Action 9

Action 9: Couple claims oil change turned into $7,000 nightmare

By Gerry Mendiburt
By Gerry Mendiburt
A Winter Park couple claims an $88 oil change turned into a $7,000 repair nightmare.
One day after a routine oil change, the couple's car shut down. Experts could not believe what they found inside the engine.
Matt and Brittani Blair haven't driven their 2014 Chevy Cruse for two months. The engine shut down one day after an oil change at a shop in Oviedo.
“It seems an $88 oil change turned into a $6,800 repair?” asked consumer investigator Todd Ulrich. 
“Yes,” Matt Blair said.  
“Who do you blame?” Ulrich asked. 
“Oil change place, without a doubt,” Matt Blair replied.
According to the couple, a manager at Oviedo Oil Change said the oil pan plug was stripped so they had to remove oil a different way.
“They asked if they could change the oil from the top and I said, 'Yes, no problem,'” Brittani Blair said.
She said the next day, a warning light glowed on the dash, “And the screen says low oil pressure turn the engine off.”
Brittani Blair returned to the shop and claims a tech said it wasn't the oil, but a dealership should check the engine.
A local Chevrolet dealer found big trouble in the oil pan. The dealer found part of a rubber hose. A repair expert at the dealership said it clogged filters and shut down oil flow.
“It overheated. It melted parts. It broke things, metal parts,” Matt Blair said.
The repair expert at the dealership told Ulrich the engine had to be replaced and it would cost $6,800. And it's not covered by their warranty since a melted hose was left behind from the oil change. 
The Blairs asked Oviedo Oil Change to pay for repairs.
“They won't take responsibility for their own actions and now it's almost $7,000.  It's ridiculous,” Matt Blair said.
The couple contacted Action 9 and Ulrich went to the oil change shop to get some answers.
“They claim a bad oil change wrecked the engine. Can you talk to me about that oil change?” Ulrich asked the manager, who seemed to ignore the question. 
“How can I reach the owner?” Ulrich asked.  
“There's no way, man,” the manager replied.
The Blairs sent their complaint to the state repair shop regulators.
“We just want our car back,” Matt Blair said.
Later a manager blamed the engine failure on a pre-existing problem, and denied leaving a rubber hose in the oil pan or doing anything wrong.
Florida’s Division of Consumer Services regulates repair shops and that's where the Blairs sent their complaint.

Cox Media Group

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