Car engine ruined

paul_c123

I don't think you do. They didn't diagnose the issue, but the issue isn't a downstream consequence of anything they've done. I think first step is to actually have whatever the problem is, properly diagnosed. It may not need a replacement engine, might be something far simpler and cheaper.

Or it could be a replacement engine needed.

Nobbie1967

AlisonLow said:

The garage has now told me that there was no oil in the engine and running it like this has ruined the engine.

AlisonLow said:

The dipstick showed full

The garage appear to be lying as it seems there was plenty of oil in the engine. The issue appears to have been that it was not getting to the working parts of the engine causing a low oil pressure warning. I find it extraordinary that a garage would just disable this rather than replace the sensor if they thought it was faulty.

Having said that, I think you’ll struggle to get them to pay for a new engine as a lot will be down to he said/she said and you don’t have a clear diagnosis of what has caused the engine failure.

Could you clarify what the warning light for oil actually means? It should tell you in the manual. If it’s lack of oil pressure, you should have stopped as soon as it came on and got the car recovered to a garage to fix it rather than bodge it. I’d find another garage.

Mildly_Miffed

Reading between the lines, what I think came on was a fairly dumb service interval light, which has been reset by telling it it was serviced - not ideal, but perhaps it hadn't been reset at a previous service, or one was due soon?

An oil degradation warning wouldn't be "turned off" by telling it was serviced, because it would simply say "Nah, old oil's still manky".

I think we can assume that a driving instructor is not only capable of using a dipstick, but understands the requirement to do so regularly, given it's one of the things they teach students for the show-me-tell-me part of the test... Right, OP?

So the question is what's failed now... Oil pump? Totally unrelated to oil quality or service interval. Most these days are electronically controlled for fuel consumption and emissions reasons.

AlisonLow

The warning light was for oil degradation, the garage told me it was a common for this light to show and not a serious matter. As soon as the light showed I took the car to the garage, that's what Peugeot tells you to do. The car was due a service in 550 miles at that time

AlisonLow

Yes what the mechanic did stopped the light on the dashboard but after the breakdown the AA said it was still showing on the computer

BlueHarbourBouy

This sounds like a Ford car with a a 3 cylinder Ecoboost engine, notorious with problems of  oil wetbelt . look up Facebook Ecoboom .

Ayr_Rage

@BlueHarbourBouy the OP has said it is a Peugeot.

@AlisonLow this is what that light can indicate.

The oil degradation light in a Peugeot, also known as the low oil pressure or low oil level light, signals a problem with the engine's lubrication system. It can indicate low oil pressure, low oil levels, or excessive oil temperature, all of which can lead to engine damage if not addressed. 

I cannot understand why, after a reset, it did not come on immediately unless it was temperature related.

The AA technician may just have seen a historic code, it should not have been possible to actually disable the warning at all.

However, trying to work out who, if anyone is to blame is going to be very problematic.

AlisonLow

I can't explain why the warning light did not come back on but I continued to use the car for another week after he cancelled it. The car has done 53000 miles

jimjames

Nobbie1967 said:

AlisonLow said:

The garage has now told me that there was no oil in the engine and running it like this has ruined the engine.

AlisonLow said:

The dipstick showed full

The garage appear to be lying as it seems there was plenty of oil in the engine. 

Plenty of oil in the sump, not necessarily in the engine where it is needed

bob_a_builder

AlisonLow said:

The warning light was for oil degradation, the garage told me it was a common for this light to show and not a serious matter. As soon as the light showed I took the car to the garage, that's what Peugeot tells you to do. The car was due a service in 550 miles at that time

Uh- Ho
So can we assume this is a car with the dreaded  wet belt ?  
Which are well known for clogging the oil pickup with bits of rubber 
What model / engine is it ?