It’s difficult to find a dependable mechanic. According to a study published earlier this year by Consumer Affairs, around 78% of surveyed drivers said they don’t always trust their mechanics, and “only 17% of respondents felt like they’re always charged fairly for car repairs.”
Some of that distrust may be warranted. The internet is filled with mechanic horror stories, from a woman being charged $1,000 for a simple fix, to another who claimed that her mechanic drove the car around 1,000 miles before returning it.
Still, mechanics are a necessity, and often, if a repair is simple enough, one might be tempted to simply find the cheapest auto shop for the job at hand. Now, a user on TikTok has sparked discussion after revealing why that’s a bad idea.
Why is there oil all over this car?
In a video with over 99,000 views, TikTok user and mechanic @menjicar shows a Toyota vehicle that he says came in with 19,000 miles. At the time of its arrival in the shop, the car was “smoking from the hood.”
Upon opening the hood, the TikToker quickly realized the problem.
“It’s missing the oil cap,” he states. “We can see all this oil just splashing all around the engine bay. It gets worse if you rev up the car.”
Eventually, the TikToker found the oil cap placed elsewhere under the hood. After conversing with the owner of the vehicle, he discovered that they had recently taken it to an auto shop for an oil change.
“I guess she took it to one of those fast oil change places. We’re not going to say the name,” @menjicar says.
Thankfully, the TikToker was able to clean up the car, but he still left a warning for viewers in his video’s caption: “Be careful who does your oil change. Could have caught fire.”
@menjicar Be careful who does your oil change. Could have caught fire. #fixcar #mastertech #mechanic #toyota #automotivetechnician #dealership ♬ original sound – Menjicar
Commenters share their thoughts
In the comments section, many users speculated about which ‘fast oil change place’ made this reckless error. Others simply shared their stories of quick fixes gone awry.
“Chevy dealership put more oil then recommended they blew out all my seals,” wrote a user. “They used my warrenty to replace all my seals.”
“Jiffy lube left my radiator cap on the side, I went on a road trip right after and was stuck on the side of the freeway,” added another. “You need to check their work before you leave.”
“The GMC dealership I bought my truck from also did this to my truck. Except they left the cap on my windshield. Smh,” revealed a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to @menjicar via email.
Update 8:42am ET Oct. 14: In an email to the Daily Dot, the TikToker said that this was “a mistake a lot of people can make, especially newer mechanics just starting off.”
Compounding this issue, he says, is the fact that many mechanics at quick oil change places are hired directly out of high school.
He then explained why this issue is a problem in the first place.
“The issue with this happening is all the oil can leak out causing permanent damage to the engine, or maybe possibly cause a fire—but not very likely because oil isn’t really flammable,” he shared. “If this happens stop driving, cap it and make sure oil level is at the correct level.”
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