Dealer did not put enough oil in car?

Personally, I think your boyfriend is screwed.
I once took my car to a Valvoline store in the city, about 2 hours away. The oil light started coming on, almost before I got home. I drove it that way for a while, knowing the oil had just been changed, and it had to be a fault. Nope! There was no oil in the car by the time I checked it.

There is a oil and lube place locally that doesn’t re-fill the car completely. I went there twice. The first time the oil light started coming on at 2,000 miles! I took it back and mentioned it. That time the oil light started coming on at about 1,500 miles!

Short of convincing the AG to do an investigation, I don’t know how anyone would ever prove it. The re-filled oil would have to be drained and measured on the spot for it to be valid.

He has no proof that the oil was shorted and he has no proof that low oil caused the knocking.
I don’t mean to be harsh…I just don’t think there’s reason to give you any hope, here.

Your boyfriend is SOL.
I have gone through a similar situation. Without documentation, the dealership will deny making mistakes. They will say “How do we know this wasn’t from his recklessly racing the car?”

Hate to state the obvious but the very first thing you do when buying a used car is look at the fluids in the engine starting with the oil. Your BF apparently did not do this so I see little opportunity for recourse from the dealer.

He wasn’t purchasing the car used, he was having it serviced at his dealership, @Cruiser.

”...he changed the oil himself the next time. He has changed it before so he knows how fast the oil burns and it should not have burned through that quickly.”

It might be a good idea, but I don’t know of anyone that checks the oil immediately after they pay to have it changed.
My oil level appeared okay after a change and the light came on at 1,500 miles. ‘07 Camry that normally runs to 3,000+ with no problem.

If the dealer / mechanic are scrupulous enough – and good enough at business – to own up to a previous error, then they will probably at least “help out” with the required after-incident maintenance and repairs. (Consider that the car is at least ten years old, and things wear out on their own even with perfect maintenance, so the lifter repair might be “somewhat premature”, but it’s probably not all on the mechanic, either.)

So they might offer to give a reduced price on the additional work required (on a new car you might expect them to accept the full responsibility), and if you can get that, then consider that you have an ethical shop. (Perhaps not fully competent, after all, but at least ethical.)

If they won’t own up to the mistake – assuming they really made one – and won’t give you relief on additional work, then you’re dealing with a shop that is both incompetent and unethical. And why look to them for anything after that realization?

It depends whether it was done intentionally / happened by mistake. If intentional then no dealer will agree of his wrong doing otherwise he should do it. See how it goes and let us know.

Low oil level will not cause a hydraulic lifter to fail if the engine still had oil pressure. (The condition you describe is called a “collapsed lifter.”) If the car had a oil pressure gauge, and lost all oil pressure, your boyfriend should have noticed right off. If the car had only a “idiot light,” your boyfriend should still have noticed. Usually, this will not cause a lifter to fail. No oil pressure for a short amount of time will not cause a lifter to fail. Since the car is a 2005 and probably has quite a few miles on it, this could just be a fluke, like a fuel pump going out. The condition you describe could also be cause by an excessively worn cam lobe, which can happen after the engine has acquired many miles, or a poor quality of oil was used throughout the engine’s life. The ticking sound could also be caused by a worn timing chain, worn wrist pin, main bearing, connecting rod bearing, collapsed piston skirt, worn rocker arm, broken main cap bolt, broken connecting rod cap bolt, or broken valve spring.
Your bf is SOL.

For those who wish to know, a single lifter is never replaced by itself. All lifters and the camshaft require replacement, otherwise the new lifter and the (old) camshaft (lobe) will fail in a very short time.
In a engine rebuild where the camshaft and lifters are to be reused, all lifters must be replaced in the same position they were before.

I always check the oil level myself after an oil change.

I have had problems with overfilling twice. This can cause serious problems like excessive oil pressure (putting undue stress on engine seals), oil foaming (witch rapidly causes the oil to lose it’s lubricating properties) and excessive windage (Too much oil surrounding the crank, causing a reduction in engine output and smoothness).

Both times I had the change done by the Honda or Acura dealership. Once I saw the level far to high on the dipstick I loosened the drain plug and took the excess out.

I theorize that the quick oil change department is not taking the time to drain the engine fully. This could also be the reason my previously spotless internals were suddenly dirty looking.

I watch my oil level like a hawk as my car it runs best with a slightly low level. This means adding small amounts around twice a month.

I miss the days when I had the ability to perform the change myself. using a Honda filter and crush washer of course.

@SecondHandStoke Well, to be specific, a high oil level will not cause excessive oil pressure because the oil pump can only take in so much oil and the pressure regulator valve in the pump will open if there is too much, discharging the excess, thus maintaining the proper pressure.
Yes, the oil could foam but the real danger here is the throws of the crankshaft striking the oil could cause excessive vibration in the crankshaft, possibly resulting in breakage.