it is likely some bearing, and ring wear. You can get a compression check done to check the rings. Only time will tell If it did any lasting damage.
I could be wrong, but I don't think you can sue for damage if there isn't any proof of the damage and the car still runs fine.
If it were me, I would ask for them to pay for the compression check, (have it done somewhere else), and If it checks out, I would take the additional warranty. If they did any real damage, it should present before you hit 100k. If nothing has happened by then, you will probably be fine. If something happens after 100k, you will be able to replace the motor for less than the 10k you would be out if you traided in the car. also, 33k is too damn high IMO, it's an frs not a brz

This.


Also, which dealership?

And, this may get to be jalopnik worthy :D

Call the Better Business Bureau. They will speak to the dealer to help resolve your issue. The dealer will accommodate you more, since they don't want an unresolved complaint on their Better Business Bureau record. It won't cost you anything.

Wow. Dealership service department ineptitude knows no bounds! This is the most ridiculous example yet!

Stuff like this is why a dealership has never and will never touch my car.

Good luck with your issue man, I'd keep doing what you're doing and be persistent that you will not accept to take a loss for their dumbass mistake. The tech responsible should be slapped. I understand the bottles of oil and trans fluid are the same size and what not but come on.

I bet if an attorney called them on your behalf they would shit a brick and take the hit and get you in a new car.

Holy Shiiit!! i am sorry to hear that.
I will call lawyers around see what they say. keep us updated

That's why I stop going to my dealer for that stupid free oil change, when they over filled my oil. I now just document everything on video to cover my a$$. Just in case they bs me about lack of maintenance.

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Thanks guys!! I'm not going to reveal the name of the dealer because I may have to take legal steps in the future. I don't want to jeopardize anything in the future. That's why I'm not bashing them, just stating the facts and asking questions. I want to resolve this without lawyers or insurance agents.....

I tweeted the pic to scion and tagged japlnick in it. If you make it go public will help them change there tune quick.

you posted facts here. you're not getting into any trouble because of that.

Good luck to you. What a total nightmare. :(

I understand this is a big mistake and a nightmare for you.

I wonder though just how much damage could have occurred. ATF is oil, no pressure was lost, rings seated long ago, you only drove a few miles like this, I'd bet you'd be fine with a flush of one or 2 oil changes.

To the engine, it is probably like you just rand a different weight oil, with a different addative package. Unless the ATF affects the seals in some way, I would think nothing bad has occurred.