Hi,

 

I have had a run of bad luck with my 2009 Subaru Outback, and was hoping I'd reached the end of it. But my check engine light came on in the evening two days ago.  After that, I drove home 5 miles.  I took it in the following morning - the verdict was that something chewed through one of the spark plug wires.  Ok, so I had that fixed.  This morning I call the mechanic and they're telling me that I actually drove 65 miles on 3 cylinders (this was before the check engine light came on) and that this put a lot of stress on the engine, and might have caused damage to the engine.  Well, I just had a brand new engine put in last month, so I am totally freaked out at this point.  They said not to worry about it too much, but how can I not worry??  

 

I guess my question is, how worried should I be?  Thanks, Bev

out of an abundance of caution, you could do a an oil change, maybe it's slightly diluted with fuel - but really, anything else (stress on the catalytic converter ?) is probably not worth worrying about - just drive the car and continue to monitor it for problems/changes.

 

If you live in an area where your car may be subject to more invasions by rodents, there are a half dozen things you can try to limit that in the future. If they chewed on stuff once, they'll likely be back.

 

put 'clumps' from a cat litter box under where you park, refresh occasionally. Buy fox urine or similar at a sporting goods store? Find a Zoo or hobbyist that keeps snakes, put a shed snake skin under where you park. Even cat hair from a brush, or from a dog/cat groomer's , might help discourage 'critters'.

Edited September 5, 201411 yr by 1 Lucky Texan

I have had marters rodents eating my high tension cables a couple of times. I got an ultra sonic piezo emitter and never had issues again. 

There's no reason they should be telling you that. You would have had a serious power problem if there was damage being done to the engine.

 

Don't worry about it, Drive and enjoy!

Hate to say it, but this sounds like a classic case of a mechanic taking advantage of a woman to me (been there, done that, which is why I decided to learn more about cars in general, my Subaru(s) specifically)

 

They are more than likely feeding you a line of horse biscuits in the hopes of making more money from you.

 

As 1LuckyTexan suggested, get an oil change to eliminate the possibility of dilution from unburned fuel that may have gotten into the oil pan, and drive on.

as a rule - you shouldn't drive a car with a flashing CEL. That indicates severe misfiring and can damage the catalytic converter - perhaps heat things to the point of combustion?.

 

If the car drove reasonably well (safe braking and turning, etc.), was not making loud knocking/clanking noises, and the CEL was not flashing - hard to imagine any serious damage.

 

bev - perhaps in a new thread, ask for a recomendation for a new shop to service the car. There should be several places in CO that have good reputations. I dunno where your city is, but RetroRoo would be a great shop for you if you live nearby; 6300 E 88th Ave #4, Henderson, CO 80640

  (720) 440-1662

Cascade Subaru, right off Pikes Peak Hwy.

 

Another good reason to track MPG.