Did the mechanic damage our car?

Question

I purchased a 125k mile 2005 Toyota Camry in good condition and with a good service history about 5 months ago. It was due for its second oil change since we've owned it so my wife took it in to a nearby Meineke Car Care Center. After the car was in the garage for 10-15 minutes, a technician told my wife we had an oil leak. He took her back to see it and she saw oil all over. It was splattered on the underside of the car hood, on top of the manifold, and basically everywhere else. The oil was not dirty or grimy. He explained that there was a leak in the valve cover gasket. They wanted to charge $500 to fix the leak.

We declined the repair and took it to the place we bought it. He told my wife that the leak was so bad, she would likely not make it home without ending up on the side of the road. The oil was seeping from the side of the valve cover. When he would wipe it off, more would immediately flow out, almost like wiping blood from an open wound. He expressed his opinion on what happened and repaired the leak for $40. He also showed me the valve cover gasket. It was split cleanly in half.

After the repair, I've driven 500+ miles and have not lost any oil.

I've intentionally left out his opinion and have only included absolute facts because I want to hear unbiased, third-party thoughts on what may have happened.

I know very little about automotives, but I had no reason to think anything was wrong with my car prior to taking it to Mechanic. The oil light was not on, there was no obvious indication of oil under the car where we park, and there was no smell of burning oil. In fact, just a few days prior to taking it to the shop, we had driven the car 300 miles in one day with no indications of trouble.

Is it possible that I had a leak before taking it to Meineke?

What does it sound like may have happened at the Meineke?

Answer 1

I think Meineke was taking you for a ride (pun intended). Here is my reasoning:

• If it was leaking as bad as they say (or showed you) it was, you wouldn't have had any oil in your vehicle when you got to their shop.

• If the car was having the massive oil leaks all over the engine compartment as they showed you, there would have been VOLUMES of smoke from it as you were driving the car.

• While women are just as capable as men, many of those who work in such shops don't see it that way. They will see a female come in and tell all kinds of stories in hopes that they will bite and pay for a repair they don't need, or in this case, possibly causing an issue which will need to be fixed.

• I don't know how easily they could have done something to your car in under 15 minutes, but I wouldn't put it past an unscrupulous shop.

You did the right thing (obviously) by taking it to the place where you bought it from. It sounds like they treated you correctly and got your car back on the road for a minimal amount of funds.

If I were you, it would thus be my word of mouth advertising to tell all of your friends not to frequent said Meineke shop. Do I think all Meineke shops are like this? By no means. It seems this one sure has taken the low road, though.

Answer 2

I can't say for sure what happened AT the shop, but that much oil would have caused a very strong oil smell coming out of the air ducts. Probably lots of smoke from the oil on the manifold too. Which leads me to the conclusion that whatever happened, happened at the workshop. I can't think of a hypothetical way in which one can cause the gasket to break by doing something covertly in 10 minutes. I could probably make your head gasket blow by draining your radiator and letting the car run for 10-15 minutes, but that's a totally different scenario.

Answer 3

The part of your question mentioning doing a trip before the 'oil leak' coming to anyone's attention may be important. Did you check and top up the oil before the trip, or even during the trip? The point of this is: Was the oil filler cap secure or secured properly if the oil was topped up?, if not you will get oil blowing around under the hood. The second part of the matter is, was the $500 strictly and only for the gasket change, or was it a bill for other work and a cam cover gasket replacement? Motor vehicles generate a surprizing amount of emotion in thier owners, with many just not believing that thier vehicle has a fault at all. This usually means the technician is portrayed as a villian in the piece, but usually, on critical evaluation, is merely doing his job.

Answer 4

I dont see how valve cover gasket can get broken in that way unless the valve cover was loose or removed or they pushed in a screwdriver to break the gasket. Maybe there was a small leak and somebody in the shop decided to check it out using a screwdriver? It is impossible to tell how much oil per mile you were loosing so can't tell if the leak was already there or not. Of course it is easier for a person who saw the original problem to have a guess about why this happened. I hope you would eventually put the opinion of your mechanic to your post.

BTW Oil change every 5 months? I think it is way too often. If you are using syntethic oils, you can do 1 year/10,000 mile changes. Here is a thread about this on Toyota Camry Here is some info about oil changes intervals

In my VW with long life oil I am able to do 2 year/18,500 mile changes.