Engine damage on a car bought 4 months ago.

esmerobbo

You say you have a picture of the crack, is it in the spin on canister filter or on the aluminium oil filter housing?
I don't think I have ever seen a cracked spin on filter. I have seen them mullered in other ways, torn, split, dented, even rusted through, to crack a canister type when fitting it would need some tightening and I would assume the aluminium housing would go first. Especially as the one on this engine looks like a long narrow housing.

custardy

esmerobbo wrote: »

You say you have a picture of the crack, is it in the spin on canister filter or on the aluminium oil filter housing?
I don't think I have ever seen a cracked spin on filter. I have seen them mullered in other ways, torn, split, dented, even rusted through, to crack a canister type when fitting it would need some tightening and I would assume the aluminium housing would go first. Especially as the one on this engine looks like a long narrow housing.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Oil-Filters/174038/i.html?mvsub=1&_mcatda=true&selcontext=productType%3ACAR_AND_TRUCK&selfil=2%2C3%2C1&selvel=Hyundai~i800~2017~-~-~-&MMake=Hyundai&MModel=i800&MYear=2017

esmerobbo

custardy wrote: »

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Oil-Filters/174038/i.html?mvsub=1&_mcatda=true&selcontext=productType%3ACAR_AND_TRUCK&selfil=2%2C3%2C1&selvel=Hyundai~i800~2017~-~-~-&MMake=Hyundai&MModel=i800&MYear=2017

??????????

GunJack

It never ceases to amaze me the quoted oil useage on newish cars, 1L per 1000-1500km seems mad....I'd be thinking I had a leak going through that much. Someone quoted a Yaris on this board being similar...just mad!!

custardy

esmerobbo wrote: »

??????????

You queried the type of filter.

esmerobbo

custardy wrote: »

You queried the type of filter.

Oh! No I was querying where the crack was. I knew it was a canister type filter, but wondered if the crack was in the canister or the aluminium housing the filter spins on to.

ohreally

Is there an update?

Richard53

The OP (and others in support) seem to be saying that it's unnecessary to check things like the oil level on a new car. I'd say exactly the opposite. If it's a new car (either brand new or new to me) I would check it carefully every week until I had established if/how much it was using, and then base future checks on that. After a few weeks with my Mondeo, for example, I realised that it was using zero oil and coolant and relaxed my checks to every 3-4 weeks. It was still using zero when I sold it 10 years later. But relaxing the schedule before you have established a base level is foolish. New cars can and do have faults from day one.

macman

OP, you have admitted that you drove the car home, despite the noise it was making. Are you 100% sure that the oil warning light did not come on, either before or after the noise started? You may not be car-savvy, but you'll know that you don't drive on when that yellow light illuminates?
If it didn't, can you confirm that the warning light was previously functioning? You'll know that, because it lights up when you switch the ignition on, and goes out when you start the engine.

weejangus

As the OP has shown appreciation for all viewpoints shared so far, I think it would be fair now to try and help them get a positive and reasonable outcome (i.e. the garage pay for all or at least most of the cost to repair / replace the engine).

OP - I would be fairly confident that the engine was toast the second it went bang and cut out. Big end bearings would have gone at that point due to oil starvation. Car can often still be started and it may run at reduced power but it's unlikely that the engine would have been salvageable at that point.

I don't think the garage will be able to claim you were responsible just because you chose to drive home. If they try this tactic, I would ask them to describe a situation where the engine makes a loud bang and cuts out due to oil starvation BUT the engine can still be saved (and post this scenario here!). You mentioned that the engine was rattling just before it went bang - damage to big end bearings was more than likely already done before you restarted it.

So, now you need to concentrate your efforts in proving that the garage are responsible for the engine going bang in the first place. Some have stated that it is your own fault due to lack of maintenance. I personally don't agree with that as a reasonable person would not expect a modern car to lose almost all of it's oil in 400 miles.

Remember that the garage (as part of the motor industry) could potentially be deemed as the expert. If oil level checks are an important part of ownership (which they are), could you reasonably argue that they should have advised you of this at the point of sale? As they didn't advise you to check regularly, we have to rely on what the manufacturer state within the owner manual with regards to checking oil level. As you have only done 400 miles since purchase, you could easily argue that you have not had to fill up and have therefore not been required to check the oil level as per the Owner Manuals guidance.

I believe you do have quite a strong case (although others may not agree). After buying a nearly new car with under 10k on the clock, any reasonable person would expect it to last longer than 400 miles.

You can already prove that the fault was present at the point of sale. Lets not forget that you wouldn't be in this position if they had not messed up the pre-sale oil change. The garage that sold you the car now have a responsibility to repair it (not just the initial fault of a leaking filter - but the subsequent damage that has been caused as a direct result of the leaking filter). They are not relieved of this responsibility simply because you didn't notice their mistake. They could potentially be relieved of their responsibility if THEY can prove that YOU had a responsibility to identify their mistake before significant damage was done. Due to the short time of ownership and low mileage travelled, I doubt they will be able to prove this.

Only other point I wanted to mention - the garage do not have to replace the engine (and potentially Turbo) for brand new parts. They may source 2nd hand parts with documented similar mileage to yours. This would be significantly cheaper and would put you back into a "Pre-Error" position.

If they do replace with brand new, they may expect you to cover a percentage of the costs due to betterment (i.e. you will be left with a newer engine than you paid for). Modern Diesels should run for over 150K miles so I would push for no more than a 6% / 7% contribution from yourself.

Hope some of this helps. Like I say, some may not agree with me but I have experience in this area and I successfully managed to get a £7000 repair carried out at a cost of £1000 (that car had 45k miles on it but got a new engine and turbo). Oh, and your case is much stronger than mine was!