I had my oil changed and they left the filter loose, finally all oil lost now needs radiator, are they liable?

i was driving my car and the coolant light comes on, so i stop the car and get out, oil and smoke everywhere, so i hurry home which is about a block away. i pop the hood and see oil all around the filter so i call goodyear, the people who changed my oil. they tell me to bring it in, i wait til the next morning to do so since the engine was hot. i was able to tighten the filter 1 1/2 times with my hand and i added 2qts of oil to take it in. i get there and the tech looks at it and said he was able to tighten the filter further. this was the source of the leak and he tells me to go home and just keep a close eye on it. on my way home it overheats no oil just hot. so i take it back for a better inspection. he finds oil in the coolant, calls the dealer, they say i need a new radiator. do you know if the oil problem would have caused the greater damage to my car?I had my oil changed and they left the filter loose, finally all oil lost now needs radiator, are they liable?
Goodyear screwed up, but so did you. Driving a car home when you know the oil and coolant are gone is what did the damage. If you would have stopped as soon as you lost oil pressure, you would have been ok. You won't need a new radiator if you have oil in the water. You'll need at least a new head gasket. Why they'd think the radiator is bad is a mystery.I had my oil changed and they left the filter loose, finally all oil lost now needs radiator, are they liable?
You've blown a head gasket. Take it somewhere else these people don't know there *** from a hole in the ground.
It sounds like the damage was done when you drove home from getting your oil changed and the oil leaked out causing the engine to over heat.


It may have damaged the head gasket and now the oil and coolant are mixing.


if you


ask me they are a 1000% responsable!!!!
I dont think changing the oil would have popped the headgasket unless your car is in very ill repair as it is. I think you will have a hard time in court proving an loose oil filter killed your headgasket the reason I say your headgasket is gone is beacuse thats about the only way for oil to get into anti freeze.
They are liable only if you can prove that nothing was done to the engine between the time they serviced it and when you took it back. If it was the same day, it sould be fine but if it was several days or longer, you may be hard pressed to prove it. You should not have tightened the filter or even driven it back. That's what tow trucks are for.





This sort of thing happened to a buddy of mine at a Toyota dealer. They forgot to re-fill the oil after draining. He drove it for over a week before it started rattling. He took it back and they refused fixing it because of the long time span. He hit the roof when he found out what happened.





As mentioned in other responses, oil in the coolant is a classic sign of a blown head gasket. I know of no cars that use a radiator that shares a cooling element with radiator coolant and the oil system so my gut tells me that the radiator isn't the cause of the problem; it is one of the many components damaged by blown head gasket.





I am a bit troubled that a oil system failure caused a head gasket failure. It is possible that the bearings, rings, seals have galled up creating much more friction but that would mean the damage is really bad and it would be obviously running different (smoking, no power, noises from the engine). You didn't mention any drivability problems. You should tow it to a qualified mechanic to completely diagnose it.





To recover costs from Goodyear, the law says you must give them reasonable oppurtunity to remedy the situation. If they fail to fix it, you can get it repaired somewhere else but be prepared to sue. If things go bad I would also contact their corporate office and give them copies of all documentation. They may be able to intervene on your behalf. Be sure to document absolutely everything.





Good Luck!
If you have oil in the RAD You you have a bigger problem than needing just a rad, sounds like a cracked head or blown head gasket, however the rad may have been the cause, I doubt being 2 Qts low on oil caused the problem. running low on oil will burn out the bearing and sieze the engine all the time low oil warning light would be flashing.
They have nothing to do with it. You ran the car hot. Being 2 qts low on oil does not cause this type of damage.
Yes they are.