I'd be having firestone replace the engine. From toyota. If paper work and maintenance is done it shouldn't effect the resale value. The tranny should be fine. I WOULDN'T put a used engine in from anyone.

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Agree with Pugnacious.

 

They owe you a new engine. Plain and simple. Sorry you have to have this hassle. These things are never fun.

Demand a new engine. At the very least...

Best of luck.

 

Yup they owe you a new engine. They made a mistake and must correct it. It won't be new but it will be comparable.

 

There is a pressure relief valve at the bottom of humans. I would be creating a new one for the Firestone place. Not used engine - NEW engine or lawsuit. I MIGHT be talked down to a used engine with warranty and free oil changes for a few years.

 

DO NOT allow Firestone to install a used motor. You have no idea how and if a used motor was properly maintained. Take it to a Toyota dealer and let them replace the motor. If that doesn't work out, contact Jasper, which is a highly regarded remanufacturer of engines and transmissions. Ask them for a recommendation for an authorized Jasper dealer that can handle the work. As much as Jiffy Lube, Wal-Mart, Firestone etc... would like to avoid having it well known, this stuff happens every day. If you actually watch when Wal-Mart does the work, it's pretty comical. If one guy ties his shoes, another needs to re-tie them to confirm that the work was done, and the manager needs to visually inspect the knot and sign off the work. It looks like a government job, but it's actually a successful process of making oil and tire work as idiot proof as possible. Obviously Firestone needs more work in the idiot proofing department.

 

Yup they owe you a new engine. They made a mistake and must correct it. It won't be new but it will be comparable.

Having a savage yard pull a used motor out of a similar vehicle, with similar miles, is not "comparable" or acceptable.

 

New engine! My dealership did this to me. They partially refilled the oil, so I managed to get 150 miles away before it started making noise. Probably got lucky because I pulled off the interstate and into another dealership that added 3 qts of oil to get it to register on the stick, so I had an excellent witness to my case. My dealership paid for towing, rental car, and engine. Then the jerks showed me how to check my oil level?!?!?!? Told them I had the oil changed so I didn't have to check the level! Never did manage to apologize for their mistake but did make it right. Haven't bought a vehicle there since.

Kathie

 

Would not the oil light have been on the entire time, someone shoulda noticed? Not excusing Firestone at all, but - engines don't seize, then add oil and send on your way, just doesn't quite follow. Again, not trying to excuse Firestone in any way. Anyhow, once seized, in my experience, nothing in the engine moves any more....

Your transmission is entirely separate here, it has its own oil, so would be totally unaffected by the engine oil or lack of.

Tough situation, lot of different points of view as to what to expect out of it. In theory a used engine of like miles should be fair, but I know I'd not be real happy with that either. With you not getting along with the dealership either, it gets complicated,meveryone can point fingers every which way.

Paul

 

Not sure how a new engine would cause resale value to plummet or would have anything to do with the transmission having problems but you will likely have to get your insurance company involved to get a new engine since the van contained a used engine at the time of oil change.

Like Paul said, how did you miss the big red light on the dash that says no oil?

 

Having a savage yard pull a used motor out of a similar vehicle, with similar miles, is not "comparable" or acceptable.

It's comparable, may not be acceptable but it's likely what they will push for. This happened at a shop where I worked and the customer got a used engine with warranty.

 

Weighing in here. If I were in your shoes. The place broke my whatever. Call a what ever place. In your case an engine rebuilder. use this place as your diagnostic that Firestone pays for. I agree not all dealerships know what they are doing. Just as everyone has a drivers license and can not drive well. New engine will cost approximately $3,000 or under to get your paid for vehicle up and running again. STORY: My friend went to have his oil changed. They did not replace the oil pan plug tightly. it worked itself out and the engine fried. He called them and denial was their first line of defense. Litigation proceeded and now his new car that had the non oil change has been replaced by a newer car.
Go to an engine rebuilder, DO NOT HAVE ANYONE PUT IN A USED ENGINE!!! You are buying a pig in a poke. Anyway that is my .02 on your situation.

 

Let us know how it works out. I think they owe you a new engine.

 

If I were in this situation, I'd push Firestone hard to buy the vehicle outright from me, and then use the proceeds to buy another car.

Under no circumstances would I allow them to put a used engine in the vehicle. Not even a consideration, whatsoever.

Sure, there are lots of low mileage engines available. Last night, I saw a 2013 Chevy with 700 miles on it that is going to sell at auction. This vehicle had been totaled. Who is to say that the engine you get really has the mileage they say it has?

Again, I would push for Firestone to buy the car outright, and at a decent price. I doubt this will happen, but it would be my first choice.

 

If you like the van insist on a new engine. Then it will be worth more than when you drove it into the oil change place.

 

Probably, legally, Firestone owes you another engine of equal value, and maybe that is stated somewhere on your invoice or other paperwork......but where to find one of equal value? How many miles are on your van is one indicator, and a good record of maintenance and similar driving style is another. BUT, in this case, I would simply hold out for a new one. The used one the auto dealership is putting in, did it come from another Firestone-neglected car? The engine could have seized up, too, but still be deemed drivable, could have come from a jarring collision---yada yada....

A brand new engine in a used car should enhance the value rather than drag it down, especially in this case of simple neglect. I would just stretch out driving in the paid for rental car, and then start yelling, "But you are the ones who didn't refill the oil when you changed it!" Especially within hearing distance of the other customers.......

geo

 

If you can check the transmission oil, look for a brownish color insead of reddish and a burnt smell. Overheating of an engine will raise coolant emperatures which can affect transmission fluid temperaures if the transmission cooler is in the engine radiator. At high temperatures, something over 300 degrees, the trnsmission fluid deteriorates quickly.

 

I'm not impressed by Jasper quality based on a friend's experience. I'd go with a new from Toyota engine. Not a rebuild.

 

It would be nice if you could get a new engine, but I doubt seriously you'll get one. How many miles are on your current one? They're going to replace it with one of equal value, I'd bet. Your engine isn't new, and in my experience they rarely pay you for the value of a new one or replace it with a new one. Not fair to you, but that's the way most insurances work. For example, a lady pulled out in front of DH and he jumped a curb to miss her. All 4 tires were busted, and since they were needing to be replaced anyways, insurance only paid a part of the bill for the new tires. We had to pay the rest out of pocket. If the tires had been brand new at the time of the accident, they would have paid the entire cost of the tires.

ETA: My husband is a mechanic and used engines aren't the terrible things people are making them out to be.

 

If you like the van insist on a new engine. Then it will be worth more than when you drove it into the oil change place.

^this is what i would do, you deserve to be compensated for their stupidity and the hassles your going thru. Yea a used engine would "make it what it was" but I would demand compensation in the form of a new engine for my hassles.

And tell them instead of giving you free oil changes (you know they will try) for life to put that towards the new engine. I wouldn't go back there.

 

They owe you a new engine installed at the toyota dealership. Then toyota has to stand behind that new engine and how it was installed. You want this to be FACTORY, not some guy behind the firestone place that puts in used engines and might screw something up. Only the Toyota dealership has the complete books on everything to check when replacing an engine. Do it right.

If I was looking at a van and you said, "we had a used engine put in after XYZ", I would keep looking. If you said, "we had the toyota dealership put in a new engine after XYZ" then I would be more interested.

In college I was a mechanic for Honda and now I'm a mechanical engineer that turns all my own wrenches. They owe you a new engine from the dealer.

Austin

 

Someone mentioned $3000 for a new engine...IF, and that's a big IF you can get a new engine I'd be willing to bet it's just shy of 6-8k. Likely what you will get, even from Toyota would be a re manufactured engine.

Nothing at all wrong with a low mileage used engine. As a mechanic in a previous life, I'd trust a used engine.

 

Toyota crate engines running in the 2-3000$ range according to this site push for at least a crate engine.
http://remanufactured.com/Toyota_ Engines.htm

 

You will never know how many miles the used engine really has on it unless you see it in the original vehicle with an untampered with speedometer cluster. Lots of places selling used engines lie about the mileage. If they don't want to give you a new engine, get a lawyer!

 

I'm not sure what to do here. Any advice is welcome.

I know what I would do, I would have the car towed home, pull the motor out, and pull the crankshaft out of it, have it reground and reinstall with new bearings. Shouldnt cost more than a couple hundred bucks to fix myself, then submit the parts bill to firestone and see if they wanted to kick up that much.

I would also consider the fact that had I paid attention to my gauges and warning lights, the damage to the vehicle probably would not have occurred, so while firestone shoulda woulda coulda been partially responsible by not filling with oil, I am also to blame. They pay for parts, I cover the labor, I am thinking we would both be happy campers.