'o1 Alero - No Oil

junie07 · 07-24-2006, 08:08 AM

I had the GM dealer perform regular scheduled mainetance on the my '01 Alero (40K miles), including an oil change. The dealer failed to put oil in the car. I left the dealership and after less that a mile the car shut down. The oil light came on and all power was lost.

The dealer / service manager is saying that the car will automatically shut down if there is no oil pressure and that no damage was done. He now says the car is ready with no problems.

My concern is that the engine was possibley damaged and while it my be fine now those problems may show themselves later or the engine life has been cut short.

I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions on what should be done....

...demand a new engine, take the dealers word that all is fine and ask for a warrenty period on the engine to cover any unforseen problems as result of running the engine while it had no oil.

BNaylor · 07-24-2006, 08:52 AM

Welcome to AF.

Which engine do you have?

It sounds like you may have a serious situation on your hands. If what the dealer was saying was true then how come the engine did not shut down at startup? Are you sure there was no oil put in (omitted) or was it just low due to not enough oil? There is an oil level sensor in the oil pan. However, it is possible you may have engine damage.

junie07 · 07-24-2006, 09:29 AM

2.4L, LD9....there was no oil. I thought the same thing...when the dealer brought the car out, at that point it should have shut down.

BNaylor · 07-24-2006, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by junie07

2.4L, LD9....there was no oil. I thought the same thing...when the dealer brought the car out, at that point it should have shut down.

If there was no oil then the dealer has some form of liability or negligence in the matter. Hard to say whether any possible engine damage will be short term or long term but I'd get something in writing that they will handle the matter or give you a warranty on the engine just in case. It is something you will have to work out with the dealer. Good luck.

biv343 · 07-24-2006, 03:10 PM

Personally I wouldn't let them get away with anything less than rebuilding the engine or replacing it with a rebuilt engine. Who knows what might pop up a year or so down the road. Even less than a mile with no oil will cause bearing damage. Heck, pulling it out of the service bay would be enough to scuff things up.

Point is, they screwed up, you shouldn't have to pay for their incompetence.

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