I've had my 1958 for just over two weeks, and I'm already up to ~1300 miles. Probably my favorite vehicle that I've owned, and one I intend to keep for a long time. This particular car was delivered to me with just 6 miles on it, 2 of which I put on during my initial test drive. I liked that since it meant some yokel didn't flog a fresh engine on a test drive. I've since babied it through the full break-in period as required, and even still been very light on the throttle.
So in the interest of longevity, I scheduled my initial oil change at a local dealer (which I did not buy the car from) today, paying out-of-pocket to keep the included full-service ones for later. When I was ready to leave, it sounded normal at first...then almost like something was rubbing the fan, or some other rotating part. A horrible, diesel-ish mechanical ticking sound that varied with RPM - but it quickly went into hybrid mode, so not long enough to confirm, or see if it fixed itself. I had my suspicions, but all I could do was a short loop in the parking lot to confirm the sound remained - which it did.
Pulled back in, turned truck off, got the service advisor who had me start it up. Sounded okay at initial idle on startup, but the tick was there when the engine revved up at all. Yelled for me to shut it off, pulled the dipstick to confirm it was dry. Checking with the shop, said "the oil pump malfunctioned and dispensed .5 quarts instead of 5.5". Offered that they would do an analysis at the next oil change to check for damage, which I got in writing. Said if that doesn't look good we will "talk to Toyota".
So that's where we are. Truck didn't run much with low oil since it was aggressively going into hybrid mode, probably no more than a minute or two after I got it - who knows how long in the shop. Probably never revved above 2500 rpm or so. Really surprised tech hadn't noticed something was wrong when backing it out of the service bay, but clearly said tech also didn't verify the oil level on the dipstick. I knew enough to know something was wrong, this could have been a major disaster (for them) for so many others, who would have driven until the engine seized. I'm not out for blood or to get something for nothing, but I want to keep this car a long time, and I don't want to worry that dumb mistake (that I paid someone else to make) has doomed the longevity of my engine. My questions:
• How worried should I be about engine damage?
• Am I likely in the clear if the analysis turn out okay?
• Even if the analysis is good at 5000 miles, did this do something that will show at, say, 150,000 miles?
• Should I wait until 10,000 mile for my next oil change to give whatever damage may have occurred the opportunity to show itself?
• Interestingly, no warning lights or notifications. I would have expected something to scream the oil level is low.
• What seems fair and reasonable to ask for here? I love the truck, I want to keep it - but if it does need a new engine, I'm a little uneasy about that level or work required on a truck I just bought. And then I have no truck while the work is being done. But I also don't want to have to worry about it dying early, or I'll end up trading it in way too soon.
• At minimum, regardless of the analysis, would it be fair to ask for a Toyota extended warranty? Ideally the highest mileage they offer, to ensure I'm covered if there are engine issues that come up well down the road?
• Any other advice?
The advisor is going to let the service manager know. I'm hoping someone reaches out tomorrow and makes a reasonable offer to make things right and set me at ease - whatever that is. I'm both hesitant to ever take the car back there since the tech didn't check the dipstick after (is that procedure, or a huge oversight?), but I'm stuck for at least the next oil change.
Thanks!
