Well, I knew better. I really will NEVER go to an oil change place again. NEVER!

Went to Valvoline to get my oil changed. They changed it, I drove off and approx. 1 mile down the road my pressure dropped to almost nothing. I pulled into a parking lot...opened the hood and black. Oil all over with a trail behind me. So, I called the place and they sent a kid out to look at it. He asked me where the spark plugs were.

I then told him to not touch a thing and I called AAA to tow me back. Once there, they checked the oil and it had approx. 1-2 quarts left in it. They had forgottten the O-ring. I had even asked about it while they worked on it to make sure they replaced it. Not once did they apologize. Until I was leaving. So, they are towing it to my Mercedes Indy mechanic and he will look at it on Monday. They said they had to be there when he looks at. Is that normal?

What should I expect besides them paying for a cleaning? How much are they obliged to take care of? What are my rights? And better yet, have I killed my car?

I could vomit right now.

sorry to hear of this kind of problem. however, its best to no let anyone else touch your MB, ever. these oil places usually have min. wage young kids doing the work in the pits. they usually have min training and i would not expect them to know anything about a mercedes especially a diesel. if you still had oil pressure when you shut it off i would think it would not have been hurt. these things are pretty tuff. now if it also overheated, im not sure what that outcome woulwd bring.
they should be responsible for all the expenses incurred for whatever corrective action is required up to but not limited to a rebuilt engine if thatw what your mercedes authorized mechanic proves. if you have insurance, call your agent, then if you are not getting satisfaction, find a attorney.
good luck and keeep the group posted. . .
davidh

i dont see why they would need to be there. what help would they be anyways?? they dont know a spark plug from a glow plug??? i could see if there insurance company had to be there. 1 to 2 quarts is extremely low. we shall see what your indy says. if they damaged your car and its proven that it was due to the faulty oil change, then they are responsible for the repairs to it

__________________
1983 Euro 240D 277K
2016 Mazda 6
Coming Soon, 2013 Mercedes E350 Bluetec
Formers:
2012- Mazda 3
2007 Outlander- complete pile
1995 E300 Diesel 208K
2007 VW Passat 2.0T 63K SOLD
2003 Jaguar X-type 3.0 Sport Sold 04/11 w/88K
2009 Lexus RX350 9061 miles. Sold 04/09
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS:Totaled Sept.,09 @ 24,000
2003 Infiniti I35 58K Sold
1984 300 turbo diesel 222K

Thanks for the info...

I will keep you posted for sure. It didn't seem to overheat, and I didn't want them to start it until it gets to my mechanic, so I don't know what it'll sound like.

If they damaged the engine THEY need to fully cover the cost to replace or rebuild it. They also need to cover the cost of cleaning, inspection, and towing (If they called or approved the towtruck service).

If that were to happen to my car, I'd drive it until it seized to make them pay for a new engine.

Their insurance needs to cover you for a rental car also. I would be concerned that the cam towers starved. I would also want the pan pulled and the rod and main bearings looked at.
If they refuse then take them to court.

This is the one thing I tell customers of mine about going to these places. I charge $35.00 LABOR for a complete service and oil/filter change plus parts.

I tell them that they can have a 17 year old kid work on their car or an old fart of 54 years with 37 years experience.

They usually don't balk at the $35.00

__________________
My Truck.. 2007 DODGE, 5.9 Cummins, 6spd stick, 4X4. My car..1977 240D, OTHER WHEELS...1955 VW Oval window bug, European Delivery (Holland) with a 1700cc, 2 barrel, Porsche drum brakes. 1939 WILLYS Pick-up. 1967 Triumph 200cc Tiger Cub. 1976 Honda 550F 4cyl Motor Cycle.

I'm sure this is an everday occurence with multiple events coming to corporate headquarters every day. They've got insurance and it must get used a lot. It's cheaper to pay the insurance and replace X amount of engines than it is to pay for experienced mechanics. I've only used quick oil changes three times in my life. On one of those occasions they had drained the oil from a Ford truck transmission in another bay and then refilled the engine. They overfilled my Oldsmobile by 2 quarts.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

The problem that you face is the determination if any damage has occurred to the engine.

While it may start and run just fine, some additional cylinder and ring wear, or bearing wear, may have occurred due to the lack of sufficient oil. There is no good way to evaluate this wear, however, you may notice a drop in hot idle oil pressure from the point before this incident occurred.

If you do notice such a condition, I'd see if the mechanic will back you up with a letter in writing regarding damage to the engine.

With letter in hand, and clear evidence of incompetance, you've got a case for a new engine. These boneheads deserve to pay it.

If you shut down just about the time you saw your oil pressure fall you are probably ok. Even with a mechanic saying it is ok do not sign off for awhile though. Anything strange happening can be deemed their responsibility or if a strange noise is heard when cold starting that you never have heard before for example. Mechanic just might miss it as he thinks it is normal background noise. Individual engines have somewhat their own signatures so to speak. I assume they want their guy there to document anything said by the mechanic for possible inclusion with a insurance filling or court action. Years ago a friend of mine got a new engine when they forgot to put the drain plug back in. Or it was so loose it fell out. Unbelievable.

In reality, the OP would certainly be a perfect candidate for a new engine if he drove the vehicle for two minutes after the oil pressure reached zero.

There would be no question about the engine condition at that point.

So the moral of the story:
When facing an iminent engine rebuild take the car to cheapo-lube religously, and have a lawyer and indy on standby?

__________________
'83 300D Turbo
Current: ???K mi - 19.2mpg -> 17.4mpg -> 22.9mpg ---> ODO Died
bought at: 233.8K mi - 10MPG For $1.00
3.5 cylinders work: 320 320 100 340 280
Got insurance? FarmersReallySucks.Com

Fortunately, my wife had a camera with her:

Sorry about your trouble, but that is a great car color!

__________________
85' 300D No inspection, No registration fees, Cheap insurance
"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're going to see some serious %$&^."

Did she get a picture of the dipstick and oil level?
If there was only one or two quarts left, and the o-ring was missing, this amount could easily have drained down from the oil filter housing by the time you got towed back to the oil change facility. This could mean that the oil pump was sucking air for a period of time even with one or two quarts in the oil filter housing. You wont be able to determine the damage without an engine teardown if it did not reach the point of catastrophic failure.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

No, we didn't. When they checked the dipstick back at Valvoline nothing showed. They re-filled it with 4 quarts and put on a new filter. That's where I'm getting my 1 to 2 quart measure. I didn't want them to touch it again, but they kept telling me that if they didn't fill it and change the filter they would not be responsible for anything.

It is at my mechanic's now and hopefully he can look at it in the morning. I just want it back and running.