Q: Dealership didn't close air filter box. Anything I need to worry about?

asked by on February 20, 2017

Took the F-150 into Ford to have the front brakes done but, they also did a "quick" inspection of oil, air filter, etc. I first noticed there was a problem when driving my truck home. I thought to myself "does this thing sound louder?". When I got home (approx. 15 miles from dealership) I opened the hood and saw the air filter box completely hanging off. I put the box back on and drove around and the truck now sounds normal. My question is should I address this issue with the dealership? What are the potential issues that can stem from this situation?

Thank you.

My truck has 88000 miles.
My truck has an automatic transmission.

If the air filter was not in place, dirt, leaves, you name it can be directly sucked into the engine. If you operated the engine only briefly, the risk of something really indigestable (from the standpoint of an engine) getting drawn into the cylinders is low but if you operate continuously without the air filter properly in place, damage to the engine is a given. What you are describing unfortunately is all too typical for shops. They leave off oil fill caps from valve covers, forget to put oil back in the engine after draining it, bolts, nuts, you name it. If it were me, I would ask for a partial refund of monies you paid to them because it is not your responsibility to complete the job that you paid them to complete. And, were you not generally "aware", and thus able to detect the problem, the problem could have gone undiscovered with very damaging consequences. For future service, consider YourMechanic. The service is personalized and you deal with the responsible mechanic directly and the cost is lower, too.

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