OneFastRX8

Well, I got an oil change at the stealership on Tuesday... I went out today to drive my car (I don't drive much since I live in a city) and the oil light was on... No oil under the car. Hmmmm... So I check it and sure as **** there is no oil in the car. I guess I will have it towed to the stealership so that they can tell me that there is no damage to the engine (of course) and replace the oil.

Anybody have experience with this and if so what should I do... Should I call Mazda USA or the dealer?

Texas 8

I'd call and complain to anyone who will listen(service tech, service manager, general manager, owner, MNAO, the President of the United States, whoever it takes). It is unacceptable, and could cause irreversible damage to the motor. This isn't a minor oversight like forgetting to put down the little paper floormat thingys. This is a big friggin deal that needs to be remedied. Good luck.

BlueEyes

You seem not to like dealerships (or stealerships) so why not learn how to change your own oil? then this would never happen. I do it, on a leased car no less and toyota doesn't give a rats ***, so I can't imagine mazda would.

mdmaclean

I would think that you would want to phone mazda corporate to make sure that your potential warrantee issue is properly registered. The dealership will probably cover it up and if you have problems down the line, pretend it never happened.

Of course, maybe I have watched X-Files too many times.

Gomez

I smell a rat. The oil level light would have been on before you left the dealership if there was no oil in there. The oil pressure idiot gauge would have been at the lower stop, too.

Or did you ignore all that and drive it home with the light on.....?

KYLiquid

you can change it yourself or go to a quick lube place, although they usualy have a worse rep for putting in oil than dealers.

who knows, maby the dealer he bought it from gave him x number of free oil changes.

I always do mine myself, on all my cars. I buy oil/filter and note on the receipt the miles on the car and make sure the date is on the receipt. I then file them with all the other paper work on my car. That way if there is ever a questions about it related to a warrenty or something i can show them all that stuff and it makes a pretty strong case that i stayed up with my end of the maitanence

samsonite1

Agreed. Get the troll spray

OneFastRX8

Nope, but the wierd thing is it was on when I started the car tonight and I saw it and while I was looking at it it went off... About 15 seconds later it came back on... So I killed the engine... I don't really feel like starting it again to find out...

Admittedly there is a little bit of oil in it.. It is between the Low mark and the bottom of the stick... And the pressure was/is fine...

OneFastRX8

It just occured to me there is another option to this problem... Maybe they never did the oil change at all and my level is low from driving.... Any way to check?

OneFastRX8

Reasons why I don't change my own Oil:

1. No Time...
2. No Place (live in city)
3. Hate doing it
4. Disposing of oil means putting it inside my car... not a big fan of that
5. If I f it up I get to buy a new engine

I used to change my oil on my old GTI but I also know the VR6 engine a lot better than this one and lived in a house in the burbs at the time ;-)

truemagellen

not to scare the **** out of people on this forum but I WANT to change my oil but several years ago my dad's friend was out under the car and the risers he bought (high end) blew out on a corner...unfortunately his face was near that corner...he died almost instantly. He had changed the oil on every car he had for 40 years or more...10 of them on these risers...yikes.

so I'm a scared wuss to try :o

Razz1

Just add 1 to 1/4 quart of Oil.

YOu have oil it's low.

Don't go back to that dealer.

WillErickson

A much easier solution would be to use ramps, get a set at Wal-Mart for $25.00

Jdunsh

I had my first oil change done at the dealership, checked it no more than two days later and it was jet black and looked like it had 20000 miles on it. I've changed it myself ever since. I don't raise the car at all either, just found a short oil pan and I reach under, works great for me and I know its being done right. If you're worried about what do to with the old oil, just dump it into the sewer :-D JUST KIDDING

RotaMotion

Man, idiot "I don't care about your ride because it's not mine" servicing just kills me. Yeah, I agree that the dealership will say the engine is fine. And it probably is fine, but how many miles got taken off it due to no oil pressure?

You might have lost 25,000 or more miles of engine life. Who knows? Engines ultimately die because their parts wear out. Having no oil will obviously cause things to wear out faster. A 75,000-mile rotary will probably run as good as a 25,000-mile rotary, but the 75K one is 50K closer to death.

I would make a major $hit storm with Mazda North America and get them to cover the engine over its life span--what's that 150K, 200K--from any problems that could have happened the dealership not putting oil in it. I think the first thing you would notice is increased oil consumption, lower gas mileage, and lower compression from the "accelerated wear" of having no oil.

Just my 2 cents worth, well maybe a nickel…

P.S. Like some of the other posts, I still don't understand how you got your car home without any oil. The reason I ask is that I would be very surprised if Mazda didn't ask too

Gomez

Yes. The new stuff will be clean. A lot cleaner than oil thats done 5000 miles (yes, I know there is old oil in there from the stuff retained in the coolers).

You'd probably still have the old oil filter, too. It will be covered in grit and dirt. A paranoid person would put a scratch on his oil filter before sending the car off for a service.......

If the level was that low, I'm tipping they missed the change. BTW, you should check your oil more often.........

Gomez.

OneFastRX8

Yeah, it was never done... Mystery solved! At least that is better than the alternative... From now on I am self inspecting the oil filter post changes. At least they were very up front and honest about it. Which makes me happy...

guy321

1. Takes less time than taking it to the dealer and waiting for them to "wash" your car.
2. You can do it in the spot that you park your car without jacking your car up if you get a low profile pan.
3. You'd hate having to get a new engine more, wouldn't you?
4. Put it in the trunk.
5. Save the money and buy a "call girl" for an hour.


Glad your car is fine and they just didn't do it though!

OneFastRX8

I'm glad too!!!

5. Save the money and buy a "call girl" for an hour.
If I get a $29 call girl I'm going to have bigger problems than an oil change ;-P

guy321

I ment the 8k that it costs to buy a new engine But your interpretation is much more funny!!

Gomez

Good result. Now, get in the habit of checking your oil more often...

RX-GR8

i always scratch the filter before taking it in for an oil change. last time the invoice said they put 6 qurats of bulk oil in. i've told the mechanic on at least one occasion that it doesn't take 6 quarts but he keeps on doing it. and i have a feeling bulk oil is not 5w-20.

RX-GR8

yes it was. :D

msrecant

Oil changes must be pretty expensive in your part of the country. :D

snizzle

Now I change my oil myself.... they put in way too much oil in my car the first and only time I had the dealer do my car, i guess they figured it was just like any 'ol car. Your story is much worse though. And I thought I was pissed about the situation....