An oil change is supposed to be one of the least eventful parts of owning a car. Seven hours after getting their oil swapped out at Valvoline, a South Carolina family says they were staring at a dry dipstick as oil poured out of their Toyota Tacoma.
The viral TikTok from creator @astrid.arv shows the dipstick with barely a trace of lubricant, while a look under the truck shows oil dripping and evidence of oil splashing on other parts of the undercarriage. This is followed by shots of the Tacoma being loaded onto a tow truck.
“We pull over to a gas station and the engine started making weird sounds, we look underneath and noticed all of the oil was spilling and dipstick was bone dry,” reads the caption on the clip, which has been viewed more than 520,000 times.
Road Trip Takes A Detour
The family said they stopped for the oil change during an 800-mile road trip because they hadn’t had time to get it done before hitting the road. For roughly seven hours after the service, the Tacoma purportedly kept running without incident. Then they say the oil pressure warning came on.
The video doesn’t establish how the oil escaped or whether they believe the leak was caused by the Valvoline service, but the timing immediately sent viewers into diagnosis mode.
Several commenters zeroed in on the drain plug, including one who suggested it may not have been tightened correctly. Another self-described former Valvoline employee said the problem could have come from the oil filter instead, including the possibility of an improperly seated gasket.
One viewer looking at the footage also thought the visible oil appeared to be coming from the filter area rather than the drain plug.
Those are all plausible places to investigate after an oil change. A loose or damaged drain plug can allow oil to leak from the pan, while a poorly seated filter or sealing problem can also let a freshly filled engine gradually lose its lubricant.
Commenters claiming past work experience at Valvoline disagreed about the company’s procedures. One person identifying himself as a Valvoline worker argued that the chain’s process makes such a mistake unlikely. Another commenter immediately countered that a technician could still fail to tighten a drain plug properly.
There was similar disagreement over whether Valvoline locations routinely remove drain plugs or extract oil through the dipstick tube. Self-described technicians said the method can vary depending on the vehicle.
Gallery: 2024 Toyota Tacoma Limited Review
Oil Light Sends Clear Warning
Whatever caused the leak, the warning that they say appeared on the Tacoma’s dashboard was not one to ignore.
Toyota describes a low engine oil pressure warning as an indication that oil pressure has fallen excessively low and instructs drivers to stop immediately in a safe place. The company also distinguishes oil pressure from oil level: An extremely low oil level can trigger the warning, but drivers need to check the dipstick to determine how much oil is actually in the engine.
That makes the family’s decision to pull over particularly important. An engine depends on circulating oil to keep its moving components lubricated. Continuing to run one after oil pressure disappears can turn a leak into major internal engine damage.
The strange sounds the family reported hearing are potentially a much bigger source of worry than the mess underneath the truck. The video doesn't say whether the Tacoma suffered permanent engine damage, only that it wound up on a tow truck.
Viewers also debated what should happen if an inspection ultimately traced the failure back to the oil change. One commenter claiming to be a former Valvoline manager said he had personally dealt with engine and transmission replacements for customers and recommended escalating serious cases to an area manager.
Others in the thread described much less successful attempts to get repair shops to accept responsibility.
Those accounts don’t carry much weight outside of sparking curiosity, or do anything to establish what Valvoline will do in this case. If expensive engine damage is discovered, determining who pays would likely depend on establishing exactly where the oil escaped and why.
For the family, the immediate outcome was clear but pretty unpleasant. Their trip got sidelined, and they now have to navigate a maze of tough questions, repair costs, and the challenges of getting back on the road home.
Via email, a Valvoline spokesperson told Motor1, "We regret that this customer experienced an issue with their vehicle, especially while traveling on vacation. We are in contact with the customer and addressing this with them. Providing quick, easy, and trusted service is our priority, and we take situations like this very seriously."
Motor1 reached out to the creator via direct message and comment on the clip. We’ll update this story if they respond.
