I was driving home last night. At a light, i made my left turn and then all of a sudden the oil pressure light came on, blinking at first and then it would stay on when i stop.

Thankfully my friend house was nearby so i crawled it to his place. Nothing peculiar sounding or smell emanating from the car , nothing out of the ordinary.

I turned off the engine. Then put the ignition on ON hoping the oil indicator light would go away, thinking maybe a short or something - to no avail

I started the car and the engine turned over ok. So now i was like wtf!

Popped the hood and took off the oil cap. There was oil. I let it settle down a bit and then took the dipstick and the oil was low.

Then i looked under the car and lo and behold around a quart was on the floor and wasnt stopping and upon further inspection the oil drain plug was MISSING.

Its been +/- 1500 miles since the oil change at the dealer and i didnt hit anything on the road or ran over anything. Besides the oil drain bolt is covered by that undercarriage shield so i cant say " i think something bounce up in my undercarriage" like Jessica Simpson.

I think the bolt wasnt torque to spec- for it to come loose?

So the car is sitting at my friend's garage leaking oil and Im gonna call the dealer tomorrow.

Aside from giving them hell, any advice for a course of action.

Thanks in advance.

 

Are you sure the drain plug is missing? Because if it is, there shouldn't be any oil left.

 

Yep.

The drain plug is missing. I can see the hole where it was leaking.

I called my friend who i visited and asked if the parking spot had a puddle of oil. He said there wasnt.

So it didnt prolly happen until that intersection.

I hobbled it to my friend's place about a mile away where probably the last quart came out.

It just baffles me how can it come off unscrewed.

 

Let me get this straight... You can see that the plug is gone? Is there any blow back from the oil drain hole? Have you checked the filter and is it in one piece? I agree that there should not be any oil left.

 

Yes - i can see the plug is gone. The oil was coming out from there.

Like i said the last quart came out in my friend's garage.

When i left his place the engine had no more oil leaking out. It was all in a tub by then.

I didnt inspect the oil filter. The garage was too small to move around.

I'll look tomorrow.

 

That is really wierd. I can see why you're po'd. I don't even want to think about how I'd react. I hope you are planning on taking a shit load of pictures and have your friends write down all that they've seen & know. You will want to REALLY get the dealer's attention before you start talking about how they FU'd and get them to commit to a LONG term plan of action and monitoring your engine.

Did you notice any increase in the temp. or any other anomoly? If so write it down. Man I'm sorry to hear this happened to you. Good luck to you and stand up for your rights!

 

Sounds like you got lucky. If there was still oil in it (draining) when you got to your friend's house, I doubt you did any damage. I can only imagine this happening to me while my wife was driving. No way she would have stopped when the light came on. My engine would be a slag heap by now. I'd be asking for a loaner and on the list for a new '06 by now.

But, in your case, I'd just ask the dealer what their procedure is for torquing the oil plug and seeing if there is anything wrong that could have caused it to come loose. Other than that, I'd just ask for a replacement plug and a free oil change.

 

My guess is someone didn't tighten it down. I've never had a drain plug do that in the 16 yrs I've been doing oil changes.

(I was changing oil before I could drive a car)

 

UPDATE:

So I called the dealer and asked to talk to the service manager. Told him the story. He was pretty pleasant to deal with. I was expecting a confrontation and was prepared for that. Couldn't sleep last night going over every single scenario that could have arose.

He sent for a tow truck. I could have called Acura TLC for one too but he said he will just use the one the dealer uses.

Tow truck comes and we hooked it up and there was still a good cup of oil that poured out when the car was lifted. We had to plug it to avoid spilling over the freeway.

Got to the dealer. Once I got there I talked to the service manager and he personally dealt with me and had the appointment all set up. They were all pretty cordial. Told them what happen again and they " appreciated" that I didnt run the engine longer than what I did.

They set me up with a loaner car - a 5 AT silver 06 TSX non navi with 1500 miles on the clock. More on the driving impressions later....

I went in the dealer to talk to my sales rep and the finance guy. Im pretty good friends with them and they asked what brings me in. Told them the oil drain plug fell out and they were like

Yeah - their look said it all. Apparently im not the first one. I also know of another incident similar to mine at the same dealer.

So i talked to them a little kinda kidding with them that they are gonna owe me a new engine or a new car.

So off I go to with the 06 TSX. Having just 1500 miles on the car - it felt "sluggish"
I was kinda thinking maybe there is some truth to the 9 sec 0-60 but i attributed it to not being fully broken in yet.

I had 05 auto TSX loaners and the hp bump isnt noticeable.

The steering wheel is indeed thicker and it has those "bumps" to assist in gripping but it didnt really wow me.

Car looked good esthetically. Under the sun the silver kinda looks white. Must be that alabaster tinge.

The area around the cupholder in the front that this sort of what id call " faux carbon fiber " finish.

What peeked my curiosity was the dashboard and that realtime MPG screen and trip timer. Makes you see how your driving style can affect your MPG. It made me take my eyes off the road at times

So later in the day they call me up saying the car is ready.

I go over and it looks like my TSX dodge a bullet. Everything turned out ok.

As for the dealer - they dodged a missile. A new engine or a new car.

They redid the oil change took for a test drive and it did return any CEL or anything.

They said it still had almost a quart in the oil pan.

What they could not " explain" was the drain bolt coming loose. They said the threading looked fine and they was nothing out of the ordinary.

It just came loose which of course i interpret as the tech did not torque it down!

So i pressed on to say Im verrrrrrrrrrry concern that they may be long term effects and I want it on the record citing this incident. They agreed. For as long as I own the car. Was kinda feeling good to have them bow down to me

I did not pay a cent. They ate up the thing even the towing.

My friends at the dealer even said " they know they screwed up hence the treatment "

I go home with no incident and the car is fine.

So if they Oil Indicator lights up - Pull over as soon as possible and find the cause.

Unless you want a new car..... hehehhehe

Peace out.

 

Great dealer service - all Acura dealers should take a lesson from these guys. But, in reality, they did what they should have.

 

Yeah, they know their tech screwed up, so they were giving the Gold Service.

 

I would have expected nothing less. BTW - Did you get anything in writing as to what happened, who was at fault, etc. Faith is good, the written word is better. Call it a kind of test for the unknown future.

 

i had my oil plug get loose one time. i had my oil changed in minnesota, and when i arrived in californai, there was oil all over the back of my tsx. the oil plug became loose while driving and lost some oil. luckily nothing bad happened. always make sure they screw it in tight!!

 

I wonder if they used a new crush washer. Or even one at all? Glad things worked out for you and the TSX. Sounds like you have a good delearship there.

 

haha that is too funny, glad things worked out for you!

 

Holy thread ressurection !

That was almost 21 months ago.... there were no further complications from this incident. "Natasha" was traded last spring for an 05TL Auto/Navi..... the new wife cant drive stick well and the TSX isnt the easiest to learn on with the DBW and all....

I miss the car's cornering ability.... aah too bad you cant have a wife and a "gf" hehehe