How long does it take for engine damage to show up after running without enough oil?

Question

Got an oil change in a 2019 Hyundai Kona at a Valvoline quick change shop at 50,000 miles. 5 weeks and 1,800 miles later, the oil light came on. A check showed no oil on the dipstick.

Towed to the dealership and they added oil - it poured out on ground. On the lift, the tech found the oil plug lying in the drain pan and no oil in the car. They said that the oil plug was not properly tightened and had vibrated loose over the time since the change. They refilled and the engine operated. But 2 weeks and 200 miles later the engine started knocking. Towed it in to the dealership.

The engine was still full of oil, but the engine had seized from the damage and would have to be replaced. I had the engine examined for any other damage or recall (such as the fuel pump) and nothing was found. Nothing else can be found wrong with the engine not related to the oil loss.

The original oil change business will not pay. They say that the damage from the loss of oil would have shown up immediately, not 200 miles later. Is this correct? Could it have taken 200 miles of driving to show up?

Answer 1

There is no clearly defined time after which low oil damage will become apparent. But your experience sounds typical to me. There are any number of Youtube videos that show running engines without oil and it's amazing how long they last, but they do eventually fail.

In this case an improperly torqued drain plug could take some time to work its way loose. How long depends on how loose it was. But lacking any other work on the engine or damage from road debris (that would likely be visible) it's the shop's fault.

You may need to sue the oil change place to get any kind of settlement but I'd start with an attorney-crafted demand letter. From what you've said they are liable but it's easy to just say, "we're not responsible" and hope you go away.

Answer 2

While it may be true that the plug wasn't tightened properly and the oil poured out, this in itself wouldn't cause engine damage.

The damage is caused by driving the car after the oil waring light came on.

Did you stop the car immediately, or did you continue driving for a distance?

If you stopped immediately and had the car towed, then in theory, there should be no damage. If you continued to drive ignoring the warning light, then you are in effect partly responsible for the damage.

To answer the question about how long it can take for the damage to show up, then it will vary greatly. Once a machined surface has been scratched due to a lack of oil, new oil will not be able to stop the moving surfaces coming into contact, so further wear will occur. It could take minutes or weeks for the damage to escalate sufficiently to be noticable.

Answer 3

I once attended a country fun day where a dozen old cars had the oil drained and then charged about until they seized. I was amazed how long it took, but from memory, it was around half an hour and one was still ok after that. That would have been around 45 years ago and with modern oils I expect they would have lasted longer.