[2K16SummitSS]

Maybe all these people telling you to have a beer...should have a beer themselves. If you were able to get them to pay for an oil analysis, why not? It's never a bad thing to have an extra layer of comfort after something like that happens. You handled it better than I would have, which is why I do my own oil changes and keep myself out of those situations. Also, in my field of work I'm an expert measurer anyway, so counting to 10 is cake.

[gringo]

Come on, get over it. 1.5 qts low is not a big deal on the LT1. You caught it early and didn't track it like that so you should be fine.

What a trip with all these guys in here saying it's a disaster. Most will be trading up in a few years anyway when the 7th gen comes with 850 hp. They'll never keep their cars long enough to realize any damage from running a few qts low on oil. Relax, you'll be fine!

[i007spectre]

Only the actual changing of the oil and the filter are free for me. I buy my own oil and tell them to use it.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by Speedy1975

So lured by the "free" oil changes my 2SS came with, I checked around and found what seemed like a pretty decent dealership. I mean it's just an oil change right? Who can mess that up? 10 quarts of synthetic add up so seemed like a no brainer.

Service center is great. Enclosed delivery with giant automated doors that shoot up and down in seconds when you pull in. Nice cute attendant to check you in, and a nice lobby with 70" TV, breakfast, coffee, snacks, and complimentary brand new laptops for customer to use while waiting. I sat at the bay window looking in to the service dept so I could watch the work being done.

I see the tech change the oil, he was careful to put the arms of the lift in the right spots, all good signs.

I asked them to cross check my work on the rear differential oil cooler line recall and to mark that as completed for my car in their system at the same time. I saw a different tech come over and check, scribble some notes in the paper work, and done.

Now, my gut told me to check the oil level before I moved the car, but the cute girl had already opened the door for me and I didn't wanna come off rude opening the hood and asking for a paper towel, so I drove home.

Checked when I got in my garage and sure enough, oil didn't even register on the dipstick!

I called the dealer back and asked for the head honcho over service to pull my vehicles record and tell me how many quarts the tech had put in the crank case. 9.0 was his answer. Sooooo, I said, how many quarts does a 2016 LT1 take.....he tapped some keys....."oh I'm sorry Mr. XXXXX 10 quarts is the proper amount, and I grill and grill these guys that the last thing they do before closing the hood is check the dip stick".

So then I tell him I'm certainly not going to start the car and I needed someone to bring me oil to get the level proper. THEN we'd discuss how to check for engine damage and what we were going to do from there. Mr. Head Honcho does come to my home immediately with oil, I let him double check the dip stick, and watch me add 1.5 quarts to make it mid way on the dip stick reading.

I then told him I'd drive this oil for a few thousand miles and would then send off a sample for analysis to Blackstone Labs, at his expense, which he agreed, and we'd see what the analysis says and go from there. I then called GM to document the issue with them as well, for all the good it'll do if the engine has bearing damage.

I'm doubtful it hurt anything driving the 15 miles home, but geeze you can't even get a proper oil change at what appears to be an excellent dealer.

It seems reading comprehension is a lost art today....it's very simple to pull up the specs on their computers, and "follow the directions".

Way to cover your bases! At the very least, glad to hear they were accommodating!

[00 Trans Ram]

I'm going to be VERY restrained here, so I'll just say . . .

If the dealer went to those lengths (drove to your house, pay for oil analysis, etc.) because there was 1qt less . . . you should go to that dealership EVERY TIME. I can promise you that no other dealership in the country (perhaps "world"), and no other garage/mechanic in the country either, would have bent over so far backwards for you.

Anyone else would have said, "Oh, 1 qt low? Sorry. Come on by whenever you get a chance and we'll top it off for you. We'll even throw in 5% off on your next visit."

(Note - that 5% off would be from the BEST other places. Most places would tell you they'll put another quart in, and that would be that.)

- - - - -

You know, now that I've typed this up, I realize that I'm wrong. Most places (dealerships and garages) would have said, "I don't know. We put 10 quarts in there. Something must be wrong with your dipstick. Bring it back in and we'll take a look at that (at our normal rate of $60/hr)."

[gw6211]

Originally Posted by Speedy1975

Dude seriously!? Yes I work on cars and running them without the proper amount of oil in the sump IS NOT A GOOD THING. You guys are really a trip on this forum.

Several other factors make it not the main concern, like no low oil light, only driving 15 miles, etc. However with GM so quick to pull shenanigans with folks when they have issues with their engines, I wanted it fully documented and understood, and an oil analysis is part of that data. So while not the main concern, certainly A concern for the long term.

So now if I run this oil analysis in a couple thousand miles and it's full of copper and lead you guys are gonna say it's normal LOL?

if you find that in the oil, we are saying it is NOT from being one quart low on oil. I would not let you work on my car as you dont seem to know much about them.

[Glen e]

This situation is exactly the reason that I got out of retail and went back to the mfr's side. Because you never can get a chance to have things come out well for all parties. The OP in this case did nothing wrong, his perception is that there was a breach of trust, and expertise. The situation is nowhere near as dire as he thinks it is, however that doesn't change his opinion.

The service manager did a great thing by following up , Most serv Guys wouldn't do that. But because of all the ruffled feathers, the survey set out a few weeks will be less then 100 pct. And therefore they will doc the Service mgr's pay. You go home on days like this after he discovered the mistake very deflated, because you can't win. Not the way GM has the survey scoring stacked.

You can make this bad situation really work for you. I personally would set up a face-to-face appointment with the service manager and tell him that you're going to score the survey at 100% but you really want everything to be perfect next time. I guarantee it will be , he'll remember this. You can get farther by being nice, then you can by burning them. Don't do it.

[Speedy1975]

Originally Posted by 00 Trans Ram

I'm going to be VERY restrained here, so I'll just say . . .

If the dealer went to those lengths (drove to your house, pay for oil analysis, etc.) because there was 1qt less . . . you should go to that dealership EVERY TIME. I can promise you that no other dealership in the country (perhaps "world"), and no other garage/mechanic in the country either, would have bent over so far backwards for you.

Anyone else would have said, "Oh, 1 qt low? Sorry. Come on by whenever you get a chance and we'll top it off for you. We'll even throw in 5% off on your next visit."

(Note - that 5% off would be from the BEST other places. Most places would tell you they'll put another quart in, and that would be that.)

- - - - -

You know, now that I've typed this up, I realize that I'm wrong. Most places (dealerships and garages) would have said, "I don't know. We put 10 quarts in there. Something must be wrong with your dipstick. Bring it back in and we'll take a look at that (at our normal rate of $60/hr)."

Sadly, you're probably right. I haven't had anyone work on one of my vehicles for anything since I can't remember when. Didn't realize things were like that these days, but can't say I'm surprised.

Originally Posted by Glen e

This situation is exactly the reason that I got out of retail and went back to the mfr's side. Because you never can get a chance to have things come out well for all parties. The OP in this case did nothing wrong, his perception is that there was a breach of trust, and expertise. The situation is nowhere near as dire as he thinks it is, however that doesn't change his opinion.

The service manager did a great thing by following up , Most serv Guys wouldn't do that. But because of all the ruffled feathers, the survey set out a few weeks will be less then 100 pct. And therefore they will doc the Service mgr's pay. You go home on days like this after he discovered the mistake very deflated, because you can't win. Not the way GM has the survey scoring stacked.

You can make this bad situation really work for you. I personally would set up a face-to-face appointment with the service manager and tell him that you're going to score the survey at 100% but you really want everything to be perfect next time. I guarantee it will be , he'll remember this. You can get farther by being nice, then you can by burning them. Don't do it.

Probably good advice. I haven't filled the survey yet and would "like" to have a good dealer in the event something nutty did happen that I didn't wanna pay to fix myself.

I do agree with all the sentiment on the SM. He certainly did what he could to diffuse the situation. I would also note that I did treat him with respect and didn't start yelling or swearing at him either, I'd still fire the tech though if I were running that department if nothing more than to make an example to other techs to that when I tell them the last thing they do is check the dip stick I mean it.

[7WSM]

Originally Posted by Glen e

This situation is exactly the reason that I got out of retail and went back to the mfr's side. Because you never can get a chance to have things come out well for all parties. The OP in this case did nothing wrong, his perception is that there was a breach of trust, and expertise. The situation is nowhere near as dire as he thinks it is, however that doesn't change his opinion.

The service manager did a great thing by following up , Most serv Guys wouldn't do that. But because of all the ruffled feathers, the survey set out a few weeks will be less then 100 pct. And therefore they will doc the Service mgr's pay. You go home on days like this after he discovered the mistake very deflated, because you can't win. Not the way GM has the survey scoring stacked.

You can make this bad situation really work for you. I personally would set up a face-to-face appointment with the service manager and tell him that you're going to score the survey at 100% but you really want everything to be perfect next time. I guarantee it will be , he'll remember this. You can get farther by being nice, then you can by burning them. Don't do it.

+1 on this.

Working in the dealership world, I would never let the High School kids work on my own car. I just let the main line dealership techs do the oil changes.

[Dmpsix]

I don't blame OP one bit. GM is known to turn around and kick you in the nuts if you let them.

Everything was documented, the dealership's manager did an awesome job by taking the extra step(s) to make it right.

I'd say everything worked out well.

[trueraiderfan17]

Originally Posted by TMasticTB91

Your service manager personally drove out to your house with extra oil and also agreed to pay for the Blackstone analysis. A lot of other dealerships wouldn't do that.

It sucks to hear that they messed up, I'd certainly wouldn't accept it. But, give them the benefit of the doubt, they are at least trying to make it right. I'd say you found a good dealership if you ever do need to take your car in for service. Just, maybe not oil changes

[00 Trans Ram]

Also, just to make something clear for everyone. Those guys that put the oil in your car at a Chevy dealership? Not Chevy or GM employees. The Service Manager? Not a Chevy or GM employee. The salesman? The Sales Manager? The General Manager of the dealership?

Nope - none of them are Chevy or GM employees.

They are employed by the owner of the franchise dealership. The owner pays Chevy/GM fees, and in turn, GM/Chevy allows the dealership to wear Chevy/GM clothes (and sell cars, etc.).

So, don't say, "This is typical of GM" or anything like that. This situation has nothing to do with General Motors or Chevrolet. It's a dealership. A dealership that made a mistake, and went above and beyond to correct it. That Service Manager deserves a medal.

I used to work at the Ritz Carlton. I kept applications in my glove compartment at all times, so that when I'd run into a person like this, I'd give it to them and make sure that they applied. The kind of person who has this much pride in their job and personal drive to make a customer happy are few and far between.

[IOMike]

Originally Posted by Speedy1975

This is about the best advice in this thread. All the "1.5 quarts low is no big deal" comments are a bunch of fan boys. It's completely unacceptable and if this is what is accepted no wonder the techs get away with it. If I were running that service department this tech would have been fired.

I don't think you really understand engines and how an oil pan/oil pickup tube works. You'd fire someone over this? I really, really hope you're not in a position of power over anybody. The tech needs to be told and trained, but there is no point in potentially ruining someone's lively hood over shorting a car a quart or quart and half of oil. Especially when it's a fact that it would not damage an engine at that level.

[Glen e]

Originally Posted by IOMike

I don't think you really understand engines and how an oil pan/oil pickup tube works. You'd fire someone over this? I really, really hope you're not in a position of power over anybody. The tech needs to be told and trained, but there is no point in potentially ruining someone's lively hood over shorting a car a quart or quart and half of oil. Especially when it's a fact that it would not damage an engine at that level.