I pulled off the road last Friday to get something from my notebook case, and apparently bottomed the oil pan on something. I pulled back onto the road, and made a left turn. While accelerating I noticed an obvious loss of power, and pulled over, traveling about a block and a half. I shut the engine off, and took a look. Sure enough, the oil pan was dripping oil.

It would not even turn over after that. The service writer at the stealership is trying to tell me I probably seized the engine, but I think the electronic control module knows there is a problem and has cut off the ingnition. She says they are not wired like that.

Any clues?

 

If the engine dosent build any oil pressure it will not start. I dont think you would of seized the engine It would of stopped running before you shut it off.
Is there any oil in the engine?
You can try turning the crank around. If you can do that then its not seized.

 

None. The pan drained completely once I stopped. I turned the key off immediately after I stopped.

The funny thing is, when the service writer went out to the vehicle, knowing it was out of oil, she tried to start it, and thats when she came to the conclusion that it must be seized.

 

lol!!!
Why would she even try to start it!!!
Dose it crank over but not start?

 

can you hear the engine turning

 

Sounds like it's a possibility that it seized up. Did you see any codes on the DIC? It also sounds like the dealership might be blaming you for the problem so it won't be a warranty issue. I would definitely get another opinion before just taking their word for it. You might want to go to an ecotec engine forum and present the same question if no one here can provide any insight.

Sorry to hear bout the problem...please be sure to keep us updated.

 

That's why I think it is electronicly cut off. There is no click of the starter trying to engage, nothing. Just turn the key, and nothing.
I did not see anything in the DIC.

 

Hard to say. From experience, i would say unless the oil was pouring out, it is probably not siezed from a block and a half of driving. We had a '95 Odyssey thay my wife drove for over 30 miles at highway speed, engine was running fine, then the oil light came on. She pull off the interstate and the engine shut down. She was on her way back from her parents house in NC. I went to get her, and noticed the trail of oil from the front of her parents house all the way to the interstate. I could tell how long she sat at each stop sign. Then she made it another 30 miles at 70+ MPH. It did spin a bearing in the end.

I would say fill it back up (with a big drip pan under it) with oil and see what happens then. Might have a sensor on it that will not allow it to start with no oil. Go from there.

 

How big did the oil puddle get to be after you turned it off? Did it look like 5 or even 4 quarts? or even 3? It would be hard to imagine that with all the electronic systems in a car today that oil pressure monitoring wouldn't be one of them. But sometimes when companies look to save money they shortcut on some pretty basic things. The oil pickup is usually in the bottom of the pan and if the pan gets bent sufficiently (in addition to a puncture) It could wind up bending and/or blocking the pickup which could reduce oil pressure. So if the system does monitor it, it could prevent starting. A lot of if's. And unfortunately I can't believe it would be covered under warranty. I agree that if it was running when you shut it off it is unlikely to be seized, and I would not expect that anyway. You could possibly have spun a bearing if the pressure got low enough, and still not completely seize the motor.

I would think something (rock) able to do that much damage to the pan would make either a pretty good thump or a fairly loud noise. They should be able to determine if there is any lower end damage fairly easily and more importantly, cheaply, by pulling the pan and a couple of con-rods, and maybe a main. If I remember right, with low oil pressure it is usually the bearings furthest from the oil pump that get the impact first. Here's hoping for the best results for you.

 

Thanks everybody for the replies. It did run out of oil. I could not see the size of the hole very well since the car is so low. There was still oil dripping out when I pulled over, and some drained onto the tow truck an hour later when roadside assitance finally showed up.

I didn't expect it to be covered under warranty, all I expected was a pan replacement, refill, new filter, and clear the ECU. Seems simple enough.