Hi, I got a full synthetic oil change at valvoline, and they recommended a radiator fluid change. They said it was an Infiniti recommendation every 60k miles and my car was at 125k. A little background, I got this car from original owner with 120k miles on it. I’ve had it since Feb and absolutely no smoking problems ever. But today I got the radiator fluid changed and now my car is smoking from the engine bay when it gets hot, although my temp gauge is reading as normal just a little below the halfway mark. I also smell a burning coolant smell through my ac but only when I’m not moving. Do you think they just spilled some coolant on the engine and it’s burning off, or do you think it could be more serious? Kind of scaring me bc if valvoline ****ed up my car I know it’s going to be hell trying to make them take accountability for it.

 

I would definitely get a compression test just to be safe, but it's completely possible that they may have just spilled some coolant into the oil somehow.

 

From where is the smoke coming from? If it's just radiator fluid change, it should mainly be from the front of the car unless they just flung it or spilled it everywhere.

 

So I’m not sure how far up the resovoir should be but here’s some photos I snapped of it. Also I went to check the oil to see if it was milky and I saw that they didn’t put my dipstick back in the hole it was jammed next to it so the dipstick hole was just open and there was oil residue everywhere around it I’m assuming when my engine was on it was shooting out of it. The oil was not milky at all however. Do you think the smoke could have been the oil spilling out of the hole?

 

Wow. More evidence why you should never let a "quick oil" place service your car. The "technicians" are just guys off the street that are clueless and don't care.

This is the source of the white smoke, most likely. Has it stopped smoking since you reinserted the dipstick?

 

Yeah, agreed, it's why I have never taken a car in or an oil change. I always do it myself. Those oil change places don't care and have no skills.

 

so I just put the dipstick in and drove it about 10 min to work. When I stopped it was still smoking but it doesn’t seem as bad as before, thinking maybe it’s just residual burning off. I looked under the car and there’s smoke coming from what I think is the exhaust pipe but at the front of engine like in between front wheels. I’m assuming it’s just the oil that leaked down. I’m pretty sure it’s my exhaust pipe I’m not 100% knowledged in car mechanics but yea.

 

Yeah, when the dipstick is not in properly, it can burp oil a decent amount. It sounds like you solved the case!

 

Update: yea Thay was definitely it. The smoking did stop completely. There was just a burning oil smell bc of the residue. I called valvoline and told them what happened and the manager was super apologetic he told me to come down he had my engine bay cleaned, topped off my oil to make sure it was the proper level, and he offered to refund me the cost of the oil change but I had paid through Groupon so I wasn’t sure if I would actually get the money back so he flushed and changed my power steering fluid (which was a recommended service that I hadn’t done) for free. So yea they definitely ****ed up but the manager made it right so it’s all good I guess. I’ll also say I exclusively use valvoline for oil changes for at least the last 4 years for all my vehicles bc I love the convienence of not having to get out of the car, and this is honestly the first thing they’ve ever messed up.

 

Well, I have to say that's pretty good. I've never had a manager take responsitibilty nor go out of there way as you just did. I think you found a rare breed .Congrats that is all it was.

 

You should still check your oil level to make sure it's at the high mark. You can actually puke a significant amount of oil out of the dipstick hole over time. Crankcase pressure needs to go somewhere, the PCV valve will use intake VACUUM to suck the pressure out when at part throttle but when you're under load giving a lot of throttle like getting on the highway you aren't generating nearly as much intake vacuum but are generating significant crankcase pressure which is then PUSHING on the PCV system. With the dipstick removed the path of least resistance is now the wide open dipstick hole. After a month of driving, especially with highway on ramps, you can easily push 1/2 a quart or more from the dipstick hole.

 

thanks. It was only driven the one day and about 50 miles total before I discovered the problem and out the dipstick back in. Manager topped off oil and had it at the proper mark once finished.

 

Yeah you're fine then.

Strongly suggest for the future that you personally do a visual check of the oil level before they close the hood. Only takes a second but I've seen a LOT of blown motors over the years because of lube techs (entry level minimum wage employees, like Taco Bell) screwing things up.

It's one thing if they don't add enough sauce to your chalupa, it's another thing if they don't add enough sauce to your engine.