klrobi Posted August 5, 2006 Share Posted August 5, 2006 I own a 1998 Camry V-6 with 80,000 miles on it. I just had the oil changed at my Toyota dealership and I was informed that the drain plug wouldn't tighten up. I was told that the oil pan threads were worn out from "normal wear and tear" and that I would need a new oil pan. The dealership is one that I have just changed to after going to my origianl one since I bought the car. I have had the oil changed three times at the new dealership. This is my fourth Toyota and I have never had this happen before and I have never heard of anyone's Toyota having this problem. My last Camry had 190,000 miles on it before I sold it. Has anyone on this forum ever had this happen to them? I have an appointment to talk to the Toyota regional service manager on Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humanoid Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 I own a 1998 Camry V-6 with 80,000 miles on it. I just had the oil changed at my Toyota dealership and I was informed that the drain plug wouldn't tighten up. I was told that the oil pan threads were worn out from "normal wear and tear" and that I would need a new oil pan. The dealership is one that I have just changed to after going to my origianl one since I bought the car. I have had the oil changed three times at the new dealership. This is my fourth Toyota and I have never had this happen before and I have never heard of anyone's Toyota having this problem. My last Camry had 190,000 miles on it before I sold it. Has anyone on this forum ever had this happen to them? I have an appointment to talk to the Toyota regional service manager on Monday. I think during one of the oil changes the knucle-dragger at the $tealer probably cross threaded it causing the drain bolt to not thread properly and messing up the threads. I think one option would be to have the threads re-threaded, but I'm not sure if that's feasible. The only other option I can think of is to change out the whole oil pan. The crap that happend to you is the reason why I do a lot of my own maintenance on my rig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klrobi Posted August 6, 2006 Author Share Posted August 6, 2006 Would the damage caused by cross-threading show up at the very next oil change or several oil changes later? Would there be any oil leak? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humanoid Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 Would the damage caused by cross-threading show up at the very next oil change or several oil changes later? Would there be any oil leak? Yes, there would be a great possibility that it would show up the next oil change and no, since the bolt was so tightly screwed up in there it wouldn't show any signs of leakage I would think. BTW, where is your car now since they couldn't tighten the bolt up, still at the $tealer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevelaw Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 Humanoid is right. You got your oil changed by a neanderthal or cro-magnon era dude at the dealership. You say that you got your oil changed 3 times at that dealership. So the regional manager is going to say that the stripped threads were caused by wherever you took your car previously. If you try to re-thread that oil pan for a larger diameter drain plug, I suppose it would be possible, but they'd probably have to use enough torque to do it that they'd cause an oil pan gasket leak due to the high mileage on the car. Plus, they might have to flush the oil pan out to get rid of metal shavings. Several auto parts stores sell a replacement oil drain plug that's not a plug: it's a got a valve in it you can open by hand, so you can change oil without using a wrench (on the drain plug, at least). They have a BIG sealing area on them where it meets the pan. You might end up haveing a JB Weld moment here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klrobi Posted August 6, 2006 Author Share Posted August 6, 2006 I had the oil pan replaced. I'm in for the long haul with this car and 80,000 is just break-in for a Toyota. I had 190,000 on my last one. I've owned four. The regional service manager can say what he wants about past service. All service has been at only two Toyota dealerships, both in the same service area. I'm sure I will wind up in Arbitration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevelaw Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 Yes my friend, you now have an evidence issue. I'm not sure what state you are in, but your rights to a jury trial probably have been waved, so no punitive damages for bad faith. In arbitration, you've got no appellate procedure if you lose and awards for damages are lower than in a real courtroom. Get a hold of the mechanic who worked on your car the very last time at the 1st dealership. He's your witness now. I had the oil pan replaced. I'm in for the long haul with this car and 80,000 is just break-in for a Toyota. I had 190,000 on my last one. I've owned four. The regional service manager can say what he wants about past service. All service has been at only two Toyota dealerships, both in the same service area. I'm sure I will wind up in Arbitration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klrobi Posted August 7, 2006 Author Share Posted August 7, 2006 I'm not talking about Civil Court arbitration. I mean the arbitration system that is in place for the automotive industry. I'm not sure what law set it up, Federal I think. I used it back in 1986 for a problem with a Dodge product and it worked well. The cost of hiring a lawyer for civil court would be more than the cost of the repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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