-
Dodgy Car Servicing?
I have just had my car back after being serviced by a Reputable Ford main dealer.
When I looked at the oil on the dipstick it was black and so convinced that the oil hadn’t been changed I went back to the garage to complain.
The service receptionist told me they often get people querying whether or not oil changes had been carried out because the oil they use is quite dark to begin with.
The service manager (who is also a neighbour of mine) assures me the oil was changed and tried to convince me that the oil they use is very dark and Diesel engines tend to produce black oil again very soon after they have been changed.
I’m still not convinced – but because he is a neighbour I have taken his word that the service was carried out fully.
I looked at everything else – air filter, fluid levels and these have been changed or topped up. The engine oil filter sits inside a canister so I can’t tell if it has been changed or not.
Is there a way I can check if the oil really was changed. This is a reputable ford main dealer so I would be very suprised if it hadn’t been done yet I still have my doubts or am I just being paranoid?
-
9 Replies
-
Can you check the oil filter?????? If they’ve changed the oil they will have changed the filter……….. (?)
-
Paranoid :yes1:
It’s more than they dare to try at a main dealership.
If they get caught out once, they would lose the dealership for good. -
If it was Arnold Clark it wouldn’t surprise me 🙄 Had very bad experiences with them 🙁
My oil filter is an element too, however I can’t remember if you need to drop the oil before removing it, Mine sits right at the top of the engine so I guess I could remove it without dropping the oil.
-
quote Garrie:If it was Arnold Clark it wouldn’t surprise me 🙄 .
Correct! I’ve heard loads of people having problems with Arnold Clark.
It’s true that when you turn over the engine the new oil will mix with what’s left of the old stuff, but if it’s black then that wouldn’t be very reassuring to me either. If it’s a cartridge oil filter it will be internal and you won’t see it, but if you can check yours look and see, it’s very unusual for an oil change to be done and the old filter left.
-
The oil filter is a cartridge that fits inside a casing so I can’t tell if it’s been changed or not.
I should say it was not an Arnold Clark dealership.
-
Phill,
In my experience of oil changes on engines petrol and diesel the new oil will only appear clean on the dipstick for a very short time after the engine has been filled, and I mean minutes of running. Most modern diesels are doing in excess of 5000 miles between changes and despite the fact they are very clean engines they have a good deal of carbon in the oil. The new oil, which will have a cleaning effect as it passes through the oil system and will become black within minutes of running, if the car was road tested after service that will have been more than enough time to change its apparent colour. If you drain a hot engine of say 5 litres of oil you will certainly leave nearly half a cup of oil in the engine. That half a cup of old mixing with the new will change it’s colour. Think of The same amount of black paint into clean water.
Have a look at the engine bay and engine, has the oil filler cap been removed, look for disturbed dirt, greasy finger prints, wipe marks from a piece of rag, look at bolt heads for signs of removal (shiny marks), clean filter bodies and of course look at the sump plug for the signs of removal.Steve
-
Like Steve – any residual oil in the system will quickly colour the new stuff….within just a few miles.
Diesels are always much dirtier than petrols – so that quarter litre of manky oil ‘suspended’ in the engine goes a long, long way.
The best test to see if it’s just a bit dirty is to pull the dip stick an see if it’s thin & BLACK or a dirty brown with reasonable viscosity.
The only way to get ‘new’ oil is to flush, refill & flush again – not worth it for engine oil, just things like gearbox fluid
It’s not worth a garage NOT changing the oil – they pay sweeties for it anyway, and not doing it by mistake is a possibility if they were jumping between jobs.
-
The other thing to consider Phil, Main dealers seldom remove the sump plug. in fact some cars dont even have one!
Due to health and safety, most use a pump and suck it out through the dip stick tube,. This is not ideal as a quantity of oil can be left behind so quickly discolouring the new.You must have a very old car if the filter is a canister type, I thought all modern cars used cartriges?
Peter
-
I know where you are coming from Phill. I’ve just had my Vito serviced, and they gave me a bill that included $5.00 for the window washer fluid.
Thing is I’d just filled the window fluid the night before, with my own concoction, so when I saw the bill, I’ve got to wonder if they checked everything they charged me for, or just ticked the boxes on the computer.
When I questioned them, they thought I was very Jewish complaining about the $5, but I was actually complaining about being charged for something that was clearly not done.
It also happened to me when I had a warranty claim, my radio would not work properly, with an intermittent fault.
They had my vehicle for the day, and said they could not fault the radio at all. They wrote in the report that they had removed and inspected the radio blah blah, and said it was fine. Thing is, my dash was very dusty and when I got back into the van, noticed the dust had not been disturbed.
I ranted and raved to the service manager, and he finally admitted that they had only turned the radio on for a minute or two and it seemed OK. When they did take it out when I finished ranting, they discovered a pinched wire that was shorting out on the frame.
I don’t really trust them anymore, but they are the only Mercedes Dealer close to me, but I always doubt they do what they charge me for now 😕
As has been said though, not changing the oil during a scheduled service would be suicide in terms of the franchise.
Log in to reply.
