Rode 1k without my oil cap on, harmful?

[Xtreme2001]

I had my oil change by a store (have always done it myself, but i was busy) and they forgot to put the oil cap back on on the engine. I'm pissed. I began smelling oil and wondering where it was coming from (wasn't leaking), but popped the hood and found that the oil cap was missing. I've been driving around almost 1k without the oil cap on and i'm wondering what kind of debri has fell into the engine and what damage it has caused.

I know I need another oil change, but what harm can be done? i'm calling the company now to complain. I just hope to god nothing is wrong with my engine. I'm so upset.

comments?

[waitin4BOOST]

LOL wow.....my buddy forgot his oil cap once...drove no longer than 5 mins, smoke was rising from the hood and we freaked out lol. Pulled over, opened the hood and noticed there was oil all over the place, smoke was cause by the oil burning off the headers/heatshield.

I would say if you didn't notice anything funky it should be alright...(what you don't know won't hurt you huh....looks to be true thus far lol jk) just change your oil and sif through it for any noticable debris or flush it if your on the paranoid side.

I would say try to get something out of them for the mess up....but if it were me, i don't think i would want to deal with them anymore.

[myapple]

I would say try to get something out of them for the mess up....but if it were me, i don't think i would want to deal with them anymore.

Maybe a coupon for another free oil change!

[maniacshopper]

you might want to check your oil stick, see if you have enough oil. If not, then you may have some damage in runnning with too little oil.

[Bullseye]

It depends on the engine design, like the placement of the oil filler. Some cars might lose lots of oil, others nothing. If you didn't notice it for that long, you must not be losing much oil?

I've done it a couple times myself over the years, didn't seem to do any harm. Can't be good for the engine, of course!

Lube shops are also notorious for forgetting to tighten or even put on the oil pan screw as well.

[sunnybono]

I had my oil change by a store (have always done it myself, but i was busy) and they forgot to put the oil cap back on on the engine. I'm pissed. I began smelling oil and wondering where it was coming from (wasn't leaking), but popped the hood and found that the oil cap was missing. I've been driving around almost 1k without the oil cap on and i'm wondering what kind of debri has fell into the engine and what damage it has caused.

I know I need another oil change, but what harm can be done? i'm calling the company now to complain. I just hope to god nothing is wrong with my engine. I'm so upset.

comments?

If you didn't notice any oil all over your engine, then that means they didn't put any in to bgin with. Same thing happened to me at a mazda dealership. Drove the car approx 20kms and noticed that it was running rough. Thank heavens they put oil in it atleast or the engine would have seized. Anyways, when you forget to replace the oil cap, you usually loose approx 2L of oil and since most cars take 4+Litres, that's still enough to drive the vehicle.

sk

[eelfliw]

I'd be more worried with oil splattered all over the underside of your hood and all over the engine compartment than engine damage.

Just top off your oil as necessary, replace the cap and keep driving. You can forget this ever happened. As long as you keep your hood closed and didn't drive in dusty areas while there's no cap, then the oil probably picked up more dirt from engine combustion than from the atmosphere. This is because there's positive pressure inside the crankcase when you're driving. Blow by gases will go out the oil filler hole so things won't get sucked in.

Back in the old days when I worked @ a car rental agency as car jockey, we routinely throw away the oil cap to speed up filling up oil.

[jetway1212]

If you didn't notice any oil all over your engine, then that means they didn't put any in to bgin with. Same thing happened to me at a mazda dealership. Drove the car approx 20kms and noticed that it was running rough. Thank heavens they put oil in it atleast or the engine would have seized. Anyways, when you forget to replace the oil cap, you usually loose approx 2L of oil and since most cars take 4+Litres, that's still enough to drive the vehicle.

sk

chit, i will remember your username if you ever sell you car. Gosh you should have sued the damn shop. Running with no oil even in few seconds would do so much damage.

[corrupt123]

My father forgot the oil cap on his late 80's 3 series when he changed the oil. Damn thing would barely idle without it!

As already mentioned, change the oil and if you've got the time/energy, check through it to see if theres anything inside it. Honestly though if you managed to go 1k without noticing it, you're probably fine. Definitly change the oil though.

[Xtreme2001]

Update:

The company reimbursed me for the oil cap, new oil, and flush. I had all the oil still in there so that's great. Good thing I don't drive on bumpy roads, otherwise the oil would have been everywhere.

Thanks everyone.

[B0000rt]

What company was this? Which location?

[martin909]

I've been changing my own oil since I had a few bad experiences at a few different garages... Here's what happened to me over the course of 7 years:

1) Mr. Lube forgot to install the drainplug gasket - caused a drip all over my driveway. They replaced it, free of course, but it was still a piss off.
2) Two seperate Acura dealerships torqued the drain-plug bolt to 150 ft-lbs. Yes, you read that right, 150 ft lbs. In fact is was probably more than that, since my torque wrench only goes up that high!!! In the first instance I managed to slice open my elbow (5 stitches) when the bugger finally gave way. The second time I had my brother help me: i held the socket in place under the car and he used his LEGS to push on the wrench.

Clearly, they used a bloody impact gun to install the drain plug. Keep in mind that the official ACURA SHOP MANUAL said the spec for torque was somewhere around 30ft-lbs...

I just got a new car in the winter (2006 Mazda MX-5 aka Miata ), so I've taken it to the dealer for the first two oil changes. So far so good.

What you have to do is find a garage that does a good job and when you return INSIST on getting serviced by the same mechanic. I do that now, after all, I am paying for it!

What's ironic is that most shops/garages are "approved" for warranty purposes. When I had engine trouble with my Acura (head gasket), they blamed it on poor maintenance because I changed my own oil. this coming from the garage that torqued my drain plug to grim-death torque levels!!!


so... beware, insist on good service and if they get it wrong, go back and complain to the MANAGER.

[wing0]

I've been changing my own oil since I had a few bad experiences at a few different garages... Here's what happened to me over the course of 7 years:

1) Mr. Lube forgot to install the drainplug gasket - caused a drip all over my driveway. They replaced it, free of course, but it was still a piss off.
2) Two seperate Acura dealerships torqued the drain-plug bolt to 150 ft-lbs. Yes, you read that right, 150 ft lbs. In fact is was probably more than that, since my torque wrench only goes up that high!!! In the first instance I managed to slice open my elbow (5 stitches) when the bugger finally gave way. The second time I had my brother help me: i held the socket in place under the car and he used his LEGS to push on the wrench.

Clearly, they used a bloody impact gun to install the drain plug. Keep in mind that the official ACURA SHOP MANUAL said the spec for torque was somewhere around 30ft-lbs...

I just got a new car in the winter (2006 Mazda MX-5 aka Miata ), so I've taken it to the dealer for the first two oil changes. So far so good.

What you have to do is find a garage that does a good job and when you return INSIST on getting serviced by the same mechanic. I do that now, after all, I am paying for it!

What's ironic is that most shops/garages are "approved" for warranty purposes. When I had engine trouble with my Acura (head gasket), they blamed it on poor maintenance because I changed my own oil. this coming from the garage that torqued my drain plug to grim-death torque levels!!!


so... beware, insist on good service and if they get it wrong, go back and complain to the MANAGER.

Which acura is this...
I have my oil change at acura too cuz it's pretty cheap...
frick....I was going to do my oil change....dun want to find the bolt really torqued.....

Nice choice on the MX-5...I'd get the hard top when it comes out......