$120 for an oil change? No way, I’ll take care of it myself for $6,000 | Carscoops

      A Mazda CX-90 owner damaged his oil pan while attempting to perform a DIY oil change.

      The oil pan serves as a stressed structural component, making its replacement a task that can take between 12 to 30 hours.

      What began as a C$120 savings escalated into a C$6,000 expense necessitating the removal of the engine and gearbox.

      Many car enthusiasts occasionally attempt to save money by handling maintenance themselves rather than visiting a service center. However, sometimes these jobs don't go as planned, leading to costs that far exceed the intended savings. This is a lesson that one Mazda owner in Canada learned the hard way, as a simple C$120 (US$90) oil change turned into a C$6,000 (US$4,330) repair disaster.

      According to a Reddit post by someone claiming to be a dealership service technician, the issue stems from the oil pan. The owner wanted to sidestep the C$120 (approximately US$90) charge for an oil change. Unfortunately, while raising the car to start the job, they cracked the oil pan. Although many oil pans are relatively straightforward, inexpensive, and quick to replace, this is not the case for the Mazda CX-90 crossover.

      Understanding the oil pan's significance

      The service technician elaborated that the oil pan is more than just a simple piece of metal; it is a stressed part of the Mazda crossover’s structure. This means that once it is damaged, its replacement is neither quick nor cheap.

      The dealer reportedly stated that according to the flat-rate manual, this repair is considered a 30-hour job. While that sounds excessive, a shop consulted by Carscoops with ALLDATA estimates it to be around 12.2 hours. Regardless, the gearbox must be removed. When factoring in labor, along with the cost of the part and fluids, this C$120 DIY attempt rapidly escalated to a C$6,000 repair bill.

      Images shared by Reddit user Cookie955 illustrate the design complexities involved. The front axle runs through the oil pan, and the part itself contributes to the chassis's rigidity. Its replacement necessitates the removal of both the gearbox and engine rather than merely unbolting a single piece. When one adds labor costs, a new part, and fluids, the apparent savings from skipping the service suddenly appear as an incredible miscalculation.

      A challenging reminder of contemporary vehicle design

      This situation serves as a painful lesson about modern automotive design. Not every component is as straightforward as it once was, and what seems like a simple job in the driveway can quickly become a significant headache if one is not exceedingly cautious. For this unfortunate CX-90 owner, a plan to save money resulted in expenses nearly 50 times greater than the service they initially aimed to forgo.