- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Coaching Changes
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: Woman says Walmart oil change ruined her car, leaving $10k repair bill
Posted on 8/14/25 at 1:49 pm to wallowinit
Posted on 8/14/25 at 1:49 pm to wallowinit
quote:
I actually don’t see how that would ever happen unless the plug fell out And it’s difficult to see how a plug would fall out later on even if it was only several threads in.
When I was in college about 25 years ago, on a Sunday I stopped at a speedee oil and got an oil change, then hit the road to drive back to campus. Made it about 60 miles when smoke started pouring from under car. Pulled over and saw hot oil leaking from pan onto ground.
Best we can tell,the oil plug was not put in correctly and fell out at that point.
Called AAA and they towed the car rest of way to a mechanic, who next day put a new plug in. No significant damage because I turned it off before it completely drained.
Speedee paid the small cost of repair, plus the amount AAA charged me because it was over 3 miles. They also refunded me the cost of that oil change and gave me vouchers for 4 free oil changes. I never went back.
This post was edited on 8/14/25 at 1:51 pm
0
Posted on 8/14/25 at 1:54 pm to LSUTANGERINE
quote:Fairly common with Walmart, not the first time I've heard the same story.
Woman says Walmart oil change ruined her car
Posted on 8/14/25 at 1:57 pm to wallowinit
I don't believe they forgot the plug. It's more likely they drained the old oil, put the plug back in, changed the filter, and didn't put new oil back in. If they did everything but put the plug back in, they would have had an immediate mess in the bay.
Posted on 8/14/25 at 1:58 pm to greygoose
quote:
If they did everything but put the plug back in, they would have had an immediate mess in the bay.
yeah, that's what i was thinking. even if she drove off immediately, there would be a mess.
Posted on 8/14/25 at 3:14 pm to bountyhunter
quote:
A good attorney could probably argue 2 or 3 times the original number in damages.
You know who else has really good attorneys? Walmart.
Posted on 8/14/25 at 4:07 pm to Robin Masters
quote:
$10k seems ridiculously high for a Hyundai engine.
I replaced an engine in my wifes old Jaguar and it was $9K. Granted this was 15 years ago but it was V8 Jag
Installed its about right. My sister and BIL had a KIA mini van that snapped the timing belt and engine self destructed as they will do. $12,000 to replace it. They found a low mileage salvage engine for $2200 and we swapped it out but it was a BITCH....almost impossible to do without taking the entire body off the thing. I think they must levitate the engine and build the car around it. When I was young and dumb instead of old and stupid I swapped engines out of cars and trucks fairly regularly....several times I would pull a small block chevy out, go get one at a junkyard and have it installed and mostly tuned in time to go to work Monday morning. didn't sleep much but I was young and dumb....and broke LOL....
Posted on 8/14/25 at 4:08 pm to LSUTANGERINE
this happened to a former in-law relative years ago. he had no problem getting walmart to cover the damages though.
Posted on 8/14/25 at 4:13 pm to greygoose
Happened to me at a dealer...
New engine.
New engine.
Posted on 8/14/25 at 4:14 pm to LNCHBOX
quote:
Comprehensive insurance doesn't cover mechanical issues
State Farm does (assuming it's not just typical parts going out, etc.)
I bought 24 gallons of mostly water at a gas station a few years back.
after fighting with the gas station for about a week without any luck getting them to even talk to me, I filed a claim.
Was approved in less than 24 hours. Agent said "don't worry, Gas Station will be paying us back"
Posted on 8/14/25 at 5:31 pm to LSUPERMAN
quote:
You know who else has really good attorneys? Walmart.
I'll bet. My mom was an attorney and she sued Winn-Dixie for a client that fell into a foot deep pothole in their crappy parking lot. She was even able to get CCTV footage of the incident. The client had legitimate damages as a result and their attorney pulled some shady shite to get the award significantly reduced. I can only imagine Wal Mart being much worse.
This post was edited on 8/14/25 at 5:33 pm
Posted on 8/14/25 at 6:31 pm to MorbidTheClown
quote:
If they filled it with oil and didn't put the plug back in, wouldn't it leave a trail of oil leading right back to the service bay?
The oil would have poured out just as fast as it was pumped in. At best it would have left a trickle as she drove off.
Posted on 8/14/25 at 11:23 pm to LNCHBOX
quote:So they drained the car of oil and then just gave it back to her? Seems there is no way they drained the car, and then put the new oil into the car without the plug on. It would have made a mess in an instant. They would have seen the mess instantly.
You ever run an engine without oil?
Posted on 8/14/25 at 11:30 pm to LSUTANGERINE
My buddy in college got a new engine paid for when they put the wrong filter on his car and it fell off. It was the old ghetto Walmart on Perkins.
Posted on 8/15/25 at 12:32 am to LNCHBOX
quote:
Comprehensive insurance doesn't cover mechanical issues
1000% false if the issue was caused by the incompetence of a shop or the incompetence of a person.
I had a shop do something similar while servicing a jet ski before winter. The kid flushing it didnt realize the motor has to be running before you turn the water on. Filled the cylinders with water. One blip of the starter button and he bent the rods in a yamaha 1.8
Shop denied responsibility. My insurance covered it and then they sued the shop.
This post was edited on 8/15/25 at 12:33 am
Posted on 8/15/25 at 12:34 am to speedybaw
quote:
So they drained the car of oil and then just gave it back to her? Seems there is no way they drained the car, and then put the new oil into the car without the plug on. It would have made a mess in an instant. They would have seen the mess instantly
Sure, but if the guy threaded it in by hand it would run for a while.
Posted on 8/15/25 at 5:49 am to wallowinit
quote:
I don’t see how she made it out of the parking lot without the plug in. The engine would quickly expel any oil that might be there, but without the plug, the oil would go straight through when they put it in.
I actually don’t see how that would ever happen unless the plug fell out And it’s difficult to see how a plug would fall out later on even if it was only several threads in.
this is the part I never understand about people saying this kind of thing. You put a few quarts in the motor and it has to go somewhere, she would have left a trail at best for a hundred feet, at worst, the rack would have been covered in oil on the floor. This would be easy to prove if Walmart looks at their cameras, which for liability, I would be willing to bet they have.
Posted on 8/15/25 at 5:57 am to Warfarer
Friend had a new Mustang back in high school and took it to Walmart for an oil change. Had to drive interstate to get home. It started smoking really badly on interstate and he had to pull over for a tow.
Walmart had left the oil fill cap off and when engine got to temp oil went everywhere. Smoke was from it hitting the hot block. Made a huge mess and covered everything under the hood in oil.
Walmart had left the oil fill cap off and when engine got to temp oil went everywhere. Smoke was from it hitting the hot block. Made a huge mess and covered everything under the hood in oil.
Page 4 of 4
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News