Hello Folks, I originally posted that I had bought a 2002 Lexus RX300. It was a unicorn....(see the previous post) I wanted to be a true LEXUS owner and immediately took it to the dealership for an oil change and "The World Class Inspection" A whopping $675.00 with an extra key. At that point they recommended the following, based on the inspection. Rear wiper blade and motor, replace fog lamp bulb, and replace cabin filter. Based on SERVICE RECORDS in their computer, they suggested Diff service and water pump and timing belt. That was April 13th. On June 2nd I got the timing belt and water pump replaced. When I left, there was an odd whining sound. Very similar to a power steering pump with low fluid. But I assumed it was NEW STUFF breaking in. I drove the unit.
Yesterday, before leaving for camping I heard a smaller tick tick tick sound when it started. I took it to the corner oil shop and they said it was EMPTY.
Underneath the unit, my driveway has ZERO oil spots.
Any suggestions of how to proceed? The dealership delivered a car on Saturday and I'm driving that. They are coming to flat bed it to the dealership tomorrow morning. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Typical dealership rip off. Go get your money back and never take it to a dealership again.
You're lucky the engine didn't blow having no oil in it. It's reasonable to suspect there was serious damage done nonetheless. If something catastrophic happens, you may have to resort to legal processes.
Typical example of dealerships failing at their jobs. Tell everyone you know about your experience.
did you check your oil during those two months after you had the service done?
What did the corner oil shop mean by "empty". Did they open the drain plug? How much was showing on the dipstick?
I did not check the oil during the two months. I just had the oil changed and it wasn't even 3000 miles yet. My theory is that while the unit was in having the timing belt and water pump changed, they damaged the engine oil pan somehow. There is no oil leak on my driveway. ZERO. The inspection noted, NO OIL ENGINE LEAKS. I suspect everything was fine when it went into the shop....from the documentation, under How we give you "Peace of Mind" ~They perform a world class visual inspection on your vehicle every visit. They should have spotted this on that last visit. But when it left them, it apparently was damaged. I suspect the oil drained on my 1st trip home. The rest of the week, I'm kind of a homebody with covid b.s. and prepping for a trip. I believe I'm on pretty solid ground. They inspected the unit originally, gave it a clean bill of health. Unit operated fine for 2 months. It went back in front recommended maintenance and was returned with a leaking oil pan and subsequent rod knock....(just happened today when we turned over the ignition) Motor is cooked.
how is the oil pan damaged?
THAT.....is not normal.
I would love to see a tech's face when he hears that cold start. I would go to the meeting as requested and see what it sounds like. If it sounds like that, they can't really deny a problem.
I'm tuned in for the update.
Good luck at the meeting
this fellow got a free engine replacement just by talking with people
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/mechanic-nightmares/
I wrote to everyone about my 2002 RX300 seemingly being left without oil during a service visit.
This was my vehicle on Monday morning before the dealership towed it away with a flatbed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE8_MrLTSZI
On Saturday morning before a road trip I took the car to the local oil shop due to a persistent odd sound.
They advised the unit was without oil.
Today they sent me an e-mail saying THIS......
Hello Mr. Bedell,
Per our earlier conversation and the voicemail you left for me I am emailing you a description of what we have found on the vehicle after it was towed to our facility. We found a fresh oil change performed on the vehicle according to the sticker that the shop you used put on the windshield as a reminder to you for when it is due for service again as well as a new oil filter and the oil level was full. We did put it in the air to check for any oil leaks and did not see any signs of any major oil leaks. It has been 3445 miles since we performed an oil change on the vehicle at our facility and if the vehicle did not get filled with oil at that time the engine would have seized up well before your facility you took it to pulled the dipstick and stated that it is bone dry and there is no oil in there. It is normal for engines to consume some oil and especially as they age and the miles get up there that consumption may even increase. Our shop foreman inspected the car and did pull the spark plugs to check for signs of oil consumption, Cylinder#2 did shows of oil consumption as that will cause the tip of the spark plug to begin to turn black from the oil that is burning. The measurement on the dipstick does not mean that there is no oil in the vehicle it typically means you need to add a qt, wait five minutes and recheck the dipstick to see if you now have oil registering on the dipstick. As far as the oil on the pan that the shop showed you, the oil filter is located just behind the oil pan and when that comes off to install a new one it can get a bit messy and probably was not cleaned up the best from the oil change and I would imagine that is what they were showing you Sir. Hopefully this helps with the explanation of our earlier conversation and we did not experience any knocking from the engine at all. I look forward to you coming in tomorrow so that the 3 of us can cold start the vehicle together to see if there is any at that time, and then we will put it up in the air to show you that we do not see any signs of major oil leaking and as you stated there is nothing on your driveway either except for a few old spots. Have a great evening and again we are available anytime tomorrow between 8 and 4 please let me know when we may expect to see you.
Best Regards,
Idris Sherrod
Service Manager
WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Your story doesn't make sense to me. If the oil had "drained on my 1st trip home" on June 2, you would have had problems back then, and not on June 12. You also would have had a mess in your driveway. There would also be evidence on the car of how the oil would have drained out.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to proceed?
Get a lawyer.
I don't think a lawyer can do much without evidence.
Short of getting legal representation, he could go to the local TV station and do a story on how he got screwed by the dealer.
I wouldn't do a story on this. Everything is just speculation at this point. Nobody really KNOWS anything.
It's the thought that counts!
They just responded with this after seeing the video I shared with y'all
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Good Morning, I shared with my shop foreman and he said that is possible VVT gear noise as ours are oil driven and as soon as it builds up oil pressure the noise goes away, but again it has not done that for us. The vehicle has not been started today and will not be until your arrival so that we can all check it together.
COULD THEY BE CORRECT?