Sump plug fallen out on my Mazda 5 2008

[jayzoomz]

Hi,

Just checking my sanity but is there any way for a sump plug on a Mazda 5 to fall out other than not being tighten properly during the last service?

My wife returned home after picking up our daughter from her drama class and when she pulled onto the drive I could see a pool of oil under the car and trail of oil down the road. The sump plug and washer were at the end of the drive! I have spent four hours this afternoon shovelling up cat litter and pressure hosing the drive and road.

Have I got any recourse against the main dealer who last serviced my car about 8 weeks ago? No one has touched the car since then. Has anyone got any experience of this? I assume they let a trainee loose on my car who forgot to tighten the plug. I am absolutely fuming as we had a family trip planned tomorrow to Legoland and now cannot go but I am also thankful that this didn't happen on the motorway. I am just hoping that the engine is OK and that she just managed to get home in time.

I also managed to misplace the sump plug just to top off the day. Can anyone tell me what size/type I need please?

Thank you.

Jay

 

[phunky.buddha]

Did anyone driving the car bottom out the oil pan? Maybe drag it on something? Eight weeks seems like quite some time to be able to hang a badly installed drain plug on the dealer's head, even if they let a total n00b work on your car. Check the underside of the car for scratches.

 

[Donewood]

There is no way any sort of impact lossened the Drain plug. The plug is not the lowest part of the engine. It's in the face of the engine, sheltered between the engine block, and the suspension even, not the bottom of the oil pan! (Where all the cast iron engine blocks had them.) It could not have been torqued to spec! Most likely only finger tight. This is why I always do my own maintenance, and then I always double check. P.S I always use a socket and "choke" the head, so I don't over torqe them. (used to working on Bike engines, aluminum and magnesium require a lighter touch.)

I swapped the factory plug out for a brass one with a super-magnet built in. (ten bucks on E-Bay) That way it catches any floating chips and also alerts you if abnormal wear is happening. A gray smuge of micro filings is normal especialy in a new engine.

 

[Silentnoise713]

May I suggest looking into a Fumoto valve (aka quick drain valve). Either On or Off, no in-between.
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...s-a-Failure!&p=5912627&viewfull=1#post5912627

Begs the question, if you have this valve and still take it in for service, will they still unscrew it? Will they charge you the same or less for an oil service if all they do is flip the valve (excluding the filter of course)?

 

[chandlerGTi]

They'll charge the same; "quick" drains then are not.

 

[Joey1]

Hi,

Just checking my sanity but is there any way for a sump plug on a Mazda 5 to fall out other than not being tighten properly during the last service?

My wife returned home after picking up our daughter from her drama class and when she pulled onto the drive I could see a pool of oil under the car and trail of oil down the road. The sump plug and washer were at the end of the drive! I have spent four hours this afternoon shovelling up cat litter and pressure hosing the drive and road.

Have I got any recourse against the main dealer who last serviced my car about 8 weeks ago? No one has touched the car since then. Has anyone got any experience of this? I assume they let a trainee loose on my car who forgot to tighten the plug. I am absolutely fuming as we had a family trip planned tomorrow to Legoland and now cannot go but I am also thankful that this didn't happen on the motorway. I am just hoping that the engine is OK and that she just managed to get home in time.

I also managed to misplace the sump plug just to top off the day. Can anyone tell me what size/type I need please?

Thank you.

Jay

Hi, can you let me know the outcome here, my car Mazda 5 same age has done the same, but while driving, so the engine is dead! Servicer is refusing to acknowledge blame but sump cap just fell off 9 weeks after service, I didn't even know where it was but am having to go to court as I now have no car!

 

[Vasy]

Hi,

Just checking my sanity but is there any way for a sump plug on a Mazda 5 to fall out other than not being tighten properly during the last service?

They suppose to put it in by hand and tighten after with a wrench of some kind. Most will only use a regular wrench, few will use torque wrench.
If they only hand tighten it and forgot to actually use a wrench to tighten it all the way, this can happen.
Plug will slowly work itself out, just depends on how strong the guys hands are and how much vibrations you get on the road.
I've seen a guy hand tighten tires on my friends car at oil change / rotation and they fell off just a few miles down the road, I've personally missed a bolt on a suspension and it fell out two weeks later, so it can happen, after all, the tech there is still human and all humans make mistakes.

I actually had a guy drain the oil, fill in the new one and start the car only to realize a few seconds later that he did not put in the plug and all oil was on the ground, and I watched this happen to my car.
Lucky he was fast and no damage happened to the engine.

 

[Joey1]

Thank you, the guy I was recovered to said the same thing, and spoke to them directly for me advising what had happened, they were happy to pay when he suggested putting in a new sump and oil but quickly retracted liability when he phoned back saying the engine was beyond repair Looks like it will be a long battle!