Oil plug fell out after oil change service ....dead engine! Any recourse?

[premanu]

After a local service shop oil change, about 6 weeks later oil plug fell out (concluded by reliable mechanic, and insurance inspector independently). Rapid oil loss, dead engine. There was no noise from the engine (no rattling, grinding). There were fumes coming from under the car and car just lost power and cruised to stop. I did not hear any engine noise, or before incident see any major or minor oil leaks. The leaks would have been obvious under the car in my parking spot. Immediately after incident oil dipstick was bone dry. After engine died car was towed and directly checked by mechanic and first thing note was no oil drain plug.

Mechanic says no bad threads, does not look like any oil pan damage, definitely oil plug not installed properly and most likely not torqued tightly enough. The car refused to start -- no cranking sound. Just a click, but starter motor taken out and check out OK. Called insurance and they independently said same thing.

Yes, I have read many threads etc. Has anyone ever gotten oil change service people to pay up? Anyone know lawyers willing to take on such cases? I really cannot afford to lose the car or buy another. Anyone who rebuilds for hobby willing to try? I am not in any financial position to take this loss or do without a car.

Just distraught!!

 

[Lorin Grable]

Wow. I can't imagine your pain. Good luck with trying to get someone to pay up for the repairs.

 

[Pierce Brooks]

We just had a similar situation with our 2015 Outback. Our mechanic (been our go-to guy for years) had just changed the oil 4 weeks prior. He says he's responsible for the plug popping out but I've never heard of this before. Between his shop insurance and him personally, he is taking care of it. However, I'm wondering if it's a Subaru issue with the plug and/or threads? Although the car ran and started up after putting in more oil he had a second opinion and we need a new motor. The engine has 116,000 miles on it. Bummer!

 

[premanu]

@Pierce Brooks You have very decent mechanic. These guys are very rare. Get him a Christmas present or something! BTW, the mechanic who tried to fix my car clearly said there was no signs of damage or wear on the threads and no signs of disrepair to the pan. So it clearly is something beyond "mechanical" failure.

There are many, many cases if you do a Google search for "oil drain plug fell out"!