I have a '96 Accord. I just took the car to WalMart to get the oil changed. When I picked up the car, they stated that the check engine light was on before they started working on it. I'm 98% sure that it was NOT on. Anyway, I take the car to autozone to see what the error code is. Turns out that the engine was misfiring on cylinders 1 & 3. He stated that they weren't allowed to clear the code. I proceeded to buy a new distributor cap & rotor. I replaced the plugs and wires less than a year ago. After replacing the cap & rotor, the light still stayed on, so I decided to look at the plugs and found a lot of oil in the 3rd cylinder valve hole I didn't pull the plugs yet. The oil has definitely been overfilled as it is about a 1/4" over the line on the dipstick. I've taken pics of the two cylinders.




My questions are this:
What do I do next?
What is WalMart responsible for?
Do I need new plugs & wires?

Thanks for any information.
Marvin J

 

Well, start by draining the oil to the correct level. Take the plugs out and clean them up as well. If that doesn't fix the problem the only thing I can think of is a new head gasket. What type of plugs did you get when you replaced them? I don't think new wires or plugs is the problem since you replaced them last year.

Oh, and NEVER go to Walmart to have anything automotive related done. They're on the same level as Jiffy Lube.

 

I second the "Don't ever go to Walmart" line of thought. Remember - these are the guys who couldn't get food handler licenses.

Your story is only one of many Wal-Mart horror stories that I've heard. My favorite is when they forget to put the drain plug back in.

You'll have a hard time proving that Wal-Mart overfilled it. Especially after you drain it. If you complain enough, you might get your money back but I don't know if you'll get much else. You should attempt to document as much of it as possible - the overfilling of your car, that is. Also, make sure anytime you talk to anyone that you get a full name and what department they're in. And take notes about your conversation, too.

I'd recommend checking how much your local Honda dealership would charge - I got mine changed for $30 bucks.

 

Before you take the plugs out, make sure that no oil gets inside the cylinder.
Stick a clean cloth towel in the valve hole and try to soak as much oil as possible.
You don’t want your car to burn that oil, and cause a cloud of smoke, or even worst chipped a piston.

I’m not a car expert but I have heard stories.

 

that little bit of oil is not going to hurt the pistons. To the OP bitch as much as you can, you might be able to get your money back, or possible get new plugs. You wont need new wires, just clean them off with some brake clean, once u pull the plugs out spray some brake clean done the tube to clean them up, put the plugs back in and start it,( it may be tough, but just step on the accel. and it will start up) then you should be good.

 

I'd clean the plug wires with soap & water, not brake cleaner.

Also... oil in the spark plug tubes can't be the head gasket. It has to be the sparkplug tube seals in the valve cover, or the O-ring seals farther down in the spark plug tubes.

 

You're right. I was thinking valve cover gasket (and the corresponding plug gaskets).

 

TRUE STORY

My friend...keep in mind this was 5 yrs ago...brought his Jeep wrangler into walmart to get oil changed, and they changed oil. He drove off about 10 mins later the car caught on fire, and he was out a Jeep wrangler.

He got it inspected. When it was inspected "something" went wrong changing oil or "something" was broken, so they used superglue to hold pieces together.

all in all, walmart offered him 50k to not start a lawsuit, and now he has 50k plus what he got for his jeep.

50k + $ = Z06 vette....