Oil fire 2022 Dodge Charger

[Orange Juice]

So the dealer service department forgot to put something back on, in my car engine during and oil change, and I drove off. 4 miles down the road, my car is smoking to the point I can’t see the front of my hood.

Open the hood, and the alternator is bubbling in oil, and heavy smoke. Oil was everywhere under the hood, and dripped all the way to the rear of the car. The serpentine belt was soaked. As well as everything.

I towed it back to the dealer, and they washed it and told me it’s ok, and they fill it with oil.

The car was on fire ( what temperature does synthetic oil began to smoke?) didn’t see flames.

I pulled the dipstick, and it appears dry.

Dealer tells me there not going to take care of me further than the oil change, and the engine wash.

I told them before I had it serviced, no wash. Here is a copy of the invoice. The washed the car without my permission. Covering up all evidence. I have pictures of it before they covered it up with the wash. How messed up is this. I’m afraid to drive the car. I drive it 30kmiles a year.

I want a replacement, but they will only give me $20k on trade in. They also told me they would pay less, if I file a claim with my insurance company. Cause it would not look good, and devalue my car more on car fax.

I think I need an attorney, but the car is one month too old to file it under a lemon law, and over 24k miles.

To trade it in for a new 2023, it will cost me another $30k over what I owe. That’s 30k I was not planning on for another 2-3 years.

Who has been there? Need some sharpe minded people in the car industry to help. Just happen. Car is still at the dealer

 

[Orange Juice]

 

[Orange Juice]

112f and no oil is in engine. No oil pressure.

 

[Orange Juice]

I’m feeling pretty sick this this morning’s over this.

 

[monkeyswrench]

Well, aside from the external damages, if the oil was there, it wasn't where it was supposed to be. Those valve trains are finicky, and bearings like oil.

 

[Orange Juice]

I’m going to need help? Who do I call?

 

[Orange Juice]

Car is still at dealer.

 

[ltbaney1]

try to go above whoever is telling you what you are hearing, it maybe someone outside of the dealer. i have found standing infront of them is better than phone call. if they say the need Joe the manager and go walk to get him, walk with them.

 

[RitcheyRch]

call corporate and file a complaint.

 

[DaveH]

only way to know if there was any long lasting damage would be to do an oil analysis.

drive it a few thousand miles, drain the oil and send to a lab.

if it comes back with high metallic contents, the engine will fail prematurely. then i would get an attorney.

 

[lbhsbz]

Every Chrysler engine ending in .6 or .7 is a time bomb piece of shit anyway.

Trade it and buy a real car.

 

[boatpi]

If you’re in California, making an immediate complaint with a bureau of automotive repair you can do that online
You don’t need an attorney they’ll want five or $10,000 retainer. You have to look at what damages if it’s the value of the engine what does it cost to replace the engine if you can prove that. If that is the case, what’s the cost parts and labor to replace a repair the engine that will be your damages and loss of use for a period of time.

in California I believe you can sue up to $10,000 in small claims court.

You need to line up your ducks have oil analysis compression test, perhaps by someone else and a lot of photographs. Make a complaint with the bureau automotive repair first that may get you some results.

 

[hav19]

Looks Like a Lube Tech put the O Ring in the plastic oil filter housing in the wrong location. A lot of the lube techs are Greener then Green, they will change the oil and filter and shut the hood long before even starting the engine (not the proper thing to do!!) My shop policy is we run the vehicle on the rack checking all pressure locations for leaks (oil filter, drain plug) and a test drive is performed by the tech long before the client takes delivery!!!

 

[Bigbore500r]

Sucks that happened. To be honest though - it's probably nowhere near as bad as your picturing.
Looks like it sprayed some oil of the base of the plastic filer housing, and made a mess that needs to be cleaned up.. They probably didn't remove the o-ring from the previous filter that gets stuck on the base when they changed it. There's no "oil fire" - oil will smoke when spilled on the outside of the motor, especially when on the exhaust manifolds.

If it were running itself out of oil to the point where it lost oil pressure, you would have immediately gotten an "idiot light" on the dash letting you know the oil pressure has dropped. I'd have them pay for a full professional detail on the car (underhood, under carriage and exterior) and put it in writing that if there are any engine related issues in the future that this event should be referenced and you will be taken care of by the dealer.

 

[2Driver]

Airpark jeep they suck.

They did an oil change on my Jeep and left off the entire engine cover cowling piece. I didnt notice for 3 days until I checked the oil level. When I called the service writer he said he checked with the tech and the oil tech said he put the cover back on…yeah right 3 days later he remembers my oil change.

Then the service writer said, “we have a few extras in the oil change area we will give you one this time”….yeah one of them is mine. Fuck them they are the worst and have a reputation, they are an old school POS, get a lawyer.

 

[TimeBandit]

So it is still at the dealer? Adding oil and stopping the leak did not fix it?

 

[Orange Juice]

Looks like Im fuck.

Every wiring harness was drenched with oil. The alternator was covered, smoking, and when it got below the flash point for synthetic oil (450F+), the oil was still bubbling inside the alternator cooling holes.
I drove it for 15 minutes ( 4.2 miles, before the oil got hot enough to hit the flash point). 112F outside temp.

I'm hoping the insurance company will help me recover some of the losses. My agent told me because the engine was caused from a maintenance, they more than likely won't cover it.

I'm looking for a new 23 Dodge charger GT, frostbite blue, with all the options but AWD. New on the lot. Same as my old 2022 Charger. I found one, but it's going to cost me $30k. I'll trade in the old one, after having it checked out, and documented any reduced value, for the unknown damage from the vehicle fire.

I really liked my car. I kept it parked inside, got oil changes on time, washed, and was hoping to drive it a full 5-10 years.

I can’t let this mess control my life for the foreseeable future. (Some of you might relate). I plan on writing a demand letter to the dealer, and copy the letter to the attorney general, and consumer protection agency. If I get no response, call an attorney and let him document it through the Arizona Court system, and all the other agencies we can think of in the RDP brain trust.

 

[rivrrts429]

Sucks that happened. To be honest though - it's probably nowhere near as bad as your picturing.

Maybe you missed the part the car has no oil pressure lol

 

[Orange Juice]

So it is still at the dealer? Adding oil and stopping the leak did not fix it?

Insurance adjuster is suppose to get there tomorrow. Then we tow it to another dealer, and trade it in.

 

[boatpi]

In Arizona u can sue in justice court for up to 10 grand without an attorney

 

[TimeBandit]

Insurance adjuster is suppose to get there tomorrow. Then we tow it to another dealer, and trade it in.

Let the class know how that goes, I've never heard of "towing in" a trade ? Dealers want cars they can sell, not scrap.

 

[Orange Juice]

Let the class know how that goes, I've never heard of "towing in" a trade ? Dealers want cars they can sell, not scrap.

I’m pretty sure that’s the reason Airpark Dodge in Scottsdale couldn’t figure out how to get me out of this car.

 

[LazyLavey]

Looks Like a Lube Tech put the O Ring in the plastic oil filter housing in the wrong location.

agree.. Did the same on my 300 few years ago.. caught it as my wife was driving away... she drove about 1 block and lost about 2 qts

I'd be livid...

Demand 100k B-B warranty

 

[TimeBandit]

Honestly whatever monetary damage you incur over this should be a slam dunk in small claims court.

Years ago a shop denied leaving an oil filter loose on my dad's car. they lost, and ended up putting a new engine in the car for us.

I would speak with the general manager and the dealership owner first, if you haven't done that already.

 

[Bigbore500r]

Maybe you missed the part the car has no oil pressure lol

I did miss that, I see he posted that a few posts down.

Did it actually run out of oil, and illuminate the oil pressure warning light while driving? Or are we assuming that because there was an oil leak that there is no oil pressure for the 4 miles that it drove?

Did it actually catch fire? The pics look like a small oil leak from the filter housing, that made a mess and needs to be cleaned up

 

[Big B Hova]

Your should sell that charger and buy that super clean Yukon XL Denali in the classified section!

 

[RiverDave]

Sucks that happened. To be honest though - it's probably nowhere near as bad as your picturing.
Looks like it sprayed some oil of the base of the plastic filer housing, and made a mess that needs to be cleaned up.. They probably didn't remove the o-ring from the previous filter that gets stuck on the base when they changed it. There's no "oil fire" - oil will smoke when spilled on the outside of the motor, especially when on the exhaust manifolds.

If it were running itself out of oil to the point where it lost oil pressure, you would have immediately gotten an "idiot light" on the dash letting you know the oil pressure has dropped. I'd have them pay for a full professional detail on the car (underhood, under carriage and exterior) and put it in writing that if there are any engine related issues in the future that this event should be referenced and you will be taken care of by the dealer.

This