It was everywhere I tell you.

July 8, 2009 5:45 PM

Car trouble: How loudly should I yell at my dealer's service department?

Yesterday I took my car (Nissan Rogue) to the dealer to have a broken seat latch fixed. Since it was due for an oil change, I had the service department change the oil while it was there.
Today driving home from work, I noticed an oily smell coming from the vents. I popped the hood and found oil everywhere. After hunting around, I found the oil cap sitting on top of the radiator fan. They'd forgotten to put the cap back on.
I checked and my oil was fairly low, but still OK, so I'm not worried about engine damage thankfully. My question is, will all this oil in the engine bay cause me problems? When I mean everywhere, it was everywhere. Pooled around every bolt head, dripping from the hood, everywhere. I'm especially worried about the air vents, since I could see oil draining into them.

So, when I call my dealer's service department to yell at them tomorrow, what should I demand they do? Do I need a complete cleaning of the engine bay, or am I overreacting here?

posted by Eddie Mars to travel & transportation (13 comments total)

am I overreacting here?

No. You are not overreacting. They are the dealer, for christ sakes... They need to clean every last speck - steam cleaning - whatever it takes.
posted by R. Mutt at 5:53 PM on July 8 [3 favorites has favorites]

Oh, and if it were my car, I would have them come (flatbed) tow it back to the dealership, just in case.
posted by R. Mutt at 5:56 PM on July 8

I wouldn't yell but I would politely and firmly insist that they properly* clean your entire engine bay and redo the oil change. Yes, and they trailer your car in at their expense.

*properly, like where they cover anything that could get damaged by getting soaked. Last thing you need is to develop electrical problems a few weeks from now. And they aren't using a solvent based degreaser that can damage gaskets and hoses.
posted by jamaro at 6:02 PM on July 8

If you yell at them, you are overreacting, don't be that person. However, you are not overreacting if you insist that they completely clean everything. Although it shouldn't, this kind of thing happens a lot, it's happened to me. Mistakes happen in every job, this one happens with mechanics.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 6:13 PM on July 8 [5 favorites has favorites]

I would also have them (or Nissan corporate) extend your powertrain warranty to some acceptable level just in case there is some hidden damage.
posted by gjc at 6:46 PM on July 8

I just talked to my boyfriend who is a Honda dealership mechanic. He said it's rare for any damage to happen to a car in an event like this.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 6:48 PM on July 8

Don't yell, as in literally yell, but definitely be firm with them and request they clean it up, at the very least. After all, the dealership usually charges more than twice what a regular oil change place charges. You pay that premium because you expect excellent service and quality from them, presumably, and it certainly can't hurt to point this out to them. Ask them to clean it up properly, check it over, and make a note or flag your record somehow so that if any potentially related problems crop up in the future, they can be held accountable. FWIW, though, I doubt you'll have any problems since you caught it so quickly.
posted by booknerd at 7:26 PM on July 8

If they clean it up well, there'll be no damage. Oil only damages the stuff under your hood if it soaks for a period of time measured in months.
Don't yell, though. The tech who did this will feel like a huge dumbass when he finds out he did this and the service manager will bend over backwards to take care of this for you. They already know what a dumb mistake this was and they'll work with you to make it right.
But keep in mind, everybody makes mistakes. In fact, just the other day I did something like this at my job. I did an oil change and didn't perfectly install a new gasket in the oil filter housing, causing a big oil leak. They brought the car back, I fixed the gasket but in my haste and in the confusion of the day, I left a tool under their hood and forgot to top up the oil all the way. The customer had to come back to get their oil topped off when the minimum warning came on. This poor guy had to come to our dealership three days in a row and I felt like the biggest dipshit, leaving tools in this guys car and making him travel. So, unusual things happen and normal people make little dumb mistakes every once and a while.
You only need to get mad if they don't make this right for you. You should expect more from your dealer, given the price. We try to hold ourselves to a higher standard and when we make a mistake, we do our best to make it up to the customer. In my case, this fellow got this service and his next service for free.
posted by Jon-o at 7:36 PM on July 8 [3 favorites has favorites]

Thank you everyone for the advice. No, I won't actually yell. I was just a wee bit annoyed tonight. Glad it sounds like no major damage was done.
posted by Eddie Mars at 7:37 PM on July 8

FWIW - Always check the oil level on the dipstick, make sure the oil cap is seated properly and that there is no oil dripping from the engine (especially the oil filter area) before leaving after an oil change.

You'll likely have more luck finding an engine compartment degreasing/cleaning product and using it at a manual car wash to get the oil completely cleaned out (cover electronics & let engine cool down before blasting cold water on it) than you will trusting it to the detailer at your dealer (he's gonna be pissed when he finds out he's got to fix the tech's f-up!) to clean it out. Be wary of having the dealer steam clean/power wash under the hood - these can do devastating damage to seals & gaskets.

I would also suggest the next oil/filter change to be on the house if it's not offered.
posted by torquemaniac at 8:28 PM on July 8

Don't ever yell--or even get angry--at something that can be attributed to an honest mistake. We all have accidents. However, if someone is deliberately and decisively giving you shit--like not fixing a problem they caused--then by all means, let 'er rip. At least, I'd feel justified in showing some anger at that point, but I always try to remember that you truly, truly, truly get more flies with honey than with vinegar.
posted by zardoz at 9:38 PM on July 8

He said it's rare for any damage to happen to a car in an event like this.

there are exceptions. this happened to my chevy sprint. there's no baffle behind the oil filler hole, so the cams simply spray the oil out until there's none left. it will end the life of your engine in under an hour if you don't realize it's happening. that's what happened to me.
posted by klanawa at 1:21 AM on July 9

* the damage I'm talking about isn't external, it's internal. Yeah, shit happens. But "owning up to one's mistakes" is an equal part of that. If there's no damage, then nobody suffers if you get them to warrant the engine for lack of oiling defects for a longer time.
posted by gjc at 5:13 AM on July 9