I
bought a 2008 Dodge Caravan at the Toyota Temecula Dealer on January 12
with 54,107 miles. I was offered an
extended warranty through AUL Administrator for 60 month/50,000 miles covering
the engine internal parts and purchase them. Then on March 31, I went to
the Toyota Temecula dealer to have the van an oil change at 58840 miles. I have
a receipt showing they put 6 qt of 5W30 Quakerstate and changed the filter as
well. The window sticker they put on the next oil change is at 64000 miles.
Then on June 18 Saturday around 11:30 AM, I was driving along San Diego I163
between Friars Rd and Genesee Ave heading Northbound, the check engine light
went on and the van started to loss power. I was on the fast lane so I quickly
moved to the right shoulder. I started the van and it will not start. The radio
is on so I know there is power. I called my USAA insurance to tow the car to
the nearest shop. Then I realize I do have an extended warranty. I called the
Toyota dealer explaining
them what happened and I was told to take them to the nearest Toyota dealer in
Kearny Mesa. While waiting for the tow company, I realize why should I take to
Toyota dealer in fact my van was a Dodge. So I called the 1800 number again
around 12:18 and I was advised to take it to the nearest Dodge dealer. The tow
company took it to the Rancho Chrysler and Dodge. Since its the weekend I have to wait until Monday to get
hold of the warranty people and the service advisor assigned to me told me she would contact them. Then on Monday 20th June, I was told by the Dodge service advisor the van engines seize due to no oil in the engine and they did it by checking the dipstick. And I was also told by the service advisor that according to AUL I have to authorize Dodge a tear-down the bottom of the
engine to check the oil pan to determine the oil in the engine which they would
charge $2200. I did authorize the Dodge dealer. The current mileage when the
engine failed is at 62789 miles. Also they noticed a burned starter. They open
the bottom of the engine on Tuesday 21 June and found less than one-quart
of oil in the oil pan. The Dodge reported to the AUL and I was denied again by
AUL due to lack of lubrication. I called the Toyota dealership and they said
the engines will still functions even with one-quart of oil and they documented
the oil change and suggested the engine maybe burning the oil. Then on 22 Jun
2011 around 1200, I have the Dodge dealer faxed the receipt of the oil change
to satisfy their argument of lack of lubrication where in fact 6 quarts of oil
was placed in the engine. Then I called the AUL adjuster and I was denied for
lack of lubrication and I explain to them about the oil change. The adjuster
mentioned about the oil getting burned and Dodge need to explain to them. Well,
I called Dodge and she mentioned they already told them the causes. And it
seems like they just giving me the run around. I was being charged by the Dodge
dealer of 5K plus to repair the engine and I think it is not my fault the
engine seize without oil since I have it oil changed. Six quart of oil in 3
months and almost 3,900 miles without a leak is very suspicious plus a total
62,789 driven miles. On 27 June AUL Corporation asks Dodge dealer to have
the engine disassembled piece by piece so they can send an adjuster to check
them. Last Thursday, 30 June I got
a call from the Dodge dealer that the adjuster did an inspection of the engine
and they have denied my claims to warranty the repair. I have called Toyota of
Temecula telling them how the engine with lose oil without any leak but I was
given a run around. I spoke to both the Service Manager and Service Director of
Toyota of Temecula on July 7 and basically I was told it is my
responsibility to check the oil and the engine since its burning the oil.
Well, how would I know if there is an oil issues since I do not see any leaks
under the floor of my garage? Also the van is running fine and I do not see any
warning lights on the dashboard. And its only 3900 miles driven after the oil
change and their recommended next oil change is at 64000 miles. I do ride a van
pool to commute to San Diego with the same type of van and every 3-4k miles
Enterprise service them to Sears for an oil change and we do not check the oil
since there is nothing that can cause an alarm while commuting and does not run
out of oil if burning is the reason. I think this is a liability issue by
Toyota of Temecula not putting oil in the van that causes the engine to seize.
According to the Dodge dealer, there is no service code when they run the test
and also there is no evidence of leak either the head gasket and at the bottom
of the engine.
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