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Need help! Firestone Dilemma

3K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Gottnoskill 
#1 ·
2007 Ford Fusion S - Black

So I am here asking for some advice or maybe some insight on my situation. My experience with cars is nominal at best and I recently ran into a very big situation that has left me with an engine replacement.

Back in 12/14 of last year I had an oil change done along with tire rotation and alignment at Firestone. Car ran fine for about 3,400 miles and then last week my car started making rattling sounds. Really horrible sounds from the bottom of the engine every time I accelerated.

Had it towed to the Ford Dealership and they are asking $6,600 for a new engine to be put in because there was absolutely no oil in the engine. Absolutely bone dry. I asked the mechanic what could have caused this to happen and he said he wasn't sure. I told him about my recent oil change and he said it was 'very odd' that I had just got an oil change done and this is happening. I asked if he had seen any leaks to which he replied no. The mechanic placed in 4 quarts of oil to see if the sound would stop and it would not.

The car itself had 80k miles when it entered Firestone and died at roughly 83.5k miles. The only thing I could thing of was that Firestone didn't place enough oil in the engine when they did the oil change.

I called Firestone and placed in a claim and just today A 3rd party Nationwide inspector came out to take pictures and check out the situation.

I was there for the inspection. The inspector checked to see if there was any smoke, burning oil which there was not. He took video of the engine running. Took pictures to show no leaks, and he asked the mechanic to take the filter off to check it for a serial number. We cleaned off the filter and the inspector took pictures of the serial number. The filter was bent at the middle on one side and had metal shavings in it (possibly due to the grinding of the parts in the engine). The oil that came out was completely black (this was the oil the mechanic had placed in it just a week prior to see if it would run).

Anyways I tried to just keep the story to the details here, but when I asked the inspector and mechanic what could have caused this they were both stumped. My only conclusion was I didn't get a proper oil change because really? the engine did not have any oil when I had it towed.

So to recap.

Car did not have ANY oil after 3,400 miles since the oil change
Car was not burning oil. I have never smelled any odd smells before.
Car had absolutely no leaks.
Car did not have the oil check light come on at any time.

I just would really like some insight on to how this could have happened. No one has really given me any direction to the cause.

Thanks!

Edit: I was the only owner of this vehicle.
 
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#2 ·
Something else that is very puzzling is that there was no indication of low oil from your instrumentation. No low oil pressure light?

I'm also very puzzled about black oil that was just added.

Engines can consume oil without it being obvious so checking the exhaust might not tell much. Another strange part of this is that you had not noticed oil consumption from prior oil change intervals.

I really wonder just what Firestone put in the crankcase.
 
#3 ·
So you didn't see any leaking oil during that 3,400 miles? As in, there is no oil on the floor of the garage where you park?

They must have put SOME oil in during the oil change because your car would have not lasted 3,400 miles without any (It wouldn't have made it down the street). If you can trace the problem down to the Firestone shop somehow, I would also file a claim with the Better Business Bureau. Get a few mechanics to investigate the issue into what happened.

But yes, I am puzzled as to why there was no indication of burning or leaking oil.

Also, $6600 is a little steep for a new motor in my opinion. You could get a used motor for about for about $1200. An alternative would be to get a 2.5L motor from the newer Fusions because there are not many low mileage 2.3L motors out there to get. The newer 2.5 will swap right in and will run about $500-700. There are a few things you need to do when swapping in a 2.5L (check the forums here) and then you could then call around to a few shops to get an install estimate. I'm guessing most shops could do it for 8-12 hours of labor @ $75-150 and hour. Of course, none of that matters if someone else is paying for your repair.

Good luck!
 
#4 ·
Yea there was absolutely no oil leaks whatsoever or burning oil. I thought it was really odd that there were no indications about low oil.

I agree. I couldn't have made it that far without some oil in there. I had called the store manager to try and figure out what could have possibly happened. Me being the illiterate mechanic I am went through random scenarios, some bizzarre, but some completely logical to see what could have happened. The manager said there were precautions to keep things like this from happening, but as I ran through scenarios he said "Yes... that's possible, yeah I guess we might not have put enough oil in it." Then he stopped me to say "You know we get 1,000 cars in a month just for oil changes? There is a chance that something could be missed in the process."

I wish I had got this on a recording of some sort. Sadly I didn't.

After some thought I realized that the inspection really didn't do much. More of a 'lets hope the owner just thinks its not our fault' type of faux inspection.

The third party inspector went through a list of what Firestone wanted to check. Oil leaks, possibility of burning oil, and looking at the filter. The first two were not happening to my car. The last one the filter happened to be theirs so they at least changed the oil filter. Everything that was documented at least supported my case in a way that it couldn't be blamed on those things.

Is this kind of a trick to get owners off their ass about this stuff?

Either way. I got an update today basically saying it wasn't their fault, and although the claim was sincere by me and not in any way fraudulent that they were not going to claim liability on the issue.

I can send in a request for re investigation, but I don't think I will get anywhere with this. I can't move the car, that costs money, getting a mechanic to look deep into the issue is money too and on top of it all I do not have a vehicle.

Today I was in a bind and went in and traded the car for 1,000 luckily toward a New 2015 Ford Fusion SE - Tectonic exterior color.

I'm loving the car, but still feel like I'm being screwed somewhere. Either way that is the last time I'm going to Firestone, ever. I'm probably going to take this lesson and learn how to at least figure out if oil changes are done the right way from now on.

I'll still discuss the issue here if you guys would like. I'm still very curious on your feedback, but I feel like at this point there is not much I can do but write a scathing review and maybe see if I can get the local news station in on it to maybe investigate their process or something along that line.
 
#5 ·
This is one of the many reasons I always prefer to do my own oil changes. This way I can pick my own oil and filter, I can inspect the filter before it goes in, I can inspect the engine when I'm underneath, and I can record everything done with the car while I'm doing the work. I also know that everything is done right, and I know that the person doing the work actually gives a crap about the car.

Having said that, I think you best bet is to go through either the BBB or your state's AG (if you want to take it that far).
 
#6 ·
Personally, I would have fought the issue and not payed a dime. I too like to do my changes because a lot of quick shops use automated machines and hoses to add oil. At least if you pour the oil with a funnel and screen, you know what is going into the car.
 
#7 ·
Bottom line you should always know how to check your fluid levels to include oil, transmission, brake & power steering. You may not have the technical skills to change your own oil & filter, but being able to check fluid levels after you have your vehicle serviced can save you in the end. Good Luck sir!
 
#8 ·
Much appreciated! Expensive lesson learned. I'm going to start teaching myself all this stuff. Felt like this car was going to last forever up until this big problem! Car ran smooth up until then. I'm going to get in touch with some individuals to see what I can pursue.

Anyways! This is my next attempt at a Ford Fusion. Loving it already. Definitely going to make sure its taken care of. No shoddy places like that anymore. Thanks guys!
 
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