Oil Overfill Issue

[camerontyler]

Spoke to KF customer services today.

They didn't sound too impressed by what I told them and it's now being handed over to the Operations Manager and i've to expect a call from him/her within 3 days working days.

Needless to say I will be posting the results as and when.

Cameron

 

[219]

I don't think I can blame the manager as he seemed honest and understanging of Mercedes, I do believe however that one of his 'mechanics' has made a terrible mistake and hasn't owned up to it.

This is where the distinction between 'blame' and 'responsibility' comes into play .

The manager may not be to blame for the actions of one of his employees , but he IS responsible for the consequences of those actions .

On a slightly related subject , does your car have a VALEO radiator ?

 

[Gawdi]

Gearbox issue is not connected to the oil change imho,i doubt very much that kf would use mobil 1,you know where not to take it in future.

I had an oil change done on my W124 300D at KF last October, after reading on here good reports and the offer KF was running. £29.95 (inc vat) for the oil change and filter plus a £10 upgrade to Mobil 1, which was cheaper than I could buy the oil for.

I can confirm Mobil 1 was used, I watched them from the viewing area. I'm no KF fan, but it is very unlikely a national company such of them would use anything other than the specified and invoiced oil..

Unfortunately, coincidences do happen. Last week my car went in (not to KF) for 4 new tyres and a little bit of welding. A couple of days later, after not a lot of miles, I was stranded in Tescos car park.. The repair man immediately diagnosed a non working alternator, and arranged a pick up truck to get the car home.

Welding and blown electricals go hand in hand when a car isnt properly earthed or the battery isn't connected.. so the following day I had a long and 'emotional' telephone conversation with the garage that did the welding... who denied point blank it was anything to do with them..

Anyway, alternator now repaired and car running fine. The fella who repaired the alternator (a very reasonable £33 +VAT) said it was normal wear and tear that casue the failure... So a coincidence...

I have to now make a humble pie call to the other garage to say I was wrong..

 

[rf065]

Am I the only one here that thinks Mercedes decision not to fit dip sticks could be the cause of this problem? I assume your car like mine does not have any?

Russ

 

[jonathanc]

This is where the distinction between 'blame' and 'responsibility' comes into play .

The manager may not be to blame for the actions of one of his employees , but he IS responsible for the consequences of those actions .

On a slightly related subject , does your car have a VALEO radiator ?

I think this is pretty clearly a KF mistake as the sequence of events show. None of the symptoms are indicative of Valeo issues, no need to worry the OP when his car is running fine

 

[renault12ts]

I have defended KF so far. But if it turns out they do pump the oil out then I agree it looks like it could be a mistake.

Last year KF did my oil change, but did not use a pump.

 

[jaymanek]

I still am inclined to think that on the balance of probabilities its more likely a coincidence that the gearbox oil was low by 1L.

The "over fill" thing is a mistake but even MB techs get caught out on this all the time.

I may well be wrong but it can never really be proven either way.. The KF guys will get a slap on the wrist, the OP will probably get a refund or something and that will be the end of it.

 

[SilverSaloon]

I still am inclined to think that on the balance of probabilities its more likely a coincidence that the gearbox oil was low by 1L.

i agree with Jay here.

If you didnt actually know the exact level of ATF prior to driving into KF then you cant be certain it wasnt just low when you went in....

therefore you cant really blame KF here......

the problem has to show its ugly head at some point, and in this case, it just happened to be after the oil change...

just coincidence i reckon.

if KF did drain 1 litre by accident, you would have thought that they would have topped it back up - but you cant proove anything as you cant be certain it wasnt low to begin with. Whether its been serviced by Merc in the past is irrelevant - and some jobs may have been done on the car without getting recorded in the history by an indy too.

 

[BlackC55]

I am with Jay too.

There are just to may variables to blame KF.

 

[renault12ts]

If they don't pump out the oil then it's a coincidence I agree.
If they do pump out the oil then it could be suspicious.

 

[jaymanek]

phew thought i was going mad for a bit then..

 

[renault12ts]

phew thought i was going mad for a bit then..

...you are not alone. I hate the stuff said about KF every single time they are mentioned. If Jay or Olly fell on hard times...you would apparently forget every thing you know if you got a job with KF.

There probably are some wasters there (as there are in Merc garages too), but by no means all.

 

[jaymanek]

I have to say we have had some cars through that have had full Kwik Fit/Nationwide Autocentre/F1 Autocentre service histories due to them being lease cars and they have always been in A1 order.

 

[rf065]

if KF did drain 1 litre by accident, you would have thought that they would have topped it back up - but you cant proove anything as you cant be certain it wasnt low to begin with.

Except, KwikFit could not top it up because they do not stock ATF fluid and the 1 litre sucked out would have been too contaminated to put back in.

I'm inclined to believe they simply sucked oil out of the wrong dip stick tube and quickly realised their mistake, but did not realise how lowering the level would affect the auto box and thought no one would notice.
If the gearbox was already low, it would have been noticable before it went in for the oil change. I know that from experience as MB changed my ATF and the level was low, you are in no doubt that the auto box is acting erratically until the ATF is topped up.

Russ

 

[SilverSaloon]

I'm inclined to believe they simply sucked oil out of the wrong dip stick tube and quickly realised their mistake,

i agree its possible, maybe even likely if the tubes are next to each other on that model.... but the problem is that the OP didnt know (i assume?) the level prior to taking it there and cannot proove it was level, therefore it has to be put down to bad luck/bad timing IMO.

KF will probably refund the money and offer some deal as compensation to avoid hassle anyway, which will pay for the ATF topup/change.

 

[Bellow]

As per the above few posts, there isn't the categoric proof of ATF removal.
Given the effect on the engine of the overfill, could the other symptoms not have been caused by that?
Either way, I'd be more concerned about possible engine damage than transmission damage.
How did the oil get to be burned - via the breathers or past the rings?

 

[renault12ts]

As per the above few posts, there isn't the categoric proof of ATF removal.
Given the effect on the engine of the overfill, could the other symptoms not have been caused by that?
Either way, I'd be more concerned about possible engine damage than transmission damage.
How did the oil get to be burned - via the breathers or past the rings?

The oil overfill situation isn't necessarily a problem. Often ( as has happened with me) the oil level is spot on when filled (even after standing for a while) but as the engine warms up ( and only ever after a few miles at 70 on a motorway) the oil expands and the sensor picks it up and displays the message. I drove many miles like this with absolutely no ill effects.

If the car had no sensor ( as in the old days) I'd have been none the wiser, and since it was fine when it went in it remained that way even after the overactive light went on ( if you get what I mean ).

 

[Bellow]

I also noticed once or twice some lovely blue smoke coming from the exhaust area.

I noticed on the trip I used alot more fuel than usual

Did the oil get past the breathers or the rings? Does anyone know these engines well enough to say?
It's not unheard of for sump overfill to damage piston rings...
Smoke from the exhaust I regard as serious...unless it was via breathers.

 

[philepo]

How's that?

HUH? How do you know your box wasnt just low from general wear!! 1L is not enough to convince me they have sucked it out by mistake...

We often top up ATF on cars we service, the fluid does reduce over the years.

I still think you are shooting them for nothing here.

Hi, I was just wondering how a g/box can loose 1 l of fluid without a leak? Is this evaporation???

I don't get it! Please explain.

 

[st4]

Am I the only one here that thinks Mercedes decision not to fit dip sticks could be the cause of this problem? I assume your car like mine does not have any?

Russ

Not alone at all.

Wait to you get a 7g car. Can't even top them up unless you pump through the bottom. No way of checking at all.

A simple dipstick would solve all problems and give the owner the ability to look after the car more effectively.