I received a notification today that my previous 2005 Honda CR-V is part of a class action lawsuit regarding the location of the oil filter in relation to the location of the exhaust manifold.  Supposedly, there was settlement that has American Honda Motor Co. maintaining a $500,000 escrow to pay for any insurance or other claims related to an engine fire due to oil leaking on the exhaust.

 

As I was reading through the settlement statement, I started to remember back to the many times I had to change the oil on Honda and Toyota vehicles.  Truly, the oil filters were placed in the most ridiculous locations, and many times I burnt my arms so bad trying to reach the filters, that I have permanent scaring and the hair on my arms growing in some goofy patterns.  My favorite is when people would pull in after driving back from vacation and the car has been running for, oh, 6 hours or so.  Now, the quick lube goal was to change the oil in 10 minutes or less, but if you've ever been underneath a car that is so hot you could burn the hair off your head by just getting close, the obvious choice is to make the person wait until the car cooled down.  If you want to avoid making enemies with your local quick lube, don't drive the car around for an extended period of time before bringing it in for an oil change.

 

This brings me to what I really want to talk to you about.....which is how to protect yourself from a quick lube induced oil leak.  Any reparable oil change place or even the dealership should perform a couple of very standard actions when changing the oil on a vehicle.  The first is to alway replace the oil drain plug washer.  This washer, which looks like a metal or cardboard ring that fits around the drain plug, acts as a barrier preventing oil from leaking.  Everytime the drain plug is tightened, this washer become compressed.  If this washer is not replaced each time the drain plug is removed and reinstalled, there is a great chance that it will stop acting as a barrier and allow oil to leak through.

 

Also, as a super simple precaution, the technician changing your oil should always check to make sure the gasket that is pre-installed on the oil filter comes off with the oil filter when removed from the engine block.  This gasket can have a tendency to stick to the engine after being compressed when tightened, and if a new oil filter is installed and that old gasket is stuck to the engine, oil will for sure leak.  This is called double gasketing the filter.

 

Lastly, a good oil change place will always clean the mess the oil may make when draining.  I can remember having my technicians go out of their way to use cardboard or some other object to catch dripping oil around the exhaust or other areas of the engine to prevent any kind of fire or bad smell from oil being burnt on hot engine parts.  In fact, we use to spray an industrial soap on any part of the engine where oil may have spilled and then use a water hose to spray clean.  A good technician is a clean technician..well at least their work space is clean.  I would always come home with oil stained shirts because I think oil was just naturally attracted to my body.