[Minato]

Yeah got my touring serviced a month ago for an oil change, and today the car leaked completely as I was leaving a gas station.
Basically what happened is that they probably didn’t screw the bolt in properly. Because it fell off as it was being put on the tow truck(called honda emergency roadside assistance)
Since I needed the car this weekend and its a long weekend too I got it towed back to costco where they’ll get it working again for me.
I took pictures and also of the bolt on the tow truck.

I easily can get compensated for this right? Like this is crazy what kind of incompetence they have there. I did my own oil changes on my 2009 civic with basic tools and never had this happen to me.
This easily could’ve happened when I was stuck in traffic today on my way home back from work especially on a bridge too.

 

[hasbulla]

Sorry this happened to you, and I hope that everything works out.

Something tells me the dealership will try to deny it was a result of their work, since the oil change was done a month ago. What type of compensation were you looking for?

 

[Minato]

Sorry this happened to you, and I hope that everything works out.

Something tells me the dealership will try to deny it was a result of their work, since the oil change was done a month ago. What type of compensation were you looking for?

I hope at the very least they reimburse my costco bill for the oil change and get me a warranty on the engine since its a lease I don’t want them telling me there’s issues with the engine when I give the car back. I even called them before knowing anything about the bolt , and told them that I couldn’t wait till Tuesday and will have to go to a garage and the receptionist said it was fine. I’ll see this Tuesday when I raise a huge fuss over it.

but yeah Costco came through and the car is good now

 

[dxdxto]

Re: Costco - lucky you, around here they don't do oil, only tires.

I haven't started doing oil changes on my '22 because I still have one free oil change from the dealer, but I've just stared doing in them on my '16, the procedure is identical. The dealer I used to take the '16 to was doing oil changes at cost, but I got tired of them - it takes 3 hours with getting there and they upsell heavily. No, guys, I am not going to bleed the brakes at 40k. So, let me tell you how that went.

I jack the car and try to take splash shield off. First screw comes out with some effort and I can see that the cross is torque-damaged. I try the second screw - nothing. I spend the entire morning there - and it won't come out. I the end I cut the plastic around it and take off that way. WD40 it from the other side, drill the hole for a screw extractor, and try to turn. And it starts turning with the riveted bolt. In the end after heat gun and more WD40 and vice grips I get it out. And then I realize that the screws are different - the stubborn one is longer and way more rusted. It's as if they already replaced it once and the spare came from eBay. At least the drain screw was at max torque - needed a breaking bar to get it started.

 

[MeefZah]

Re: Costco - lucky you, around here they don't do oil, only tires.

I haven't started doing oil changes on my '22 because I still have one free oil change from the dealer, but I've just stared doing in them on my '16, the procedure is identical. The dealer I used to take the '16 to was doing oil changes at cost, but I got tired of them - it takes 3 hours with getting there and they upsell heavily. No, guys, I am not going to bleed the brakes at 40k. So, let me tell you how that went.

I jack the car and try to take splash shield off. First screw comes out with some effort and I can see that the cross is torque-damaged. I try the second screw - nothing. I spend the entire morning there - and it won't come out. I the end I cut the plastic around it and take off that way. WD40 it from the other side, drill the hole for a screw extractor, and try to turn. And it starts turning with the riveted bolt. In the end after heat gun and more WD40 and vice grips I get it out. And then I realize that the screws are different - the stubborn one is longer and way more rusted. It's as if they already replaced it once and the spare came from eBay. At least the drain screw was at max torque - needed a breaking bar to get it started.

View attachment 11086

The 22 uses two different screws for its skid so it's possible those are factory... although IIRC one is a bolt and one is like a quarter turn Phillips (or JIS more likely). I had to Dremel a slot in one of the bolt heads to get mine off and that was in the first month of ownership!

 

[Zeroptzero]

The 22 uses two different screws for its skid so it's possible those are factory... although IIRC one is a bolt and one is like a quarter turn Phillips (or JIS more likely). I had to Dremel a slot in one of the bolt heads to get mine off and that was in the first month of ownership!

I hate that about those skid plate bolts, they corrode in place despite being so new. I think it is a dissimilar metal issue, aluminum and steel mix, and they can strip out easily. I coated mine with a lot of anti-sieze when I re-assembled mine on the 1st oil change. I will be doing the second one next weed so we will see how they come out.

For the OP, I always torque the oil pan bolt and oil filter in place, I don't want to chance it. I don't know why a dealership would not do that, other than saving 2 minutes of time. People will argue why oil filters are torqued in place, but as you an see user error happens more often than one might think. Wheels, oil pan bolts, oil filters, all get torqued to spec on my car.

 

[kri5tian]

I hate that about those skid plate bolts, they corrode in place despite being so new. I think it is a dissimilar metal issue, aluminum and steel mix, and they can strip out easily. I coated mine with a lot of anti-sieze when I re-assembled mine on the 1st oil change. I will be doing the second one next weed so we will see how they come out.

For the OP, I always torque the oil pan bolt and oil filter in place, I don't want to chance it. I don't know why a dealership would not do that, other than saving 2 minutes of time. People will argue why oil filters are torqued in place, but as you an see user error happens more often than one might think. Wheels, oil pan bolts, oil filters, all get torqued to spec on my car.

What do you guys mean by "torque in place?" I would be irate if that happened to me. They would probably end up calling the cops on me because I would raise hell about that. You'd think that going to the dealership is the responsible thing to do. I change my own oil because I'm a cheap bastard and it's simple enough to do. Plus, synthetic oil is expensive so I doubt the stealerships are using Mobile 1 like me. I see specials for oil changes and laugh because they are damn near as much as I pay for my oil + filter, so I don't trust what they would use. I hand tighten my filter without a wrench and I use a socket for the oil plug and just make sure it's tight. I'm surprised that Civics have a splash shield to remove. I don't know how I feel about that. My '02 Civic and my wife's '11 Pilot don't have one. I mean, on the one hand it's cool, I guess, but are they really serving that much of a purpose? I hate those plastic fasteners. They always break! I feel bad for the original poster. Just go in there calmly (I don't think I could practice what I preach), explain the situation, and see what they say. If they don't make it right, then just tell them you're going to get on every forum and site (Reddit, Instagram, the whole 9 yards) and name check them about how they have workers that don't pay attention to the simplest of details. Making it right to me would be aa many free oil changes as it would be to equal the cost of the towing, I guess. It's actually good it's a lease because I doubt this did enough damage to impact the engine enough to make a noticeable difference before the lease it up. If it was your own baby you purchased you'd be doubly sick over it. Chin up, it will be ok.

 

[Zeroptzero]

What do you guys mean by "torque in place?" I would be irate if that happened to me. They would probably end up calling the cops on me because I would raise hell about that. You'd think that going to the dealership is the responsible thing to do. I change my own oil because I'm a cheap bastard and it's simple enough to do. Plus, synthetic oil is expensive so I doubt the stealerships are using Mobile 1 like me. I see specials for oil changes and laugh because they are damn near as much as I pay for my oil + filter, so I don't trust what they would use. I hand tighten my filter without a wrench and I use a socket for the oil plug and just make sure it's tight. I'm surprised that Civics have a splash shield to remove. I don't know how I feel about that. My '02 Civic and my wife's '11 Pilot don't have one. I mean, on the one hand it's cool, I guess, but are they really serving that much of a purpose? I hate those plastic fasteners. They always break! I feel bad for the original poster. Just go in there calmly (I don't think I could practice what I preach), explain the situation, and see what they say. If they don't make it right, then just tell them you're going to get on every forum and site (Reddit, Instagram, the whole 9 yards) and name check them about how they have workers that don't pay attention to the simplest of details. Making it right to me would be aa many free oil changes as it would be to equal the cost of the towing, I guess. It's actually good it's a lease because I doubt this did enough damage to impact the engine enough to make a noticeable difference before the lease it up. If it was your own baby you purchased you'd be doubly sick over it. Chin up, it will be ok.

To get oil to flow as a 0w-20 it pretty much has to be full synthetic, maybe not as good as Mobil1 but it will be a high quality oil no matter what brand is used.

The oil pan bolt has a tightening torque spec for installation, I think it is something like 30 ft lbs (I'd have to check to be sure) , when I install mine I use a torque wrench. The oil filter also has a torque spec for tightening and I use a torque wrench with a cap when I install mine. Most people wont do that, and most people will use the 3/4 -7/8th turn after gasket contact for tightening the oil filter, there is nothing wrong with that method but using a torque setting is fool proof for me.

Going hand tight on any bolt is a bit risky IMO as everyone has a different idea of what hand-tight is, as seen with this oil pan bolt coming loose. It can also workt the other way when bolts get over-tightened and stripped. I see issues happen all the time with wheels and lugnuts, manufacturers give you a torque spec for tightening for a reason and that is the proper way to do it. Everyone can follow the routine they want, but every once and a while things can bite you if things are not done correctly.

 

[kri5tian]

Ok so by "torque in place" you just mean using a torque wrench. Got it. Yeah, I hear you, it is always best to follow the OEM specs for torque. I certainly won't argue with that. I always use a torque wrench for my lug nuts. For my oil filter, I pull out the rubber gasket, spread some oil on it, then tighten it by hand. I started doing this about 20 years ago (I bought my '02 civic brand new) because when I went to change my oil after a dealer-provided free oil change, the bastards had tightened the filter so tightly that I had to get a strap wrench and use a lot of strength to get it off (I lift and I'm far from weak). I found that to be completely ridiculous. I have never had a problem tightening the filter by hand. As for a drain bolt coming loose, that's simply gross negligence. The "mechanic" at the stealership probably hand tightened the bolt and meant to come back and use a wrench but forgot. If the guy actually went by "feel" like I do, then he's a poor excuse. Again, I agree with you, using a torque wrench is the way to go, but you also have to use common sense. It's not like we get our wrenches sent out to a calibration lab every 6 months for certification 😁

 

[dxdxto]

I hate that about those skid plate bolts, they corrode in place despite being so new. I think it is a dissimilar metal issue, aluminum and steel mix, and they can strip out easily.

They should have been stainless steel hex head bolts (which is what I now have), and the nut should have never been open on top.

 

[wilbur_the_goose]

Heck - I had Scott Honda in West Chester, PA fail to properly reinstall the shield after an oil change. Had to take it to an indy to fix it because there was NO way I was going back to the dealer.

 

[Zeroptzero]

Heck - I had Scott Honda in West Chester, PA fail to properly reinstall the shield after an oil change. Had to take it to an indy to fix it because there was NO way I was going back to the dealer.

Every car I've owned in recent years was missing those pesky bolts , Hondas and Subarus, they all have the same design and the bolts go missing or don't get re-installed properly , they corrode to top it off.

 

[CivicGirl]

Dealerships are over rated and over priced. The mechanics are underpaid and most lack skills. You are lucky if 1 or 2 mechanics know what they are doing. The junior guys or rookies are enslaved, told to do the simple stuff with no training or supervision. The senior guys are told to break something or make something to become defective on the vehicle so you will have to come back in a week or two. Most dealers are racketeers only to scam the new car owner of more money. Always stay far away from Dealerships unless you have a Warranty and know what is in need of repair. Call Toyota first, tell them the symptoms/problems you are having and let them schedule your appointment for repair. If a dealer gets too many complaints and Toyota keeps paying for repetitive repairs, Toyota will drop their contract with that dealership then they'll have to seek another automaker brand to sell or become a Used Car Dealer. As mentioned, Dealerships will do their best not to do the job properly and indicate that you did it or failed to come in for your recommended and required Maintenance Checks. Dealers will blame you before taking the blame themselves. All they want is your money.