[Aalfred]

A strange thing happened to me. After reading about the wiring harness being chewed on by mice on this forum, I decided to check under my hood as I had my car parked for a wk when I went out of town. While I was focused on looking for any signs of mice nest or droppings, I saw an oil cap right in the front brace area just sitting there. Lo and behold my engine oil cap was missing and I figured that they left the cap off and forgot to close it. I had my oil change done in Nov 2023 and Ive prob driven some 2K miles since then. Never had a low oil warning. I quickly screwed the oil cap back and called the dealership this morning and taking it in tomorrow. There are some splashes of oil around the engine hood but nothing major. Ive been doing service with this dealership for over 6 yrs with my other cars and they have been good. Maybe a one off thing but makes me wonder how many of us even bother to look under the hood at all. Had it not been for the mice problem thread, I wouldnt have either !!!

[SwankPeRFection]

Some of you really need to peek at your cars under the hood after taking in for service. I know you think you’re taking it somewhere that all the right stuff should be done, but you’d be surprised how often than not things are snapped off, not put back on right or flat out missing, EVEN at an expensive dealership. Mechanics just don’t give a fuck nowadays and this can happen.

FYI, in your particular case, you need to go ahead and get an oil change done. With the cap off, you weren’t pushing oil out from the cap area while engine was running, but it would have been sucking stuff in because that’s how negative crankcase pressure and PCV systems work, so if you drive 2k miles, dust and other crap would have contaminated your oil or could have. A preventive oil change should be done for the sake of the motor. It’s not the end of the world, but that dealership should pay for it since they fucked up. Also, please make it a habit to give your car a once over each time you pick it up, especially in the areas whatever work was done was concentrated in. That way, if you catch something, it can be documented quickly and early enough should it ever lead to an issue. Don’t be surprised if the dealership doesn’t want to do an oil change on it since they’ll probably say it’s no big deal and normally it wouldn’t be if caught quickly, but 2k without an oil cap and starting stopping and possibly even redline pulls and auto-start stop doing its thing, that’s a lot of possibility for contaminants to be pulled in and it’s also not healthy for the PCV system either, depending on type and construction of it.

But look, don’t freak out. Get an oil change done ASAP even if you have to pay for it and move on. Have the issue documented for future proofing anything that “might” come from it, but you’ll probably be OK.

[Aalfred]

Originally Posted by SwankPeRFection

Some of you really need to peek at your cars under the hood after taking in for service. I know you think you’re taking it somewhere that all the right stuff should be done, but you’d be surprised how often than not things are snapped off, not put back on right or flat out missing, EVEN at an expensive dealership. Mechanics just don’t give a fuck nowadays and this can happen.

FYI, in your particular case, you need to go ahead and get an oil change done. With the cap off, you weren’t pushing oil out from the cap area while engine was running, but it would have been sucking stuff in because that’s how negative crankcase pressure and PCV systems work, so if you drive 2k miles, dust and other crap would have contaminated your oil or could have. A preventive oil change should be done for the sake of the motor. It’s not the end of the world, but that dealership should pay for it since they fucked up. Also, please make it a habit to give your car a once over each time you pick it up, especially in the areas whatever work was done was concentrated in. That way, if you catch something, it can be documented quickly and early enough should it ever lead to an issue. Don’t be surprised if the dealership doesn’t want to do an oil change on it since they’ll probably say it’s no big deal and normally it wouldn’t be if caught quickly, but 2k without an oil cap and starting stopping and possibly even redline pulls and auto-start stop doing its thing, that’s a lot of possibility for contaminants to be pulled in and it’s also not healthy for the PCV system either, depending on type and construction of it.

But look, don’t freak out. Get an oil change done ASAP even if you have to pay for it and move on. Have the issue documented for future proofing anything that “might” come from it, but you’ll probably be OK.

Thanks. Ill make it a point to peek at it from now on. The service manager was very nice and was surprised that it happened. He did ask me to come in tomorrow to look at it and do an oil change. So hopefully they will keep their word. He was surprised that I didnt lose more oil and the low oil warning didnt come up. Will see what they find tomorrow. Hope the motor is still good.

[Weather Man]

Originally Posted by Aalfred

Thanks. Ill make it a point to peek at it from now on. The service manager was very nice and was surprised that it happened. He did ask me to come in tomorrow to look at it and do an oil change. So hopefully they will keep their word. He was surprised that I didnt lose more oil and the low oil warning didnt come up. Will see what they find tomorrow. Hope the motor is still good.

I would either add oil myself or watch them add oil before they drain it to know exactly how much oil was lost. I would not allow them to just drain and fill.

[ztx84]

Sorry to hear about this... mistakes can happen but yes, it is important to check under the hood every now and again. Years ago I had a Ford dealer leave a spanner resting on my engine after a service - fortunately I checked straight after I got home and saw it. I wasn't happy as that could have done some damage if it had hit any of the belts/pulleys whilst the engine was running.

[TxFeatFan]

Originally Posted by ztx84

Sorry to hear about this... mistakes can happen but yes, it is important to check under the hood every now and again. Years ago I had a Ford dealer leave a spanner resting on my engine after a service - fortunately I checked straight after I got home and saw it. I wasn't happy as that could have done some damage if it had hit any of the belts/pulleys whilst the engine was running.

Almost, quite literally, throwing a spanner in the works.

[Aalfred]

Originally Posted by TxFeatFan

Almost, quite literally, throwing a spanner in the works.

[SwankPeRFection]

Originally Posted by Aalfred

Thanks. Ill make it a point to peek at it from now on. The service manager was very nice and was surprised that it happened. He did ask me to come in tomorrow to look at it and do an oil change. So hopefully they will keep their word. He was surprised that I didnt lose more oil and the low oil warning didnt come up. Will see what they find tomorrow. Hope the motor is still good.

Originally Posted by Weather Man

I would either add oil myself or watch them add oil before they drain it to know exactly how much oil was lost. I would not allow them to just drain and fill.

You won’t lose oil with the cap off. It has suction on it during normal operation like I said above. You might get some vapor droplets here and there, but it’s not going to lose oil that way. You’re in more danger of sucking stuff in like dust and particles of sand, etc. as you drive. That’s why I said to change oil.

[Ilma]

I had my first annual oil change and service inspection done 1,000 km ago and recently got a low coolant warning.

When I went to unscrew the coolant cap I notice it wasn't fully turned to the locked position where the two arrows line up.

When I looked inside the reservoir, it was empty and below minimum.

You figure they check ALL fluid levels during scheduled maintenance, so I think steam leaked out around the threads of the cap since it wasn't fully seated.

I took it back and they confirmed a low coolant warning and proceeded to pressure test the cooling system and it held pressure for 20 mins....they removed the underpanels and did not find evidence of any leaks.

When I got the car back I checked the reservoir to see if they had added any coolant.

No.

The tank was still at minimum coolant level.

Go figure!

[M3_Dust]

Tl;dr

[SwankPeRFection]

Originally Posted by Ilma

I had my first annual oil change and service inspection done 1,000 km ago and recently got a low coolant warning.

When I went to unscrew the coolant cap I notice it wasn't fully turned to the locked position where the two arrows line up.

When I looked inside the reservoir, it was empty and below minimum.

You figure they check ALL fluid levels during scheduled maintenance, so I think steam leaked out around the threads of the cap since it wasn't fully seated.

I took it back and they confirmed a low coolant warning and proceeded to pressure test the cooling system and it held pressure for 20 mins....they removed the underpanels and did not find evidence of any leaks.

When I got the car back I checked the reservoir to see if they had added any coolant.

No.

The tank was still at minimum coolant level.

Go figure!

Add some coolant or distilled water. WTF is wrong with these dealer mechanics? 🙄 While you’re at it, check both coolant reservoirs for the different loops/systems (IC and engine).

[2011ninja]

My good friend just found a new job.

He was auto technician for Land Rover Range Rover.

He’s always telling me crazy stories about techs butchering the cars to make time and make money.

It never occurred to me that some of the mechanics have

Absolutely NO Formal training!

I said wait a minute you have techs with no training working on brand new Range Rovers.

He said absolutely.

Said they had a guy there for 2 years just could not grasp the skills.

Holy crap unreal!

[Aalfred]

Originally Posted by Ilma

I had my first annual oil change and service inspection done 1,000 km ago and recently got a low coolant warning.

When I went to unscrew the coolant cap I notice it wasn't fully turned to the locked position where the two arrows line up.

When I looked inside the reservoir, it was empty and below minimum.

You figure they check ALL fluid levels during scheduled maintenance, so I think steam leaked out around the threads of the cap since it wasn't fully seated.

I took it back and they confirmed a low coolant warning and proceeded to pressure test the cooling system and it held pressure for 20 mins....they removed the underpanels and did not find evidence of any leaks.

When I got the car back I checked the reservoir to see if they had added any coolant.

No.

The tank was still at minimum coolant level.

Go figure!

I had the low coolant warning in my X3 and I had about 15000 miles and gone through 2 oil changes. I know they are supposed to top off all fluids etc but I knew they didnt and when I took it in, it was indeed dry. Should have suspected something was up with this dealership but 4 yrs had passed between then and now and I figured they had changed. Should have seen the warning signs

[SwankPeRFection]

Trust your gut when red flags appear… you won’t be wrong.