Transmission not going into reverse / Never trust Jiffy Lube

This morning I could not get the car into reverse. It stayed in neutral and I tried to shift in and out but nothing. I finally put the car back into reverse and gave it some gas and it grabbed. Of course I'm now thinking the worse and about finding a new trans. I decided to take it to Jiffy Lube and have them flush and refill the transmission. The fluid was a little dirty which makes me think it may be on its way out. Here's where my day gets a lot worse. The guy talks me into changing the oil, which was about 2k old so I took him up on it even though I never go to those guys since they didn't tighten the filter on me once and made a mess of everything.
Anyway, they finish the job and I leave. First I notice the oil light is coming on, but I figure it just hasn't got a proper reading yet?.........then I start to hear lifters. You guessed it. The bone heads drained the oil, put the plug back in, and never refilled with oil. I'm so friggin pissed I'm shaking as I walk back the 4 blocks I had driven. I really wanna ring someones neck. The rest is kind of a blur. I don't think Ill make the 6 o'clock news but from the looks of the customers faces in the waiting room I think I got my point across.
They towed the car back and flushed the motor. I couldn't really see down in the pit but they say there were no chunks that came out. Luckily the engine didn't seize, it seems a little noisier but it could be my imagination.
I just got the car back from being nearly totaled and the next day this happens.
WTF???

Talk to an attorney. Now.

Albertj

Luckily my sister and brother inlaw are very good ones.

I'll never go to one of those oil monkey shops again.....ever.

That is so wild, I would have probably stroked out too. Since your car was just repainted I guess you will fix it. I think I would probably sue for enough money to make up for the hassle that it will be to find a replacement motor AND transmission and the hassle of getting it changed and the cost of a vehicle during this period and some more money in case the replacement engine/transmission go bad...

Nice round figure to ask for would be...$6000.00

Bert

Point in talking to an attorney is to have them send that Jiffy Lube store a letter recounting the facts and proposing a reasonable settlement - to repair that which their negligence was likely to have damaged. You will have to go over the facts to figure out what that is.

Get it behind you quick and you'll probably be happiest.

Albertj

If that engine had NO oil and made it four blocks-its ruined.

The oil light was on for four blocks?

Bert

Fucking NOOBs thats all i have to say

Oil light on, immediately pull over and immediately shut it down.

OR in this case, pull over and let it run til it seizes up, so they have to pay for a rebuild or replacement immediately.

Albertj:
point well taken. That is the route I will be going. Im waiting to talk to the regional manager right now then I will be meeting with my lawyer.

ibmoses: the light blinked on then off. It was not on constant but flickering and I thought it was not getting a good reading or something. A block later I began to hear the lifters and pulled over. I guess it took a couple blocks for it to drain the top end.

Do you guys think a top end rebuild is good enough or should I really be pushing for a new motor?

1998 Riv wrote:

Oil light on, immediately pull over and immediately shut it down.

OR in this case, pull over and let it run til it seizes up, so they have to pay for a rebuild or replacement immediately.

it was a thought that crossed my mind believe me I just couldnt do that to the car

idiots

WOW that blows man!

BoattailBob wrote:

Albertj:
point well taken. That is the route I will be going. Im waiting to talk to the regional manager right now then I will be meeting with my lawyer.

ibmoses: the light blinked on then off. It was not on constant but flickering and I thought it was not getting a good reading or something. A block later I began to hear the lifters and pulled over. I guess it took a couple blocks for it to drain the top end.

Do you guys think a top end rebuild is good enough or should I really be pushing for a new motor?

New motor.
Bert

The first oil change I ever got in my first car, I went to Jiffy Lube because I had a coupon. Everything's going all well and they ask me if they can do the air filter for me too. Thinking it'll be like $20 max, I said sure. They get my POS Honda finished and I'm reviewing the invoice and I see that the shissters tried to charge me $69.99 for an air filter on a '92 Accord. Of course I was like "WTF!!? Take that shit out." They did and in the process (I suspect) they drill a hole in my oil pump. I know it was not leaking at all when I took it in and when I got out, I didn't even make it the 1.5 miles back home without losing ALL my oil.

NEVER GO TO JIFFY LUBE

BoattailBob wrote:

Do you guys think a top end rebuild is good enough or should I really be pushing for a new motor?

The lower end, crank and rod bearings and journals will be starved for oil if the oil pan is empty and the pump can't pump. So, the first parts to wear are in the lower end, you just won't hear them right away due to some residual oil, but they are most likely scored.
The top end will hold oil as you experienced. It took a few blocks for the lifters to start clacking.
I would not settle for anything less than a complete motor. Most of the damage will be down in the lower end in the form of wear and scoring.
You could drive it now that it has oil in it and probably not experience any serious rod or bearing knock now, but it will show up in the near future.

Rickw wrote:

BoattailBob wrote:

Do you guys think a top end rebuild is good enough or should I really be pushing for a new motor?

The lower end, crank and rod bearings and journals will be starved for oil if the oil pan is empty and the pump can't pump. So, the first parts to wear are in the lower end, you just won't hear them right away due to some residual oil, but they are most likely scored.
The top end will hold oil as you experienced. It took a few blocks for the lifters to start clacking.
I would not settle for anything less than a complete motor. Most of the damage will be down in the lower end in the form of wear and scoring.
You could drive it now that it has oil in it and probably not experience any serious rod or bearing knock now, but it will show up in the near future.

Thanks for the advice. Its being inspected now and Im going to look at it in 2 hours to see what kind of BS they try to feed me.

Rickw wrote:

BoattailBob wrote:

Do you guys think a top end rebuild is good enough or should I really be pushing for a new motor?

The lower end, crank and rod bearings and journals will be starved for oil if the oil pan is empty and the pump can't pump. So, the first parts to wear are in the lower end, you just won't hear them right away due to some residual oil, but they are most likely scored.
The top end will hold oil as you experienced. It took a few blocks for the lifters to start clacking.
I would not settle for anything less than a complete motor. Most of the damage will be down in the lower end in the form of wear and scoring.
You could drive it now that it has oil in it and probably not experience any serious rod or bearing knock now, but it will show up in the near future.

This is 100% good info. The damage may not appear for a few months, whereas this engine would have lasted a few more years easily.

How are they 'inspecting' it? Pulling apart the engine and disassembling the lifters, bearings, etc? Don't let them touch it! You are going to let the same jokers who forgot to put oil in tear down your engine for inspection? NO NO NO PLEASE NO

So Bob, what's the story?

Albertj

The car is in my hands again and running. In not letting the same people touch my car dont worry. The company has to have one of their inspectors diagnose....visually. He didnt tear anything down he just did a compression check. Said it was 115-117.
I told the company this isn't a problem that can be diagnosed that easy and told them I wanted something in writing that guaranteed the car would be good for x amount of time or miles. They flat out refused (no surprise). I let them know I would be moving forward with filing suit.
The fact that I didn't let the engine completely seize may have hurt me as far as getting them to take responsibility. It may take longer or be harder to prove. One way or another I will be compensated. Trust me.

Sorry to hear of all the hassle.

Im no mechanic but I dont think oil starvation damage to bearings could be detected with a compression check.

Bert

ibmoses wrote:

Im no mechanic but I dont think oil starvation damage to bearings could be detected with a compression check.

A compression check only tells you if the piston rings are sealing properly. There isn't really any way to check bearings without taking the caps off and using plastigauge to see if the clearances are right, or visually inspecting for scoring.

Chances are your engine will be okay, but the whole trust factor sucks the big one. You will never be able to trust your engine again. Should you make that long trip? Or take a different car......

You could have the oil anaylyzed, not sure what it would tell you if anything though...

So what is Jiffy Lubes position?

Are they denying that the engine oil was NOT refilled after the drain?
Or are they claiming the oil was refilled correctly and your problem is unrelated to the oil change?

Bert

This is why I don't take my car to any place like this. I'm really sorry this happened, keep us updated.

Jiffy lube admits they made a mistake and that the car was not filled with oil. I have that in writing. They are taking the position that the engine was not damaged and should be ok. I told them I wanted some reassurance in writing and they refused. Im documenting everything.
I was scanning on the way there with 0kr. I will have proof and a pretty good case should anything go wrong but I will have to sue them. they are refusing anything further.
pretty much my fault for trusting these jackasses