Oil change done wrong

Question

So I recently took my 2011 GMC Terrain to get an oil change. My truck takes synthetic oil so oil changes are pretty pricey! It’s only been about 2 1/2 weeks since I gotten this oil change and since than I haven’t drove anywhere far just work and home, maybe a store here and there. Being it’s thanksgiving I decided to go outta town ( a 1hr and 35min drive). My truck was driving just fine got on the expressway and came to some bad traffic! My truck started to stall and ended up cutting off. I tried to start it up and it seemed to not want to start but once it did I noticed that it sounded funny a noise I never heard it make. The noise and the fact that it kept stalling I had to get off the expressway and pull over. My brother in-law was in the car with me and checked my oil. Bone dry!! How could this be! I just got an oil change not even a month ago!! I was across the street from an autozone thankfully and went to get oil. That didn’t seem to help a Machanic was called and he noticed that my oil was all in my undercarriage! And my engine is knocking. The Machanic also stated that my engine rods are ruined due to the fact all my oil leaked out. Is it possible that the people who did my oil change didn’t put my oil filter in the right way? I park in the same spots at work and home I didn’t see any oil stains or spots on the ground. I Was told I should contact the last people who touched my car which was the people who did my oil change. When I spoke to the man he told me that just because I got my oil changed by them doesn’t mean my oil would leak out!! I don’t kno much about cars but I only had this truck since May and had one other oil change prior to this one and nothing like this happened before. Also I do know that I didn’t have no oil leak because if that was the case I would of seen oil stains where I park at

Answer 1

Is it possible that the people who did my oil change didn’t put my oil filter in the right way?

Yes, but without proof you will have a very difficult time getting the "oil changer(s)" to do anything about it. You did not mention in your post whether or not the mechanic that was called found the oil filter loose or missing; this could be an important clue that might lead back to the "oil changer(s)" having some responsibility.

Have a reputable professional mechanic determine the cause of the loss of oil, and if it is related to a loose or missing filter you could have her put it in writing and confront the "oil changer(s)" with a demand for repair. They will likely deny responsibility which means you take legal action, buy a new motor, or buy a new truck... your choice.

Answer 2

Because the vehicle had not left drips of oil where you park it, it would look like it was not a slow leak from a bad oil change. I would guess that a component has failed, such as your engine oil cooler or one of the pipes that connect to it.

It is possible that the sump plug or oil filter wasn't tightened enough at the oil change and that because this is the first time that the engine has reached full temperature for a long period that one of them has come loose. It should be very obvious by looking at the engine if this is the case.