Edmonton man's engine destroyed after oil change

An Edmonton man is trying to find someone to take responsibility after his vehicle's engine seized.

Tim Slocombe needed an oil change on his 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander before heading to Lethbridge for Christmas.

He wasn't able to book an appointment at his dealership. So he went to Mr. Lube near the corner of Parsons and Ellerslie roads in Edmonton.

"I've been there before with other vehicles and never had a problem," he said.

According to Slocombe, everything was fine for about a week after he got the oil change, until a couple of warning indicators suddenly lit up on his dash and the vehicle ground to a halt.

The Outlander was towed to Lethbridge Mitsubishi, where service adviser Jessica MacQuarrie saidher technician noticed a problem right away.

Oil filter 'improperly' installed?

"After we realized that the oil filter was improperly installed, we also came to the conclusion that it was altogether the wrong filter for that particular vehicle," MacQuarrie said.

The CBC cannot independentlyverify thatdiagnosis.

Mr. Lube said it has investigated and stands by its claim that it did use the correct filter.

The CBC also contacted two different parts stores in Edmonton to ask for the correct part number for the oil filter onSlocombe'sMitsubishi. Both gave the same part number that Mr. Lube used.

Mr. Lube spokesperson David Waterfall saidthe companyalso verifiedthe part numberwith thesupplier and confirmed it's an original equipment manufacturer part.

"That means this is not a copy of the part that Mitsubishi would have in their cars," said Waterfall."This is the actual part that Mitsubishi themselves would install."

Waterfall said he isn't sure what caused the engine to fail.

"But I can tell you with a great deal of certainty that the part we installed was not the problem," he said.

He could not say if improper installationmay have been to blame, adding "anything is possible but I think that's unlikely."

Still, the dealership wrote a letter to Mr. Lube on Slocombe's behalfoutlining the problem. It pointedout that the Mr. Lube technician could have obtained what it said is the correct part number from the filter that was removed rather than looking it up.

But the damage is done, and it's extensive.

An independent mechanic who is not connected to the storyconfirmedto CBC that itis possible for a vehicle's warning indicators to start flashing just before the engine seizes.KentAsselstinewith Legend Autoalso confirmedthat an incorrect oil filter can cause a catastrophic engine failure, but believesmost filter problems are caused by installation errors.

The dealership said the engine will have to be replaced, at a cost of about $15,000.MacQuarrie thinks Mr. Lube should foot the bill.

"I believe they should absolutely be responsible for the damage."

Mr. Lube disagrees.

Mr. Lube says it usedcorrect filter

A Mr. Luberepresentative responded to Slocombe with a letter indicating the dealership was wrong and that Mr. Lube did use the correct filter.

Mr. Lube even provided a link to a Mitsubishi website indicating technicians did in fact use the manufacturer's suggested part.

MacQuarrie thinks it may be an American Mitsubishi website.

"We base everything that we service here in Canada off of the Mitsubishi Canada website," MacQuarrie said."By the looks of this information that I've been sent, that is not the website that he visited. It seems to me that that looks like an American site."

Meanwhile, Slocombe has returned to Edmontonwithout his vehicle; it's still sitting atthe dealership's lot in Lethbridge, and he's still making payments on it.

Engine 'totally seized'

"So my engine is now totally seized,I've approached Mr. Lube and they've basically written two letters telling me to go away and that it's not their fault," said Slocombe. "That they're right, that their recommendations that they use told them to use the filter that they did, and not the filter that was already on the car.

"Whether it's the wrong filter or the right filter, their technicians touched my vehicle and eight days later it suffered catastrophic engine failure."

Mitsubishi Canada stands by its statement that the wrong part was used.

Spokesperson John Arnonesaidthey've checked the numbers, and the one for the filter used by Mr. Lube doesn't even come up in their catalogue.

"We can certainly rule out that it was meant for a Mitsubishi vehicle in Canada," Arnone said.

CBC contacted another Mitsubishi dealership not connected to this story, which also gave the part number for the oil filter that Lethbridge Mitsubishi said should have been used.

While it remains uncertain where the problem originated,Slocombesaid hemay have to go tocourtto try to hold someone responsible for the damage.