My Ford Dealer Just Ran My F-150 Pickup Truck Without Installing the Oil Filter During a Service Visit, Making a Huge Mess - Will This Destroy the Engine, or Will It Be OK?

For one Ford F-150 owner, the worst nightmare of a service visit has occurred. At just 20K miles, his truck was operated by the service department without having an oil filter installed! Now owner, LS, is freaking out with worry that the truck’s engine has been irreparably damaged. Let’s look at exactly what this Ford F-150 owner has posted:

20k mile oil change at local Ford dealer, and just as they finished, I saw them lifting my truck back up. Turns out the Tech forgot to put an oil filter on, and another tech started the truck. Of course, it pumped all the oil out onto the floor. Don't know how long they let it run. How likely is it damaged? 5.0 XLT 4X4 2024 one owner. Have babied this truck.

LS posted his own image showing the truck up on a lift with what looks to be multiple quarts of oil on the floor under it, surrounded by shop rags. The post is on the Facebook Ford F-50 Owners Group and visible to any member. This post has generated many hundreds of comments from fellow F-150 owners.

What Do Owners Think? Is the Truck Damaged?
To my own surprise, many owners, and also some members who say they are Ford mechanics, say that LS may not be in any trouble. They say that unless the engine was actually run with no oil at all, it is likely just fine. Of course, that excludes the fact that the engine bay is now saturated in oil and will likely smell like burning oil for a long, long time. Let’s check out some comments telling LS not to worry:
Best Comment * WH - “I'm sure as soon as they saw the oil pouring out, they immediately stopped the engine because they knew exactly what the problem was. Likely no damage at all other than an oily mess in the engine bay near the spot where the oil filter goes.”
DDC - “It's fine.”
JB - “Lol, been there done that. It happens. Probably no damage. You really have to run it with no oil to cause a problem.”
AF - “That’s really not that much oil that came out. It’ll be alright.”
BS - “Almost zero chance there's any damage. Keep in mind, starting it after the oil change, it takes a second or two for oil to reach the top of the engine anyway.”

As you can see, among the 400+ comments are many that tell LS that all is well and not to worry. This is likely to be comforting to the owner, and may be great advice. However, not all the comments are stating that all is well. Many are worried that damage may have occurred that will not become apparent for a while. Here is what those owners are saying:
BE - “Judging by the amount of oil on the floor and not knowing when/if they shut it off, no better than 50/50 that engine is toast.”
DM - “If you don’t have an extended warranty, or if you do. I would make them by your warranty and guarantee they’ll fix it in writing.”
JI - “Well, it's done for, walk on out to the sales department and tell them they owe you a new truck.”

Member RW had a comment we just could not help but highlight. He said, 

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Let's hope they didn't mop the floor and squeeze the mop head over a funnel aimed at the filler neck!

Having closely reviewed the dialogue and the image, my personal expertise leads me to think a few thoughts on this issue. First, the dealer is unlikely to be worried. They are unlikely to offer any sort of added warranty from Ford, though they will certainly be willing to document that it happened. Second, the truck is likely undamaged. As one member pointed out correctly, if oil was leaking out, that means there was oil. In addition, the low oil light and other safeguards would hopefully kick in to help prevent any damage. It appears as if the oil came out, and the truck was quickly shut down. The poster did not say that the truck was running until it stopped on its own, which would be a VERY bad sign. By the post, it seems that the techs shut the truck off themselves and did so pretty quickly.

Do You Own Oil Changes - Bad Advice
Many owners take a different angle. They say that this bad experience offers proof of why all truck owners should do their own oil changes. As an engineer and an owner who manages three to four vehicles in his personal fleet at any given time, I find this to be bad advice and a misunderstanding of what vehicle ownership is like for many people.

First of all, there is not much of a difference in price between changing one’s own oil and having a Ford dealer do it. I paid just $65 for an oil change recently at my own Ford dealer. Accounting for the value of one’s time, that is a screaming bargain compared to doing it oneself self. Also, tire rotation is a typical part of an oil change, and not all owners are physically capable of doing this. Finally, oil changes performed at a Ford dealer allow for diagnostics and recall work that most owners can’t do solo, even if they are handy. Given that this example is of a truck still under Ford's warranty, and the owner may still have FordPass reward points to pay for the service, doing it at home is unrealistic. And finally, it is simply hubris to think that any individual, regardless of how skilled or attentive, can’t make a mistake.

What advice would you offer this owner? Is the truck likely undamaged, or has some damage occurred? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below. 

Image Note: We have reached out to LS and asked if we may publish his image. If he greenlights that request, we will replace the generated image we used at the top of our page. 

John Goreham is the Vice President of the New England Motor Press Association and an expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his fourteen years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on LinkedIn and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. John employs grammar and punctuation software when proofreading, and he sometimes uses image generation tools.