At-Home Oil Change Horror Stories
An oil change is one of the simplest and most common types of maintenance that most people will ever have done – or do themselves. The concept is simple enough: drain the old oil, fill with new oil, enjoy! So what can possibly go wrong? As one of the leading providers of oil changes in Cincinnati, we’re here to tell you that the answer to that is, “A lot – a lot can go wrong, and it often does!”
In some ways, the biggest danger with at-home oil changes and how they can result in horror stories is, in fact, just how simple they are. If someone is doing something really demanding, like checking their own wheel alignment for the first time, then they’re going to go slowly, pay attention, and make sure everything is done perfectly. The deceptively easy nature of an oil change means that people can quickly get the sense that they can do it while on auto-pilot, and that’s how mistakes often happen.
Of course, mistakes happen all the time in everyday life involving all sorts of different things and rarely result in “Horror Stories.” What sets the at-home oil change and the mistakes that can occur there apart is the fact that these relatively minor issues can very quickly become a major disaster. Don’t believe us? Let’s take a look at some of the most noteworthy at-home oil change horror stories we’ve heard over the years.
The Woes of Wrong Oils
On a cold December morning, a man we’ll call Joseph Oilsly went to start his car and found it running roughly. He turned it off promptly as he should and then waited several minutes for the engine to cool back down before proceeding. With growing impatience, Joseph pulled the dipstick from his engine and found his oil level to be quite low – and so he searched through his garage for oil with which to fill his engine. After some time, he found it, but there was a problem: it wasn’t the same sort of oil that was already in his vehicle, and it wasn’t the type the manufacturer recommended; still, it was all he had.
In a moment he would later regret, Joseph Oilsly poured the wrong oil deep into the belly of his engine, checked the dipstick to ensure there was enough, and congratulated himself on a job well done. He started his car, backed out of his garage, and began to head along the road toward his place of employment… never to arrive. By mixing oils and using the wrong type, Joseph had disrupted the proper hydraulic pressure for his engine; furthermore, the parts weren’t properly lubricated, and all came to a grinding halt! Rather than getting to work, he sat in a tow truck on its way to deliver his vehicle to a service station for expensive repairs and the proper oil to keep his car running.
The Filling Fiasco
Then there was the story of Veronica Poursington, who found herself in a similar situation: one day, she noticed that her car felt off while she was heading home from work. Once she got home, she did what any responsible person would do by letting her car cool off, then checking the dipstick to see how much oil she had in it. She found the oil level to be low, and unlike our poor Joseph, she had the proper oil with which to fill it. Unfortunately, Veronica was not as careful or cautious, and she overfilled the engine, recklessly flooding it with far more oil than it should have.
Only once the oil became visible near the very top was she satisfied with the quantity and secured the dipstick and cap once more. It took only a few minutes for her to hit the road and quickly realize something had gone wrong; the sign might’ve been the sound of the engine, the feel of its rough idling, or perhaps the great plumes of blue smoke billowing out from under the hood.
Veronica’s mistake was not an isolated one – there are plenty of people out there who put either too much or too little oil in their engine. There are lines that clearly mark where the oil level should be, and this is definitely an area where you can have too much of a good thing. Don’t be like Veronica – only put as much oil into your engine as it needs; no more, no less.
The Catastrophic Cap Astray
Of course, we can’t talk about how at-home oil changes can go wrong without remembering the mistakes of Cap Caplin from just north of Cincinnati. Cap was a good guy who typically excelled at properly caring for his vehicle. He always followed the manufacturer’s recommendations for when to change his oil, replace the filters, have his tires rotated, and everything else that needed to be done. His mistake was inattentiveness.
One day, after topping off his oil with the right type and to just the right level, he forgot to replace the oil cap and ensure it was secure. He shut the hood, washed his hands, and hit the road. Of course, as his engine got going, the oil began to spray out from the top of it all over the engine compartment. Much like Veronica, he enjoyed the privilege of driving down the street with a cloud of smoke pouring out from his vehicle like an angry dragon had amassed a hoard of gold under the hood. Although the damage done was not extensive, by the time the repairs and clean-up were finished, the forgotten cap proved a very costly oversight.
The Double-Gasket Double-Cross
Even people with years of experience changing their oil, who are cautious and attentive, can still make mistakes. One bright summer day, George Gasketch had just finished up an at-home oil change and was ready to go for a drive and enjoy the beautiful weather. He hopped in, pulled out of his driveway, and was a few miles down the road when the oil light on his dashboard began to glow and his engine stalled. He’d done everything right: proper oil, just enough of it, cap secured – what had gone wrong?
It turned out that George made the classic blunder: he failed to double-check for the old double-gasket. When he changed his oil filter, the gasket from the original had stuck to the housing; then he placed the new filter on with its own gasket on top – resulting in two gaskets where only one should be. Luckier men than George end up with just having the original gasket blowout when they first start the engine and a small mess to deal with – our friend here, however, was not so lucky, and the blowout while driving resulted in a much bigger bill.
The Disastrous Tale of the Disappearing Drain Plug
Finally, let’s consider the story of Penelope Pluggsworth, from the famous Dayton Pluggsworth family, who made the most remarkable mistake of all. There is one error so infamous, so legendary, and so tremendous that all other at-home oil change errors cannot hold a candle to it. On February 30, 2014, Penelope was finishing up an oil change on her vehicle when she noticed something quite peculiar: no matter how much oil she poured into it, her engine just kept demanding more. She checked the dipstick time and again, yet by the end of her third quart of oil, the engine was still thirsty.
It was only when she stepped back, scratching at her brow in confusion, that she noticed the thick trail of motor oil running down the shallow incline of her garage and pooling by the door. After draining the old stuff, she had forgotten to secure the drain plug – she was pouring oil into the bottomless depths of an engine that could never be filled. This is the sort of mistake you only make once, but once is all it takes to remind you that every time you change your oil at home, you need to pay attention and be careful to do everything properly.
Avoid the Horror Stories: Bring Your Vehicle to Us for an Oil Change
As you can see, even the simple-seeming task of changing your oil can have catastrophic effects if done incorrectly. If you prefer to relax and know your oil change was done right, then come visit us at McCluskey Chevrolet and let us handle it for you while you enjoy the amenities of our world-class facilities and the confidence of knowing your story will have a happier ending than these. Avoid the horrors of a DIY job done wrong and let our professionals handle your oil change and any other maintenance your vehicle needs.
