[chrisbimmer12]

Hey guys,

So about three days ago I took the 328 for an oil change at some BMW indy shop due to BMW refusing to take my $80 coupon and wanted me to pay $140 for a simple oil change. (I lost warranty about 3 months ago) The shop I went to is a recognized Indy shop and about three people recommended me the shop. So I went in, and told them I needed an oil change and they said no problem, it will be done in two hours. So, I left the car with them and came back in an hour and a half later when they called me. As soon as I payed and got my keys i opened the hood and checked if everything was closed (oil cap and oil filter cap) but didn't touch a thing, just eye inspected.

About 20 miles on my way I smell oil inside the cabin. Strong oil smell. It was weird, I don't have a valve cover gasket leaking, neither an oil filter housing gasket leaking. I was going to stop but (stupid me) decided to keep going as I was on the highway and it was dark already. As soon as I turn into my neighborhood the battery light comes on, steering wheel is hard as a damn rock. Feared the worst. My tensioner came off or I really need a battery.

Got home opened the hood and the damn oil filter housing looked like it literally exploded. the mechanic that did my oil change didn't put the o-ring right so, the oil filter housing was smoking, looked behind my car and there was pil all over the road. The car had been leaking oil since I don't know when. There was oil ALL over my engine and as I suspected, the tensioner came off, so the alternator wasn't turning. I instantly turned the car off and got into my other car and drove back to them. The shop was closed already. I was more than pissed. I went back home and didn't look inside the hood again until the morning. That's when I found out the o-ring was placed wrong. I called the shop and told them about what happened, the apparent owner of the shop said that they couldn't have done such mistake and that I was just trying to "get money from them", I told him that I am not doing that. That they really fu*ked up my car. Refused to accept it but accepted on giving me a refund, but they can't go to my house and fix it, at that moment I realized it was time to fix it myself and never take it to that shop ever again and be really careful.
So I fixed the o-ring and took out the belt, cleaned it and put it back on, car started like normal and steering wheel is smooth as butter again, no more battery light. Also, the car gave me the low oil light. So I am driving into BMW to buy a couple quarts of oil to add tomorrow.

Is there anything I should worry about? This is how the engine looked before I cleaned it..





Hopefully this helps some of you to think twice before taking you car into an Indy shop. Especially some of us that just lost warranty on our cars.

Greetings.

[335NJ]

I would've flipped shit. Bottom line. They should try to maintain a good image, even if that means fixing something no one can PROVE was their fault, it's pretty damn clear it was.

Make sure you write a review on the company on their Yelp page, and whatever else so other people know about this shop. Any reputable shop wouldn't just say "we didn't do it", they'd have you bring them the car and see what's going on. It's not like this is a huge cost for them to fix.

[Chrisruf911]

As long as your oil pressure light didn't come on, I would say you will be fine after some engine cleanup. We get to see cars every now and then that have drain plugs left loose, stripped drain plugs or just simply not putting oil back in. These are almost always customers who use quick change places such as Valvoline.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Originally Posted by chrisbimmer12

Hopefully this helps some of you to think twice before taking you car into an Indy shop. Especially some of us that just lost warranty on our cars.

While what happened was incredibly unprofessional and constitutes poor workmanship and terrible customer service, this is not the conclusion that you should draw. This could have happened anywhere. To associate all indy shops with your experience is a major fallacy. This simply indicates a bad business and an inexperienced technician. It is representative of that single shop, not all shops as a whole.

You should not go back to that specific indy shop, and go find a better one. I recommend looking for a BIMRS-certified shop. You can find them in your area at BIMRS.org

[ajaye]

So...according to this shop you paid them to change your oil, left their shop, uninstalled then intentionally and incorrectly reinstalled an o-ring in the oil filter housing, drove around oiling down your engine bay and the road knowingly risking catastrophic engine failure...in order to "get money"...to what end??? To spend it fixing the shit you destroyed in the process of getting the money and waste a bunch of time?

I don't let anyone touch my car, ever, but you're crazy for letting them off the hook man. I'd AT LEAST be getting a new belt, alternator, intake air filter, cabin air filter, and one way or another putting my mind at ease that this didn't cause any other damage, at their expense. Not to freak you out, but fouling stuff like coolant hoses with oil will almost definitely cause premature failure, but its not like its gonna happen tomorrow, so you need to keep an eye on things.

[melloww22]

Just do your own oil change, nothing like having the sanity of mind knowing everything was done in a calm, clean and correct manner.

[Taskmaster]

Engine fire possibly. Shoot it with some degreaser and you should be good to go.

[fdawg4l]

Originally Posted by melloww22

Just do your own oil change, nothing like having the sanity of mind knowing everything was done in a calm, clean and correct manner.

I'm slow as molasses when it comes to doing anything on my car and it doesn't take me more than 2hrs to do the oil and something else. It's incredibly easy and nearly fool proof (unless you're in a hurry).

[Meeni]

Putting the oring wrong is a pretty classic mistake for untrained technicians and DIYers first time.

Now that's embarassing to the shop that they had a trainee work on the car w/o supervision, but that happens. Their reaction to the issue is unacceptable though. They should have cleaned up the engine and replaced the belt for free.

[Game]

List their name so others can avoid going there.

[robthewrench]

See if they back up their work. I've had something similar happen to me on another car. I called the shop and spoke to the manager. They sent a tow truck to pick up the car, re-did the work, cleaned it up, no charge. This is the type of shop you want to work with.

[csu87]

I go to the grease monkey by my house and even they dont mess it up.

Clean up that oil OP before it catches fire.

[Bavarian Tech]

I would remove the crank pulley, and inspected the seal..Belts have been know to mess up the seal up, causing a massive oil leak or even get into the oil sump

[Needbmwpartzz]

Originally Posted by Game

List their name so others can avoid going there.

Yup....shame and name if they don't make it right.

[AllBlackBimmer]

BMW Dealers will change oil in a 328 for $79.00 all day long... or $99.00 at the MOST.

Not sure why you would ever pay an indy shop for a $140 oil change...

Def clean the oil up... or risk fire.
To simplify: Engine fire=bad

[Vitalität]

Originally Posted by chrisbimmer12

Hey guys,

So about three days ago I took the 328 for an oil change at some BMW indy shop due to BMW refusing to take my $80 coupon and wanted me to pay $140 for a simple oil change. (I lost warranty about 3 months ago) The shop I went to is a recognized Indy shop and about three people recommended me the shop. So I went in, and told them I needed an oil change and they said no problem, it will be done in two hours. So, I left the car with them and came back in an hour and a half later when they called me. As soon as I payed and got my keys i opened the hood and checked if everything was closed (oil cap and oil filter cap) but didn't touch a thing, just eye inspected.

About 20 miles on my way I smell oil inside the cabin. Strong oil smell. It was weird, I don't have a valve cover gasket leaking, neither an oil filter housing gasket leaking. I was going to stop but (stupid me) decided to keep going as I was on the highway and it was dark already. As soon as I turn into my neighborhood the battery light comes on, steering wheel is hard as a damn rock. Feared the worst. My tensioner came off or I really need a battery.

Got home opened the hood and the damn oil filter housing looked like it literally exploded. the mechanic that did my oil change didn't put the o-ring right so, the oil filter housing was smoking, looked behind my car and there was pil all over the road. The car had been leaking oil since I don't know when. There was oil ALL over my engine and as I suspected, the tensioner came off, so the alternator wasn't turning. I instantly turned the car off and got into my other car and drove back to them. The shop was closed already. I was more than pissed. I went back home and didn't look inside the hood again until the morning. That's when I found out the o-ring was placed wrong. I called the shop and told them about what happened, the apparent owner of the shop said that they couldn't have done such mistake and that I was just trying to "get money from them", I told him that I am not doing that. That they really fu*ked up my car. Refused to accept it but accepted on giving me a refund, but they can't go to my house and fix it, at that moment I realized it was time to fix it myself and never take it to that shop ever again and be really careful.
So I fixed the o-ring and took out the belt, cleaned it and put it back on, car started like normal and steering wheel is smooth as butter again, no more battery light. Also, the car gave me the low oil light. So I am driving into BMW to buy a couple quarts of oil to add tomorrow.

Is there anything I should worry about? This is how the engine looked before I cleaned it..

Hopefully this helps some of you to think twice before taking you car into an Indy shop. Especially some of us that just lost warranty on our cars.

Greetings.

Perfect reason why I do my own maintenance. You should do too.

[bender rodriguez]

Originally Posted by AllBlackBimmer

BMW Dealers will change oil in a 328 for $79.00 all day long... or $99.00 at the MOST.

Not sure why you would ever pay an indy shop for a $140 oil change...

Def clean the oil up... or risk fire.
To simplify: Engine fire=bad

lol mine charges 140 unless you tell them to do the BMW value service listed on the website..

What a shitty shop to deny that its their fault.

[AzureHaze]

Call them out! Call them out!

[Nar]

If I was in your situation, I would've gone back and probably yelled at them and I probably would've used very harsh words. Then I'd leave a horrible review on Yelp. Good luck to you buddy, try changing your own oil next time. There's a bunch of DIY's on here and if you do it yourself, you can triple-check that everything is in place and secure.

[cgrizzly888]

How can one screw on the oil filter cover if the gasket isn't correctly seated?

[PhaseP]

How can one screw on the oil filter cover if the gasket isn't correctly seated?

If you place the o-ring on the top grove, not one below where it belongs, it screws in nicely and o-ring becomes like a gasket between the cap and housing. But can't hold too long against oil pressure and at one point gives way from and oil sprays.

I had been changing my oil for years, but being tired and distracted last time I did the same mistake. It happens. The main problem I see the shop should fix their mistake instead of trying to blame the guy.

I suggest OP get or do a full oil change, not just add oil.

Wash the engine in a DIY car wash bay, either use their engine degreaser or one you bought yourself. Oil runs deep down the engine, try to get as deep as possible the degreaser. Make sure to get the hoses cleaned of the oil.

Then get a car wash with under carriage was option, to get rid of the accumulated oil on the underbelly panels. They hold a good amount.

Check the crankshaft seal if you can as recommended above.

Get a brand new belt to replace that one earliest, don't risk it.

If you still smell oil after these, you may need to take of the isolator sheet attached to the under side of the hood and wash it too, it would be soaked with oil probably.

[PhaseP]

Just add on, if you wash the isolator sheet or similar like the ones on firewall, use a cleaner that won't leave smell behind. These will absorb the cleaner also.