Dealer Service Center Oil Change Nightmare
 

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



My Scion is a 2014 Argento FR-S that was bought Feb. 2014. Before it was 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 bought it 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 the keys 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 have not put enough fluid in, or may have made a mistake". Since I waso ver 10 miles away they wanted to tow it "because it may do damage to the car".

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

After 20-30 minutes the Service rep approached me and said "The service Tech accidently filled your oil pan with Transmission Fluid instead of oil".... My reaction was.... Huh??? What the..... He then proceeded to say, they were flushing out the transmission fluid and doing another oil change, the right way.....

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

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

I then called my insurance company to get their advice.... the claims rep.... 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 was trying to give me my keys, which I kept refusing... Then the Director of Service 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. He apologized for the issue and what they did, he took full responsibility for it and wanted to work with me to resolve the issue...... We discussed several 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 to extend a warranty on a car that will probably have issues later....

Monday afternoon I met with the Director of Service, their Sales Manager and a Scion Sales guy to discuss what happened and what I was looking for in the new car swap..... Up to this point I was upset they made the mistake but I was willing to work with them to resolve the issue in order to maintain a relationship with the dealer.... This is where they started to 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't add 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 a routine 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 off my current loan, they keep the car, and I could go somewhere else.... So they wanted 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 a ROUTINE OIL CHANGE.......

During the call, I mentioned I filed a complaint with Scion which they responded, 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 a DEALER SERVICE ISSUE and not a MANUFACTOR DEFECT..... I asked to speak to his manager, who is supposed to call me tomorrow….. Which he said, she will just reiterate what he told me….. Oh and they refused to send me any documentation stating that they can’t intervene….

So….. That’s where I am folks…. I need help…. I have no idea what to do…. If you 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 get settled soon….

This is probably one of the worst service stories I have heard.....I'm really sorry.

Having no experience with any of this, this is what I would say.....

State YOUR terms. At this point, you probably would just want a brand new car, they should give that to you. State how you want that done, and state how you want the payment plan to work out. YOU decide the numbers, don't let them.

Other than that.......get a lawyer.


I don't know enough about cars to tell whether how the problem would effect the car.

Same as above, is what I would do. THEY fucked up your car, so THEY are ones that should pay it. Not a dime should come out of you (well maybe the dime you throw at the sales managers thick skull).

State your terms. If they don't abide by them, go up the ladder. Once you are as far up as you have been able to get, get a lawyer and sue. A summons on that guys desk might be the shock he needs.

I'm really sorry this happened to you, what an awful service from the dealer. If I were you, I would also go around telling people what happened. Yelp, Angie's List, Better Business Bureau, any review site you can get on, and get your story out - warn everyone of this incompetence.

Needless to say, if someone fucked up my car like that, their head would be on a stick.

I wouldn't even mess around. Retain an attorney and send a demand letter. They owe you a new car. Or at worse, they should pay off your loan and get you another used 2014 fr-s with similar miles and condition for whatever balance you owed on the one they ruined. I'd never trust that engine again.

I doubt they will do the right thing unless you threaten to sue.

WOW - what a story .....:(

About how many miles did you drive the car with the transmission oil in the crankcase .. ??

Do you know if they put manual transmission OR automatic transmission oil in the crankcase .. ??


humfrz

That is pretty awful considering it is their fuck up. I wouldn't expect a brand new car out of this, but I would expect more reasonable offers.

I would be very leery of an extended warranty. I would bet it would be through the dealer only and it would cause problems with Scion/Toyota covering any warranty issues in the future. This would be a major hassle for you if anything ever comes up.

I think you need to seek legal advice and figure out what your options are.

Do some quick research obtain a lawyer it will be worth it. Dealerships are used to people taking it up the rump. A lawyer or quick letter means business and changes tone of the situation instantly in my experience. It's obvious everything's been noted and documented, if not recount dates and times and all details possible for first meet with your attorney. Lastly even though this is a hassle make quick action of getting on this. Facts, words and memory fades very quickly.

Good luck

I don't know what your current payment is like on the car, but try and push for a new car, on the same term and payment. So they lose whatever you've paid off, but in return get your old car. At least try to get the new engine. Ask to speak to whoever is in charge of the dealership too.


The lawyer thing is your best bet though. Worst case scenario you're out a few hundred bucks to prove you're serious and they get their act together.

As someone said above...LAWYER UP homie!
That is some bullsh*t. Good luck to the OP.

Wow, your world has flipped overnight. Yea get a lawyer as others have said. It seems like out of the 3 options they gave you, they're pretty much forcing your to extend your warranty. And what did your insurance say?

Thank you all for the advice and support.... The insurance claim is on hold because the dealership said they wanted to work this out. I'm doing research now on other options including retaining a lawyer.

To answer a question, I drove about 30-40 miles with the transmission fluid in the engine.....

I really do not want to bring my insurance company or lawyers into this because it will just take more time, cause me more grief, and more money......

Thanks again everyone!!

The moment they get the letter from the lawyer they will want to settle immediately and put a new motor in it asap. You will get a loaner, motor and 100k warranty and they will pay your legal fees.

You will not be getting a new car....

Been there when the oil change place forgot to put oil in the engine a few years ago. Their insurance paid the claim.

Wow thats terrible... sorry to hear that. You gotta plant your foot down and run the show even though your hands are tied on this one.
Make the call and tell them THEY fucked up and YOU are not responsible.

Who puts transmission fluid in an engine??? tell them to pull their heads out of their asses... 1. New Engine or 2. New car
At this point I would actually be afraid of them doing any more work on my car who knows what else they will fuck up

Do not pass go do not collect $200 (monopoly) until you have a lawyer. The couple hundred you will spend to tell them your story and have them draft a settlement agreement will be way cheaper than dealing with what they just did to your valve seals! this is embarissing and they do not want this in the media they will most likely settle and give you what you want to keep them off the 6 o'clock news putting trans fluid in the oil pan.

Sent from my Q10

I had a different experience with my wife's new Hyundai a couple of years ago, but it may be helpful in solving your issue. We bought a new Elantra GT, then found out that the DMV records showed that the car had previously been registered. This had a number of repercussions, not the least of which was that the 10 year warranty was essentially cut in half. After a huge hassle trying to get the problem ironed out (Hyundai Corporate blamed it on the dealership, the dealership blamed it on the previous owners), I found that California has a division in the attorney general's office that deals specifically with new car sales. Your state may well have a similar consumer protection agency that can exert some pressure on the dealership to stop jerking you around and do the right thing.

You should post the name and number of the dealership and we should all call and ask to speak to the service manager and ask them if it's true their technicians put transmission fluid in engines.

Imagine if he got bombarded with calls like that from all over.

Accountability.

Here's an idea: Get a lawyer. (You should be sensing a pattern by now.) And make the dealership pay your legal fees as part of whatever settlement you and your lawyer negotiate with them.

What they did was so negligent that they really have no leg to stand on. You have the right to be made whole, which means they have to return you to your position before their mistake. So what they actually owe you is an 8400 mile car with no known issues, or its equivalent cash value, plus any costs you incurred as a result of their fuckup (like a rental or loaner). You may actually be able to get more than that, but don't accept less.

Don't accept any deal they offer that they're saying is only for a limited time. They know that they're liable. The fact that they're saying their offer will expire is a good indicator that they're trying to pressure you into taking a lot less than they know they owe you.

Get a lawyer. Don't settle for less.

Is this real life? Transmission oil usually comes in smaller size bottles right how did the technician mess up this bad?

Service garages get their lubricants in big drums. Easy enough for the careless technician to grab the transmission fluid hose. The fluids are typically dispensed via pneumatic power, so 90W gear oil squirts in just as easily as 5W30.

At the dealership, we usually carry 5W-20 or 30 in large quantities. This comes from a pump mounted on the ceiling. For 0W-20, we have to get little cartable pump barrels because not a lot of cars use 0W-20 and mostly use 5W-20/30.

Transmission fluid also comes in the little cartable pump barrels which is identical to 0W-20.

We do not use individual sealed bottles at the dealership for trans fluid.

^thanks! I'm going to change the oil myself!

Hum... just a different point of view, but basically the car's done around 25miles with the wrong oil in it.... is it that bad? I'm not saying it doesn't matter, they made a real mess, and it's an idea to try to get the most you can out of their error, but it's not like they'd put coolant in instead of oil.

On such a small run I'd be surprised the wrong viscosity will have do that much damage (75W90 instead of 0W20/5W30).

If you can get a brand new car out of this then go for it... but before doing an engine swap or a car swap for a similar car (that you won't know anything about) I'd negociate to test your car for a month or so (and have a signed paper with all this written down) and then decide after if you want to swap or not. If you're car feels fine, performs fine, consumption is fine, oil/water is clean, temps are fine, ... then I'd just "forget about it" rather than messing around with an engine swap.

Please don't flame me for this! It's just my first reaction when I read your post...

HOLY SH1T SNACKS!! That is awful OP I'm sorry to hear your bad news. As said many times in here try to talk to a lawyer and tell the dealership you are talking to one. That should snap them into shape pretty quick. They know that they screwed up and like a stealership will always do, they will try to get out of having to spend or lose money anyway they can, it's what they're trained to do.
Also they can't put a time limit on this, who are they to tell you that you have to take back a vehicle that they screwed up if you dont follow their rules? Sounds like they are afraid and are hoping you'll take a loss under pressure.

They owe you a new engine. No other way about it. AND something in compensation for causing a huge headache for you that is wasting your time and keeping you from your property.
Trans oil has specific additives to work with certain materials and it could easily eat away at your block half sealant, headgaskets and who knows what else. Take nothing less than a new engine!

Fingers crossed for you buddy, and all the best of luck

Don't trust the extended warranty, it'll be with just that dealership -if it ever changes ownership they will not honor the deal (got screwed out of free oil changes at Sunrise Toyota with that). They will find ways to exclude costly repairs from the deal. If they make stupid mistakes like that to other customers then their days of being in business are numbered. Lastly, what more evidence do you want that these guys should not service any vehicles -that was beyond a rookie mistake.

What did your insurance say? Are they willing to fight the dealer's liability insurance to get you whole again?

Update:: I have an appointment with the GM this afternoon.... Will keep ya'll posted

Just a little tidbit of proof I have.....

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/pictu...pictureid=8200

I dont see why you would not want to take the time to get a lawyer and have this handled professionally.

A little missed time and inconvenience is worth far more than risking a $30K purchase.

The GM can and should take care of it, good luck. When I worked at a dealership, the GM is the last person after dealing with less than effective Service and sales people and will usually give the customer exactly what he wants to escape further escalation.

Again, good luck and be firm with him about this.

At a minimum, I like the suggestion of a new engine, rental car, and factory 100k/7 year warranty extension.


I would still have a lawyer look at any paperwork before you sign it. Protect yourself.

Why should he recieve more than he is due, at most it should be EITHER a new engine OR a 7yr/100k warranty. The whole people think they deserve more than they are owed like some kind of pain and suffering compensation is bogus.

They made a mistake, they should be obligated to do no more than to either warranty it for a long time or replace it.

Personally I would never ever be comfortable with the car again unless the engine was replaced completely.

In a normal car, a new engine would be a good solution.

But this is not a normal car. It has the potential to become a collector's car in the future, in which a matching numbers engine would be worth money. Swapping out the engine in his car doesn't make him whole, because he won't be back where he started before their mistake. Potential future loss in value is not something that can be quantified, however, so it would be difficult to get them to agree to it. Even so, I would have that in the back of my mind throughout any negotiations and would still be pushing for some other solution.

And if they did do an engine swap, I would try to keep the original engine as well so that it could stay with the car and be rebuilt and reinstalled in the future should the matching numbers ever become an issue.

This is why we should get rid of stealerships

http://www.gtrlife.com/forums/topic/...g#entry1450519

Too bad that's a private video...

Wishful thinking? This just another sub 30k dollar car from a non exotic company. It's also a full production car, its not like this is some kind of special car built in limited numbers. Also the remote possibility of an object becoming valuable in 20 years is not legal grounds for special compensation. What your talking about simply doesn't exist, right now its just another car on the road.

You are right though, it doesn't make him whole, it makes him BETTER than whole as he would now have a brand new engine, making the car MORE valuable than it was. Just ask an insurance company...when my WRX got totaled with 800 miles on a new motor they increased the value of my loss by $2500 because it had a new engine in it.

Yes it is, and no it doesn't. It's a mass-produced, non-special edition FRS.

Actually, mine is Argento.... They do not make that color anymore....

If you want to see how rare it is, just look at your VIN#.
What are the last 5 digits?

I dont even consider my GBS BRZ very rare anymore and it is #00102

Mine's a 2013... they don't make that year anymore...

/sarcasm

-alex