Drove truck 1/4 mile with no oil!!!!!

[Chris B.]

My friend went to Wal-Mart for an oil change on his 1999 F150 5.4 V8. When they were done with the oil change my friend drove aprox 1/4th mile and he started hearing his engine knock and shake badly and it stalled. He checked the engine and found no oil in it. He called Wal-Mart and they drove out to him and poured in the oil they forgot to add. I asked him what they offered to do for him and he stated they said nothing and left.
This was a year ago and I just found out this happend. His truck is running fine so far. I told him I would have doccumented this and asked for a new engine from Wal-Mart. I'm willing to bet the life of his truck is greatly reduced and will fail premature because of this.
What do you guys think about all of this? I tild him this is the reason I change my own oil.

 

[55Test]

If I were in that situation, you better believe Walmart would be paying for an engine inspection at a place of MY choosing. They might even end up paying for a rebuild or a good used engine.

 

[justinf89]

I think it would take no oil to knock and shut off. If they forgot to put no oil, I can't believe he let them get away with it. Walmart is a big enough company to pay for a new engine without worrying about it. Me personally, I'd sell the truck if not.

 

[bepperb]

Well, I would assume the oil pressure light was on the entire time?

Still, I'd want more than them filling it up and calling it a day. Did they give him a refund for the oil change at least?

 

[AlienBug]

I'm sure plenty of do-it-yourselfers have forgotten to put oil in a car. It happens.

Not sure if there is any remedy here. Short of tearing the engine apart, how would you know if there was any damage done? And is Walmart now on the hook for any engine problem he has for the rest of the life of the truck? My guess is if it's run fine for a year, it will probably continue to do so for as long as he wants it to. Or it could blow tomorrow, who knows?

 

[Falcon_LS]

Originally Posted By: bepperb
Well, I would assume the oil pressure light was on the entire time?


That's what I was thinking.

Personally, if you're not changing your own oil, I feel it is best to go for an oil change at the quietest time possible - rush hour when everybody's heading home or at lunch when people are too busy having their food. With all the pressure and the number of cars, I can see how things like this would happen. Although I would be hard pushed NOT to check my oil before cranking my engine. That, and I would make sure I'm within 5 feet from my car so I can see what is happening!

 

[sciphi]

It's likely affected the engine so it will only power his F150 to 200k miles, not 300-400k miles. Or not worth worrying about at the mileage any damage will be truly known at.

 

[nooil]

So, anytime I have someone else change my oil, I always check it out before leaving the premises. This type of thing happens all the time from some of these morons, ya just can't trust em!

 

[Eddie]

A yeago and no engine issues. WOW

 

[simple_gifts]

I don't think we would be getting any new engine from Wally world when the one he has is not broken.

Common sense doesn't fly out the window in court now matter how "outrageous" the plaintiff feels the injustice was.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Common sense doesn't fly out the window in court now matter how "outrageous" the plaintiff feels the injustice was.

Hmmmm.....

 

[MrBiglund]

If it was my truck I would restart the engine and run it at WOT, till it smoked and completely died. That's one sure way to get a new engine out of them. he he. That type of common sense doesn't even need to go as far as a court.

 

[Sonic]

3 years ago I went to a quick lube place with my Subaru. They drained the trans instead of the oil. Put new oil in the motor and sent me on my way. I got about a 100yds away and the trans started slipping and the car was smoking badly. I turned around and coasted back to the parking lot of the oil place. They didn't do [censored] for me except say 'sorry dude'. Those idiots let me leave with 9 quarts of oil in the motor and no tranny fluid. I should have sued. They dumped all the oil and filled the trans then put another 4.5 qts of new oil in it. The manager was all mad that they wasted all that new oil. What a jerk, he had no concern for my car at all. Haven't had any problems so far with the trans (knock on wood) but I'm still PO'd. Do my own changes now!!

 

[MrBiglund]

Best thing to do in these situations is to floor the gas pedal and cause irreversible damage, so that they quicky lube place is stuck with either changing the engine or the tranny, either way. There is no way, that they can prove in court that their mistake did not cause the damage.

 

[tig1]

This would have been a good use of a UOA after 3K on that first OC after the engine was run with no oil. May have been able to determine what parts of the engine suffered damage.

 

[The motor guy]

should have driven another 1/2 a mile until it seized completly.

 

[Jakegday]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
should have driven another 1/2 a mile until it seized completly.

this is exactly what i was thinking the entire time i read this thread. especially since it was wal mart.

 

[Surestick]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
should have driven another 1/2 a mile until it seized completly.


My guess they'd refuse to pay because either:
-You ignored the low oil pressure light, or
-Your oil pressure light was broken, if it was working it would have enabled you to prevent any damage. They aren't responsible for damage to your car due to neglect on your part (driving with a broken oil pressure light).

 

[fdcg27]

You and the OP's friend both have empirical evidence of why you should do your own maintenance.
Very few vendors will care for your car as well as you will.

 

[pidster]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
You and the OP's friend both have empirical evidence of why you should do your own maintenance.
Very few vendors will care for your car as well as you will.


Absolutely.

I guess this could happen anywhere, but if I could not DIY for whatever reason I'd at least use an indy mechanic or a dealer over a quick lube. And I do not do business with Wal-Mart in any way shape or form but that's another topic altogether.