Toyota Repair: ENGINE SEIZED & BLOCK IS BROKEN, oil drain plug, engine oil pressure

Question
Hi Ted,
I've a 2001 Toyota Camry with 66,747 miles. I did an oil change at American Tire and Auto Center, GreenBrook, NJ on Aug 16, 2006. My engine seized on Aug 23, 2006 at 9am. I did notice the 'Low engine oil pressure warning light' on Sunday Aug 20th. At that time I wasn't quite sure of the significance of this warning light as it had never happened to me before. Using logic, i thought since i've just done an oil change this might be a electric failure. On Wednesday morning my engine seized on the highway. I call AAA and they checked for oil and there was none. I towed the car to the auto mechanic who had done my oil change. They claimed it wasn't their fault. Now I've an engine block which is broken.

Could you pls tell me the possible causes for this? I'm definitely sure its due to the oil change. I drove approx. 700 miles after the oil change. Is it because they forgot to put oil or they forgot to tighten the gasket?

Thanks,
Kanchana

Answer
There are a few of possibilities, first of all if they forgot to put in oil you would not have been able to drive 700 miles, the engine would have seized almost immediately, two possibilities remain, the most common is that they forgot to tighten the oil drain plug and it finally fell out, the wrong oil filter was installed and it started to leak causing loss of oil and oil pressure causing the engine to destroy itself.
I think that you need to have another opinion, I would have a toyota dealer determine the cause and then have them document their findings, if they determine that it may have been the fault of the place that did the oil change then you need to deal with them, give them the opportunity to correct the problem, if they refuse and do not accept responsibility you may have to have the engine replaced/repaired and then sue them to recover the cost in small claims court. It seems to me that it was clearly their fault and they are trying to cover up.