Well, I had been considering trying the Fumoto for a number of years, and decided to try them out. In my usual manner, I went overboard, ordering one for each of the three cars in our stable (my 04 Prius, wife's 07 Avalon, son's 87 Cadillac). The Cad came up first, and the one for it is happily installed and doing just fine after about a month.
Not so for mine. This weekend, I installed the one for the Prius, and filled her up with fresh green and LC. I had looked the valve over very carefully, and even tested the "action" several times and all seemed fine.
Appearances can be deceiving.
The next morning, I was in a hurry to leave and backed out of the garage without paying much attention. Thankfully and ironically, my wife (who generally pays as much attention to cars as Liberace did to pretty women...) calls out to me, "hey, what's that stuff under your car?"
Oil! Lots of it!! Over ~15 hours, the car had bled out roughly 3/4 of a quart of oil -- what a mess!!!
At that point, after almost dropping on in my shorts, I aborted the trip, and put the car up on the ramps. Upon very close inspection, the valve was leaking from the drain opening, despite the lever being fully and properly seated in the "closed" position. I checked very closely, with flashlight and reading glasses on, and it was not leaking from around the washer, it was 100% clearly from the opening.
Well, at that point, I got the drain pan, removed the Fumoto, and reinstalled the traditional plug.
Sadly, my confidence in the product is shattered. I've seem many positive comments on this product, but no reports of problems. Anyone else out there have a problem with this product (or perhaps SureDrain)?
Not so for mine. This weekend, I installed the one for the Prius, and filled her up with fresh green and LC. I had looked the valve over very carefully, and even tested the "action" several times and all seemed fine.
Appearances can be deceiving.
The next morning, I was in a hurry to leave and backed out of the garage without paying much attention. Thankfully and ironically, my wife (who generally pays as much attention to cars as Liberace did to pretty women...) calls out to me, "hey, what's that stuff under your car?"
Oil! Lots of it!! Over ~15 hours, the car had bled out roughly 3/4 of a quart of oil -- what a mess!!!
At that point, after almost dropping on in my shorts, I aborted the trip, and put the car up on the ramps. Upon very close inspection, the valve was leaking from the drain opening, despite the lever being fully and properly seated in the "closed" position. I checked very closely, with flashlight and reading glasses on, and it was not leaking from around the washer, it was 100% clearly from the opening.
Well, at that point, I got the drain pan, removed the Fumoto, and reinstalled the traditional plug.
Sadly, my confidence in the product is shattered. I've seem many positive comments on this product, but no reports of problems. Anyone else out there have a problem with this product (or perhaps SureDrain)?
Last edited: