Ask an expert

Hello, I wonder if you can give me some advice. My 2014 Holden Barina has had a catastrophic engine failure at 82,420 Km 3 weeks after a service with Holden.
Here is a brief history of the car and my discussion with the Service Clerk at Holden.
•   13th Jan 2016 bought 2014 Holden Barina with 14,120 Km on clock from Holden Dealer
•   21st Oct 2016   @ 25,048 km   30,000k service done
•   4th Sept 2017   @ 39,829 km   45,00k service done
•   30th April 2018   @ 49,523 km   new battery
•   16th Aug 2018    @ 54,093 km   60,000km service done
•   8th March 2019    @60,912 km   Engine under boost code checked with Holden as came up as Fault 89
•   30th Sept 2019    @ 66,000 km   Service by different company
•   19th July 2020   @74,509 km   Water pump failed fault 89 code
•   24th July 2020   @74,512 km   Holden replaced water pump
•   27th Sept 2020   @75,877 km   Check coolant leaks
•   12th Jan 2020   @ 80629 km   Fault Code 89, phoned Holden. Suggest we check water and oil. Both were fine.
•   13/14th Jan 21   @ 80,649 km   Dropped off at Holden. They phoned to say that 89 code was because of overdue service. I questioned this and asked them to re-check with mechanic They phoned me back to say just a service needed.
•   13th Feb 2021   @ ? km    Oil light fault code oil 4%, checked oil level and dipstick read oil at correct level. phoned Holden and drove immediately to them. They cleared the code stating that it wasn’t cleared during service.
•   15th Feb 2021   @82,420 km   Car screeching (like a fan belt needs adjusting)
•   16th Feb 2021   @82,439 km    Holden diagnosed as internal motor failure. Quoted for replacement engine. $8778.64 less $1,364.64 good will. Leaving me out of pocket $7,414 estimate to pay for repairs.

It should be noted that the visit on the 13th Jan 2021 they have supplied no information on clearing the fault codes when I took it in. This was when the oil fault had presented itself.
The car was serviced at 66,00kms- it was due its next service at 76,000km. It had a fault and was with another mechanic and then Holden at 74,509.00. I was unaware that the car required a service at 76,000km and I was not informed that it really needed a service. It was serviced again at 80,649.00 (4,000 km over)
Holden implied that the failure was due to the missed service, however it failed after a service with them and they failed to diagnose the fault that I had contacted them about when it was in their workshop, furthermore clearing the codes without diagnosing what prompted the code to appear.
Could you please advise as to whether I have any re-dress on this matter, and if so what is my best way forward?

Hi there,
It would be difficult to know the extent and exact cause of the engine failure. Was the oil used the correct type for that vehicle? If the oil level was full and the engine failed, it could be a supply issue which would point to the oil pump.
This would then pose a question as to what would cause the oil pump to fail?
The catch 22 is that the engine might need a strip down and assessment to find the fault in order to find any responsibility on one instance or chain of events.
If any of the fault codes were low oil pressure warning codes then this might have given an indication that something was starting to go wrong before the engine failed. From what I can see code 89 is oil life reset and is just a calculation of time since last changed.