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Just asking. My engine started smoking on the turnpike. I pulled over,then the car just seized up.
I took it to the dealership,and they told me they are not 100% sure,but it appears as if a tree branch somehow got under my car and puntured the engine,because I now have 3 holes in the engine. This happened Tuesday night. I had got an oil change at that same dealership on Friday,four days before the engine seized.
He said I must have hit something,because they didn't see any holes on Friday. He said comprhensive coverage will cover that,because tree branches are everywhere do to the storm. I do remember hearing a bumping noise 10 minutes before the engine started smoking.
My stepfather comprhensive doesn't cover it,and furthur more he thinks the delaership didn't inspect my car on Friday.
He also says a tree branch won't cause holes to form in an engine. He thinks they weren't doing their jobs.
It depends on your insurance carrier... only THEY can answer your question. Call Them.
If there are holes in the oil pan, depending on the vehicle you drive and the Manor in which you drive, it could have been caused by road debris. Only you know if you've been driving in a manor that's not exactly the smartest (too fast) given the road conditions and debris. Doesn't really matter now though as what's done is done. Call your insurance company.
No if you hit something in the road, it would be covered under your collision coverage(unless you hit an animal or the obj you hit is moving at the time, then its a comp claim) This would be considered at at fault accident, and could possibly effect your rates.
Just asking. My engine started smoking on the turnpike. I pulled over,then the car just seized up.
I took it to the dealership,and they told me they are not 100% sure,but it appears as if a tree branch somehow got under my car and puntured the engine,because I now have 3 holes in the engine. This happened Tuesday night. I had got an oil change at that same dealership on Friday,four days before the engine seized.
He said I must have hit something,because they didn't see any holes on Friday. He said comprhensive coverage will cover that,because tree branches are everywhere do to the storm. I do remember hearing a bumping noise 10 minutes before the engine started smoking.
My stepfather comprhensive doesn't cover it,and furthur more he thinks the delaership didn't inspect my car on Friday.
He also says a tree branch won't cause holes to form in an engine. He thinks they weren't doing their jobs.
I'm so sorry!
Just so we have an idea what to think, what type of car did you drive?
Wood is stronger than steel? I gotta wonder if the tech didn't put any oil in the engine from 4 days before.
So how long was the oil light on for? 4 Days? Pop's is right.
My best guess is the dealer didn't put any new oil in after draining the oil oil out, and they screwed the pooch.
If wood did this there will be hunks of wood all over the place inside the engine. This is a pipe dream situation for a dealer. in other words a lie.
If you can see these holes my bet is the connecting rods inside the engine brokeb and then in turn they were struck by the crankshaft which stuffed they thru the engine block.
pretty typical when you run any engine 4 days with no oil.
The sound you heard was just that. The rest of the bucking and lugging was the engine welding itself into a gob..
30 second with no oil won't kill an engine.. The engine won't like it, it will wear bearings hard and fast, but it won't just lock up and die. It takes more time than that.
I don't understand why the red oil light wasn't ON..... I am betting it was...
I never heard of any Ins Co covering blown engines either....
You will need a lawyer and to sue for a new engine. The problem is no lawyers are expert engine witnesses either.
My shop has been the place where a fair number of cars with similar episodes were towed in to ...
typically, an engine seized due to a perforated oil pan or an improper installation of an oil filter by a shop.
Physical damage to the oil pan was covered by the comprehensive coverage, but the consequential damage to the engine by running it without oil was not; ie, the driver should have investigated the source of the oil drips/leak under the car when they'd run into a parking lot concrete stop or over a curb or a road hazard. The cost of an oil pan and replacement on an alloy oil pan car, such as a BMW or MB or AlfaRomeo was a significant amount of money, but nothing more than a down payment on an engine that had been seized up.
Similarly, I saw a lot of cars that had incorrectly installed oil filters by shops (generally, a quick lube place) that blew all the oil out within minutes of leaving the shop, resulting in blown engines. Their business liability coverage for errors and omissions covered the tow, rental car, and engine repair/replacement. But the causation here is quite different than an accidental damage, and the insurance coverage is different than comprehensive. As it was, I had to show the sequence of events to the ins adjuster as to why their insured was responsible for the catastrophic engine damage.
So ... if you can "prove" that the car didn't have oil in it when it left the dealership, you may have a case, but it's strange that the car managed to drive without incident for days afterwards without oil and yet had no oil pressure warning. A significant counter-claim could be made that the driver should have stopped driving the car and alerted the dealership following the work that there appeared to be a problem with it after the service; driving the car for days with a problem such as no oil caused consequentail damage.
Absent being able to prove the shop was negligent, it's more likely that there was some road hazard damage to the oil pan which was the causation of the engine oil loss. That damage may have been covered under a comprehensive policy, but the subsequent damage to the engine by continuing to drive it generally will not be covered.
As presented by the OP, it appears that they're on the hook for an engine now. My bet is there's more to this story as to when/where/how the oil loss was created and the driver isn't owning up to it. The "bumping noise" heard 10 minutes before the engine failure is the likely key to the puzzle ... a collision where the oil pan was damaged, the oil drained out, and the engine subsequently failed due to lack of lube oil pressure.
We don't know the make/model/year of the car here, but my bet is that a lawyer isn't going to be a justifiable expense. Unless this car is a rare vehicle, a serviceable used engine of comparable mileage and condition isn't all that expensive; any betterment in the engine department would be the responsibility of the car owner. IOW, if this engine had 100,000 miles on it, and the owner thinks they need a newly overhauled engine, that's a betterment to the vehicle.
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My best guess is the dealer didn't put any new oil in after draining the oil oil out, and they screwed the pooch.
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I never heard of any Ins Co covering blown engines either....
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Knowing exactly what is covered on most comprehensive policies is often hard to understand. The insurance companies WANT it that way. Our insurance would not even cover a broken windshield due to a road side rock hitting it . My question was just what DOES comprehensive cover if not this. Bottom line is to be aggressive and get written answers about what your insurance covers and what it doesnt before you buy it. You may note that insurance companies dont explain how to make claims when they sell you a policy,To them its all about you paying them and they not paying you.
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there will be hunks of wood all over the place inside the engine. This is a pipe dream situation for a dealer. in other words a lie.
