Now I will be forced to detail my engine bay!

[golfdude]

I was thinking of detailing the Crossfire`s engine bay earlier today, but my Dad took the Crossfire to get its oil changed at the dealership. When my dad picked it up, he drove it home without knowing what was going to happen. Then, while mid-corner, the battery light came on, and the car lost its power steering. He told me that the car could barely turn, as if the steering wheel was set in concrete. Well, he crippled the car home, and called the dealership. He told me to watch the car thinking that it would catch on fire because of the strong smell and fog of oil. Well, after pushing the car outside of the garage, we opened the hood and found oil all over the place, smoke coming from near the brake fluid reservoir, as well as a damaged accessory belt. The tow truck came and brought the car back to the dealership. The culprit…someone forgot to tighten some sort of sealing ring (I think it was for the oil filter), and the hot oil escaped it’s boundaries, burned the accessory belt, caused the belt to tear, which then caused the power steering to fail. Well, the mechanics cleaned the mess up decently, but I was kind of frustrated when I found dots on my grille (see the last pic), as well as some remaining oil and dirt marks on the easy-to-see engine cover. After all this, the dealership said they were sorry for the inconvenience. It surprised me that this was their only response…the driver could have got into an accident and all they say is sorry? They did not even refund our over $200 for this oil change/service.



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[golfdude]

After the dealership cleaning



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[stilez]

Yikes!





Get out the industrial degreaser!





Good Luck with it...I would push to get more covered.

[holland_patrick]

Man that suck`s ... but you have the skills to clean it..

[wlhump]

Don`t worry about the cosmetics of the engine bay. There are more than enough experts here that can help you resolve this problem far better than the dealer ever could. :xyxthumbs



I would be more worried about the internal damage to the engine. It only takes a few seconds of oil starvation to destoy sealing and bearing surfaces. You might not see it now, but you may have taken several thousand miles off the life of that engine in a mile or two. :angry



I would force the dealer to give you at minimum an extended warranty on the engine. If you talked to a couple expert engine builders, you could probably get enough backup to make them replace the engine in total.

[imported_Intel486]

wow, I`ve heard of things happening like this before.



Did you check the oil level at all before the tow truck came to see just how much leaked out?

[kartoon]

And people keep asking me why I bother changing my own oil. This is the reason.

I know it doesn`t happen often but it does happen.



You cleaned it up really nice :xyxthumbs

[imported_hadboosttroy]

looks like they cleaned it up pretty good all things considered. i would be pretty mad about future engine problems though.

[golfdude]

Holland_Patrick: stop flattering me! :bigups



kartoon: I myself did not clean the engine...the dealer just cleaned it themselves with degreaser.



Unfortunately, I did not check the oil level because I was fearing hot oil splatter...the engine bay was very hot as-is, and the dipstick was also covered in the hot oil.

[imported_MDSUPERSTAR]

Wow. I would be right back into that dealership! I would not be paying for the oil change, and I would raise complete hell. They would be paying me for an engine detail (Get a quote from a detailer ON PAPER and take it to them asking for the estimate price), as well as having them agree to replacing anything that was damaged and looks ANYTHING less than new. I would not less this go with a "Sorry about that" and half-assed attempt at cleaning the mess.



Just my .02 cents..

[White95Max]

I do EVERYTHING I can as far as maintenance to my car because I worry about dumb mistakes like that. I would also be concerned about internal engine damage due to oil starvation. I would be really upset about what happened. When I had my 93 Taurus years ago, my power steering would go out randomly. I know what it`s like to be in the middle of a turn and all of a sudden have no power assist. It`s scary when that catches you by surprise in the middle of a busy intersection.

[Scottwax]

Wow. I would be right back into that dealership! I would not be paying for the oil change, and I would raise complete hell. They would be paying me for an engine detail (Get a quote from a detailer ON PAPER and take it to them asking for the estimate price), as well as having them agree to replacing anything that was damaged and looks ANYTHING less than new. I would not less this go with a "Sorry about that" and half-assed attempt at cleaning the mess.



Just my .02 cents..



Same here. Customer service really sucks these days.

[Boongie]

I suggest that you contact the Chrysler zone office and inform them of what happened. Based on the dealer`s lack of proper response to this problem, you may want to elevate this beyond their level. Good thing that you had taken pictures.

[knowdogg]

:angry check out. (cross fire fourm .org) I think you should sue the basterds where the heck is place :woot:

[Corey Bit Spank]

Chrysler dealers are horrible. If they are a "5 star" dealership it may be worth contacting Chrysler.