Oil Pan question
At 45,000 mi my VW service center noted that the oil pan drain was stripped and needed rethreading. They rethreaded it and noted that this was not a permanent fix and the pan would need to be replaced in the future. At that point I had never taken my car to another facility (not even another VW facility), so it was their fault that it was stripped. Now it is leaking, and the pan should be replaced. Shouldn’t the service center be responsible for replacing this if it was their fault? They’re telling me they need to check with the service department manager, but that they if he says no, then they won’t replace it and I will have to pay $$$ to fix it. Is this right??!! They stripped it…they shortened its life…they should be responsible for it!!!
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Chombi Said,
June 16, 2006 @ 5:58 am
Oil Pan question – Unfortunately it really comes down to your word against their’s. If there is any way to definitely prove that no one ever touched that drain bolt other than them, go for it and try to convince them to pay for it. It’s a long shot and will most likely needs a service department’s personal sympathy.
If they did a proper “”Helicoil”" type of repair (I assume it’s a cast aluminum pan) it should hold up OK. It’s done all the time. I’m assuming that the service department is just trying to make sure that you at least consider the best and closest to fool-proof repair which IS to replace the oil pan. It definitely keeps you and them from ever worrying about that bolt falling off and draining the engine oil in the worst time.
I would just consider this business due diligence in their part.
Problems like this is really hard to avoid, because you really never know who and how well trained the mechanic working on you car is that day you bring it in.
If you want to all together eliminate your concerns, you can also consider doing your own oil changes too.
Good Luck, I hope they do replace it for you.
Chombi
Meagan K. Said,
June 21, 2006 @ 6:28 am
Oil Pan question – Thanks for the comments. Once the service manager gave the okay, they went ahead with giving me a new oil pan. I brought it in this morning for them to assess if it was what I said it was, and once they found that I was telling the truth, they replaced it for free (I have all of my records, and was poised to fight it out with them). I realize that they were being cautious last week (not having the boss in), but with that I’ve gone through with this service center, I was frustrated.