Car damaged after NCT - what to do?

jontr

My wife has a BMW 118D. Her car has been serviced in the same place for years, never missed a service, was in immaculate condition. Last service was done on 18th of August. Last Monday, on 19th of September, she took the car to the NCT Center in Waterford for a test. The day before she opened a bonnet of the car and refilled the water for wipers. She said everything was fine, looked perfect, nothing interesting.
The car passed the NCT on Monday and she drove back home. The next day, she drove to work and started smelling some oil, but thought it was from the car in front of her, so she turned the air circulation to internal, and the smell was gone. She drove to and back from work on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On Friday, when she was coming back from work, the yellow warning sign with OIL has turned on the dashboard. It turned red when she was approx 200 meters from home, and she drove to the driveaway. She forgot to tell me about it on Friday, and told me about it on Saturday morning. But it was lashing rain, so I didn't look under the bonnet. Instead we went to Waterford for all day in my car. When we were back it was already dark, so didn't check her car on that day.
On Sunday it wasn nice and sunny, so I opened the bonnet of the car to find out that the oil cap was missing, the whole engine compartment was covered with oil, it smelled like a forgoten fish&chips, and the oil cap was somewhere in recess next to the engine.
For me it seems like NCT testing guy either removed the oil cap or twisted it open, as noone was touching the car between Monday and Sunday, and the car was perfect on the day of the test - I don't think it would pass the test if the engine was covered with oil all around and there was no cap on it.
So I rang the NCT Customer Service and it was the most ridiculous talk I ever had with any Customer Service - they beat Eircom and Vodafone!
The lady on the phone listened to me, and when I got to the point about oil cap, she interrupted me by saying: it wasn't us, we don't test the oil cap. She didn't ask for my name, she didn't ask for the car model/engine type, she didn't ask what NCT Center it was tested, she didn't ask ANY details. She said that if I think it was NCT fault, then I should send them an email to info@ncts.ie - and they'll reply within 3 working days.
We need 2 cars, as we live far from work, we both travel in opposite directions, work different hours and also don't have any bus service available.
Has anyone come across something like that? Any ideas what should I do? When I asked if there are cameras in the NCT center, they said they don't have them, so I'm afraid that NCT will be claiming it wasn't their fault.
I'm afraid of even turning the engine on now, because a spark can cause a fire in this case - it's really that bad.
Any suggestions on what should I do next?

Supergurrier

They don't test it though, are you sure somebody wasn't checking oil level before it went in for the test ?

Either way you are lucky you didn't cause internal wear not topping it up straight away red oil warning is a very bad sign

ted1

Supergurrier wrote: »

They don't test it though, are you sure somebody wasn't checking oil level before it went in for the test ?

Either way you are lucky you didn't cause internal wear not topping it up straight away red oil warning is a very bad sign

I'd hazard a guess and say your misses opened it when topping up the water, realised it was the wrong knob. Then forgot to tighten it.

corglass

"she interrupted me by saying: it wasn't us, we don't test the oil cap. "


It's not part of the test to open the oil cap, so I highly doubt the NCT tester did.

jontr

Between Sunday and last service the bonnet was opened 4 times:
- during service - but then it drove over 2000km between service and the NCT Test
- my wife opened the bonnet to refill the water for wipers on Sunday, day before the test - the engine was nice and clean then, she didn't touch the oil cap for sure, I was abroad on that day
- on the NCT test when it was tested
- this Sunday when I found out this:



If that was service guys fault - I don't think it would drive over 2000km without any issues - or could it?
If that was my wife when she was topping up the water - I don't think it would pass the NCT Test. I'm 100% sure that if she noticed anything, she would've told me.
When I opened the bonnet on Sunday it was alredy gone.

Voodoomelon

NCT don't touch the oil cap, they have zero need to and zero want to. Very unlikely to be them, very likely to be your wife or the service garage.

jontr

ted1 wrote: »

I'd hazard a guess and say your misses opened it when topping up the water, realised it was the wrong knob. Then forgot to tighten it.

The ONLY thing she does with the car is topping up the water. She knows exactly where to pour it...

jontr

Voodoomelon wrote: »

NCT don't touch the oil cap, they have zero need to and zero want to. Very unlikely to be them, very likely to be your wife or the service garage.

Is it possible it would drive over 2000 km without anything happening just to explode after NCT Test?

job seeker

As stated already, n.c.t testers. Don't check oil ect. So they would have to reason to touch the oil cap..

savagethegoat

Voodoomelon wrote: »

NCT don't touch the oil cap, they have zero need to and zero want to. Very unlikely to be them, very likely to be your wife or the service garage.

Yes I agree, probably not done up properly at the service and eventually fell off.

jontr

Thanks for all replies, I'll go to the Service Station today and see what they say.

corglass

I'm not sure what you're hoping to achieve here OP?

NCT have denied reasonability and people on here seem to agree it's unlikely to have been them.

One remote possibility is that the threads on the oil cap are worn badly and it blew off

Mech1

nct check oil level on Diesels before smoke test.

Maybe he couldnt find a dipstick?

some cars have dipstick built into oil cap or filler pipe.

Yawns

perhaps not tightened enough at service and it eventually came off after NCT. The NCT do not go near the oil so it was not them. They have no need to go near it. Someone didn't close it properly at last service or the wife did it.

If it was at the last service, good luck in proving it.

ted1

jontr wrote: »

The ONLY thing she does with the car is topping up the water. She knows exactly where to pour it...

And NCT guys know their way around a engine and oil caps. I'm still going with your misses


Have you topped up the oil ? And cleaned the engine ? Degreaser works great


Also to my knowledge engine oil has a high flash point so shouldn't go on fire

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

Sam Kade

jontr wrote: »

My wife has a BMW 118D. Her car has been serviced in the same place for years, never missed a service, was in immaculate condition. Last service was done on 18th of August. Last Monday, on 19th of September, she took the car to the NCT Center in Waterford for a test. The day before she opened a bonnet of the car and refilled the water for wipers. She said everything was fine, looked perfect, nothing interesting.
The car passed the NCT on Monday and she drove back home. The next day, she drove to work and started smelling some oil, but thought it was from the car in front of her, so she turned the air circulation to internal, and the smell was gone. She drove to and back from work on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On Friday, when she was coming back from work, the yellow warning sign with OIL has turned on the dashboard. It turned red when she was approx 200 meters from home, and she drove to the driveaway. She forgot to tell me about it on Friday, and told me about it on Saturday morning. But it was lashing rain, so I didn't look under the bonnet. Instead we went to Waterford for all day in my car. When we were back it was already dark, so didn't check her car on that day.
On Sunday it wasn nice and sunny, so I opened the bonnet of the car to find out that the oil cap was missing, the whole engine compartment was covered with oil, it smelled like a forgoten fish&chips, and the oil cap was somewhere in recess next to the engine.
For me it seems like NCT testing guy either removed the oil cap or twisted it open, as noone was touching the car between Monday and Sunday, and the car was perfect on the day of the test - I don't think it would pass the test if the engine was covered with oil all around and there was no cap on it.
So I rang the NCT Customer Service and it was the most ridiculous talk I ever had with any Customer Service - they beat Eircom and Vodafone!
The lady on the phone listened to me, and when I got to the point about oil cap, she interrupted me by saying: it wasn't us, we don't test the oil cap. She didn't ask for my name, she didn't ask for the car model/engine type, she didn't ask what NCT Center it was tested, she didn't ask ANY details. She said that if I think it was NCT fault, then I should send them an email to info@ncts.ie - and they'll reply within 3 working days.
We need 2 cars, as we live far from work, we both travel in opposite directions, work different hours and also don't have any bus service available.
Has anyone come across something like that? Any ideas what should I do? When I asked if there are cameras in the NCT center, they said they don't have them, so I'm afraid that NCT will be claiming it wasn't their fault.
I'm afraid of even turning the engine on now, because a spark can cause a fire in this case - it's really that bad.
Any suggestions on what should I do next?

It's a diesel I presume where will the spark come from? Either way a spark will not ignite engine oil.

VeVeX

jontr wrote: »

Thanks for all replies, I'll go to the Service Station today and see what they say.

Untightened oil cap comes loose after 2000 km - not likely

Cap opened by NCT tester - Unlikely

Oil cap mistaken as screen wash reservoir, opened and not retightened by wife, wife subsequently denies all knowledge causing husband to question automotive professionals to save her skin - Highly likely

readytosnap

All fingers pointing to the missus. tell her to fess up and put an end to this

traco

If it wasn't there at time of test the NCT guys would have noticed and failed. Seems like falling off after not being tight is the likely situation.

demanufactured

Top up the engine oil...clean up the mess....get on with life..... .

Mountain.....molehill

Sam Kade

demanufactured wrote: »

Top up the engine oil...clean up the mess....get on with life..... .

Mountain.....molehill

And tell the wife never drive with a red light on.

Iseedeadpixels

Be prepared for the smell of burning oil for a long time after too.....I know all too well the silly mistake of forgetting to put the cap back on :pac:

vandriver

Whoever did it OP,I feel your pain.I drove around for a week with no oil cap on(my fault) and the oil mess was horrendous.
The motor factors sell a degreasing spray for about a fiver which is great .

shietpilot

I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't tightened fully and made itself loose! I service my own car and one morning I started the engine to hear a slight rattle, I opened the bonnet and found out the oil cap was loose. It may have come completely off due to the vibrations and started to leak oil like yours. It would take a very long time for the oil to go down to a low level by leaking through there which to me says that it just wasn't tightened properly at the last service.

robertpatterson

Is it a screw on cap or a bung/plug?
If its the latter compression can build up in the engine and blow it out (engine is on its way out)

PaddyWilliams

I've done this a few times, took off cap to check oil and forgot to put back on. It happens. It's something that can be easily done and your wife may have done it without even realising it.

shietpilot

PaddyWilliams wrote: »

I've done this a few times, took off cap to check oil and forgot to put back on. It happens. It's something that can be easily done and your wife may have done it without even realising it.

Why do you take the oil cap off to check the oil? What do you see there?

Voodoomelon

White spirit and an old rag works great on motor oil clean up.

PaddyWilliams

shietpilot wrote: »

Why do you take the oil cap off to check the oil? What do you see there?

Sorry, when I'm topping up oil I mean.

duffman3833

Mech1 wrote: »

nct check oil level on Diesels before smoke test.

Maybe he couldnt find a dipstick?

some cars have dipstick built into oil cap or filler pipe.

It could be a possibility the NCT tester was new to job and was unsure, BMW don't make the dip stick very obvious to average Joe
see the pic for location.
If you look at the image by jontr you cant actually see it, so i wouldn't rule out that the NCT tester is at fault, but even so, there is no way to prove it, so there is nothing you can do at all

evlgmaojr27ypu

Voodoomelon wrote: »

NCT don't touch the oil cap, they have zero need to and zero want to. Very unlikely to be them, very likely to be your wife or the service garage.

Don't they check oil level via dip-stick.. but since some of the BMW doesn't have one.. maybe the tester opened that instead to check it out ?

Edit : Looks like the diesel has a dip-stick, while the petrol just has an electronic one - https://teon.co/cars/bmw-1-series-petrol-118i-2-dot-0/manuals/51b71df6a11460327500001a/chapters/weekly-checks/chapter_parts/checking-oil-level

ted1

duffman3833 wrote: »

It could be a possibility the NCT tester was new to job and was unsure, BMW don't make the dip stick very obvious to average Joe
see the pic for location.
If you look at the image by jontr you cant actually see it, so i wouldn't rule out that the NCT tester is at fault, but even so, there is no way to prove it, so there is nothing you can do at all

Do the NCT even look at the oil

Special Circumstances

ted1 wrote: »

Do the NCT even look at the oil

They will refuse to test a diesel car if the level is too low OR too high.

kirving

My money is on the NCT tester. It's certainly more likely that his wife made the mistake than the tester, but if that were the case, wouldn't there be oil all over the engine by the time she got to the NCT centre? Which the tester then would have noticed.

Toots

savagethegoat wrote: »

Yes I agree, probably not done up properly at the service and eventually fell off.

This exact thing happened to me. About 3 weeks after my service, oil light came on so I pulled over and opened the bonnet - oil everywhere and the cap was luckily sitting on the top of the tank, just not screwed in. The car had barely been driven since the service, and the bonnet hadn't been opened.

Del2005

Even if it was the NCT proving after a week of driving that they left it off will be difficult.

endacl

Degreaser - power wash - rest of life.

sjb25

demanufactured wrote: »

Top up the engine oil...clean up the mess....get on with life..... .

Mountain.....molehill

This OP

Feel your pain Tho I did the same thing my fault in fairness such a bloody mess

Just move on not worth chasing round the country 3 possible culprits and all will deny and how will you prove it jus clean up and move on
Tell your wife warning lights are not ornaments tho they mean bad stuff (I've no idea what half mean) but they are bad especially red ones so STOP the car

paddysdream

Don't know about the NCT but had a very worried DOE tester ring me about 10 years ago when I was about 5 miles from the test centre on my way home with a pass.
Didn't say what he wanted,just was I far down the road and could I come back straight away.
Drove into the yard to find him with my oil filler cap in his hand.He had taken it off and only found it after I had left the test centre.Let's just say he had visions of replacing a seized engine from his own pocket!!!!

He was full of apologies and rather worried that I would complain.Never did as what would be the point.No oil blew out from the engine and always looked for him when testing anything there whilst he was working in that particular garage!!!!

So these things can happen and sometimes the policy can be to deny and hope nobody takes it further.Not saying that did or didn't happen in this particular instance but you never know.

As to what to do now;blast of a washer,fill engine with oil and show the wife the difference between orange and red.

mickdw

Its possible it was left loose for a while then the particular shaking that the car goes through during test may have knocked it out of place.
I realise that cars get quite a shaking during normal use but you never know.

Decka

What I'm surprised no one has mentioned is that the oil cap is one of them square bmw type which kind of opens on a hinge and is fiddly enough to get off even if you wanted to take it off!

The Backwards Man

This is one of those things you just have to put down to experience.

TallGlass

traco wrote: »

If it wasn't there at time of test the NCT guys would have noticed and failed. Seems like falling off after not being tight is the likely situation.

And surely it would have be doing a dance with the engine running surprised it wasn't noticed as it can be quite noisy when loose but to be honest with you I cannot imagine a trained mechanic forgetting to put an oil cap on properly, if so they should consider another industry.

Mech1

TallGlass wrote: »

And surely it would have be doing a dance with the engine running surprised it wasn't noticed as it can be quite noisy when loose but to be honest with you I cannot imagine a trained mechanic forgetting to put an oil cap on properly, if so they should consider another industry.

I recon if a trained mechanic put it on then its on right, but if it wasnt put on at all..... we all make mistakes.

TallGlass

Mech1 wrote: »

I recon if a trained mechanic put it on then its on right, but if it wasnt put on at all..... we all make mistakes.

Just really odd, it wasn't off for the test as it would mean a fail for sure. You sure no one was at it after the test?

I agree, consider yourself very lucky you didn't crap the engine out. Oil lights are not something to be ignored along with temp sensors.

I would have assumed the NCT guys would check this to see if it's secure, not looking at the oil, just a check the ingrety of the cap.

johndaman66

TallGlass wrote: »

I agree, consider yourself very lucky you didn't crap the engine out.

Do we know that to be the case though? I don't believe the OP mentioned that the car has being driven since the incident on Friday unless I've missed something. Might be a bit premature to presume all is okay?

Del2005

johndaman66 wrote: »

Do we know that to be the case though? I don't believe the OP mentioned that the car has being driven since the incident on Friday unless I've missed something. Might be a bit premature to presume all is okay?

This post is a bit like Facebook, only option is to thank but that's not suitable. Driving on the orange warning light would have been OK, once it went red the car should of been stopped immediately as even a few hundred metres of driving with metal to metal contact will do damage.

Del2005

endacl wrote: »

Degreaser - power wash - rest of life.

Where can you do this? Can't be done outside a house. Would normal car washes be able to handle all the oil washing off the engine?

Sam Quentin

I know what happened, when the woman was looking for the Padre Pio disc holder for her new shiny NCT disc she opened the oil filler cap by mistake.... WALLA SIMPLES

johndaman66

Del2005 wrote: »

Where can you do this? Can't be done outside a house. Would normal car washes be able to handle all the oil washing off the engine?

Have seen it being done but I'd be inclined to be fairly careful if I were taking a power washer to an engine bay. If your going to I'd turn the pressure down pretty low and be careful where I'm aiming for. You might end up doing a lot more harm than good.