Might need an attorney..Walmart fucked up my truck

[ram57ta]

On another note I'd make sure you get a rental and it should be a 4wd truck because you need that for some non commercial work related reason. Hunting lease, coastal fishing, etc...

Ski trip to Colorado in 2 weeks.

[Rick Modena]

Well that sucks, yeah you would think that a place that charges money to change oil in your vehicle would do it according to specs, but noooooo.
Some say its easy, well it's not easy and one of those things that if not done correctly will cause thousands of dollars in damage. I've been screwed around twice, once at a oild change place and once at a Stealership.
Never again, I change oils on all of my cars and rotate the tires too. I myself have screwed up, oil plug fallen into the hole of the oil catch can and it got so full so quick that it spilt a few quarts on the floor, dropped the oil filter on the ground, just messy fuck-ups but never damaging the oil pan drain plug, not checking for stuck gasket, not putting back dipstick correctly or over tightening/cross threading the oil drain plug.

Hopefully they fix your truck correctly, but I'm not sure I would trust them since they were not up front when they first fucked up.

[shumpertdavid]

you never heard Walmart oil change horror stories? i think every car guy has heard a story or two

We all fuck up, it's part of it, the kicker is how we handle the fuck up. I've been doing auto repair at the same little shop for almost 22 years now. We haven't solicited or done oil changes in 15 years or so probably unless the job required it or it was a long time customer that requested it during a repair. The risk for reward just isn't great enough. It only takes 1 mistake to cost the profit of hundreds or oil changes.

I did a water pump on a big body caprice some 20 years ago or so. It was for a long time customer and it came in a few days or week later after it overheated. The water pump bolts were loose, the gaskets looked like they were cooked or crushed out of place almost. I know I didn't overtighten it, I know I didn't leave it loose however I worked on it last and it clearly had an issue. It had gotten hot enough to damage a headgasket so I tore it down, sent the head off to be checked, reassembled, another new water pump, etc out of mine and the shops pocket because that's how that works. I was at a party some time later and the owner of the car's son was there. Somehow it came up and he proceeded to tell me he was driving the car when it got hot. He had a date to get a piece of ass and didn't want to miss out so he never even slowed down when he saw it begin to overheat and drove it until it quite. I was furious, 1 the owners told me they were driving it when it happened, 2 the son was a piece of shit that destroyed everything, and 3 he seemed to think it was funny knowing we'd just eat whatever he tore up. I never questioned the parents, it didn't matter, I had to take care of the problem, it was my responsibility.


As far as scootro's response to why a person would let someone change their oil is simple. Not everyone has the means, desire, or knowledge to do there own. It gives someone a job and income to perform that task. I personally change my own, I do most all my own repairs, it's my profession. I still have to have someone do the stuff I don't have the capability to do.


People fuck up, mistakes happen, hopefully Walmart makes it right. Would I blame you for not taking it back to them for future service, absolutely not. Is there just as much chance for the same or worse to happen at another oil change place, hell yes. It's the risk we take.

[SS Junk]

Once had Jiffy Lube fuck my transmission by loosening an exterior nut that was not the drain plug. However they did own up to it immediately and paid for the repair.

We all fuck up

Sure enough. Shit happens everywhere. If this was indeed a mistake on the part of the mechanics, them not taking responsibility for it is chicken shit.

[ram57ta]

So I'm attempting to let corporate handle this. I was told yesterday that I would be contacted within 3 business days...so Wednesday is when I will turn into a not nice guy. Just out of curiosity I called back to the store today and got the same lady from Sunday morning...and again asked to speak to a manager. She told me there was no manager on duty..."he's on leave or something"...and told me she could TRY to find an assistant manager for me to talk to...and then put me on hold....apparently forever because I hung up after waiting for 11 minutes. Part of me wants to go to the store and start asking questions in person...part of me wants to see how corporate handles the matter.

[ram57ta]

Just received a call from the GCS manager of the store...she told me that the manager of the service center would be calling me tomorrow to handle the situation. She asked me if anyone had spoken to me about the "oil leak at the filter" that she said they found. Interesting...wasn't leaking when I brought it in and the pre-inspection noted that it was FULL of oil. I'm now thinking the technician broke something and is trying to say it was PRIOR to the service.

[Craizie]

Just received a call from the GCS manager of the store...she told me that the manager of the service center would be calling me tomorrow to handle the situation. She asked me if anyone had spoken to me about the "oil leak at the filter" that she said they found. Interesting...wasn't leaking when I brought it in and the pre-inspection noted that it was FULL of oil. I'm now thinking the technician broke something and is trying to say it was PRIOR to the service.

Part of me think you're about to get dicked down by walmart. The other part of me remembers returning shit that they never even sold and getting a refund.


Lets see how this plays out.

[SS Junk]

As stated, if they refuse and you lawyer up, it'll be expensive and may take months before a settlement is reached. Most likely whatever atty you hire will send a few "giving you the opportunity to...." letters, make a couple of phone calls and if they don't budge a court date will be set. In doing this though, you need a different mechanic inspect/repair what's wrong so you have that documentation as well.

[Stephen]

I think the only positive is that you probably made it all the way home with “some oil” in the crank case. If Walmart completely dicks u around, you can probably just repair whatever they fucked up and not be out an entire motor. You’re smart not driving it right now though, if it came in full of oil and is now empty after 5-6 miles and they didn’t report any major leaks, they obviously did something wrong.

[War Machine]

Go up there and KICK THEIR ASSES!!!!

[ram57ta]

I think the only positive is that you probably made it all the way home with “some oil” in the crank case. If Walmart completely dicks u around, you can probably just repair whatever they fucked up and not be out an entire motor. You’re smart not driving it right now though, if it came in full of oil and is now empty after 5-6 miles and they didn’t report any major leaks, they obviously did something wrong.

Yeah...I'm not going to pull the oil filter off because I'm sure that would immediately end any chance of them taking care of this....truck still has oil pressure at startup.but almost immediately oil begins dripping from the area of the filter. I'm betting they installed the wrong filter, cross-threaded it, or either didn't remove the old gasket...or removed BOTH gaskets. They claim they put 6 quarts in it...and nothing shows on the dipstick in a 5 mile drive home...I'm guessing it was gushing the second they cranked it...which would explain the mess they were cleaning up in the bay and the mess underneath my truck. I'm pissed I didn't start bitching the second I saw it but I was annoyed already that they took so fucking long to change the oil...lesson learned...multiple lessons. I hope they didn't damage the filter base trying to overtighten the filter.

[scootro]

Just received a call from the GCS manager of the store...she told me that the manager of the service center would be calling me tomorrow to handle the situation. She asked me if anyone had spoken to me about the "oil leak at the filter" that she said they found. Interesting...wasn't leaking when I brought it in and the pre-inspection noted that it was FULL of oil. I'm now thinking the technician broke something and is trying to say it was PRIOR to the service.

good luck to you!

[lincolnboy]

If they have a mess, it should show on camera.

[ram57ta]

If they have a mess, it should show on camera.

Yes that's what I am planning to pursue..of course I'm sure that camera probably wasn't working or the footage was deleted.

[Gasser64]

Sucks...I had something similar happen with the wifes car at Wally World...never took it back. They hire kids off the street for these things.

When I was a teen a buddy of mine worked there. He was mechanically inclined, and was right for the job. But he said that a co worker of his did this to a camaro. Said he didn't refill the engine with oil, because he thought that engine oil was a byproduct of the engine. Something to be drained off periodically.

And he made it all the through the hiring process, to the point where he was changing oil.