Ontario Pickup Owner Hit with $19K Bill for Skipping Oil Changes

Being the hardcore and borderline obsessed car people that we are, we, at The Car Guide, always claim time and time again that preventive maintenance can save you from a lot of trouble. Especially during the present economic situation, where the automotive supply chain is impacted on all fronts and keeping your car in great shape can only be a good thing.

On the flipside, the lack of maintenance, skipping key elements or simply being misinformed can be costly. And that’s what a pickup truck driver from Bowmanville, Ontario recently learned when he was hit with a $19,000 bill for an engine replacement caused by oil starvation on this three-year-old Ram 1500 EcoDiesel.

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The truck was purchased brand new with a shiny 100,000 km warranty. Last November, the truck’s engine seized on the highway, leaving the owner stranded on the side of the road. It had 91,000 kilometres on the odometer.

So the truck to powertrain was still technically under warranty. But when the dealership diagnosed the problem and concluded that the engine needed replacement, they also noticed that the oil light came on at 50,000 kilometres and the vehicle wasn’t taken in for an oil change.

Hence, the engine swap would not be done under warranty, because the required oil changes weren’t conducted at the appropriate times.

The owner did have oil changes done by an independent automotive workshop, where he was told that the truck could travel 24,000 kilometres between oil changes.

However, the owner’s manual (which wasn’t in the glove compartment at the time of purchase, according to the owner) stipulates that “under no circumstances should oil change intervals exceed 16,000 km or 12 months, whichever comes first.”

Also, when the oil indicator comes on, the truck should be “serviced as soon as possible, within the next 500 miles (805 km).”

Ram parent company Stellantis told CTV News Toronto that "due to customer privacy guidelines, we cannot disclose all details in this case. However, the customer received written notice this week that the claim was denied due to a lack of vehicle maintenance."

"There is no hesitancy on our part to comply with the provisions of a warranty, as long as they apply to a factory defect. Damage or failures attributed to any other source are the owner's responsibility."