Garage has put wrong oil in suspension

[Lynnzer]

The headline says it all.
I placed my trust in my local non dealership garage to sort out a leak in my steering - suspension system as Citroen couldn't do the work for a few days.
When I left the car with them I actually left the forecourt then turned around and went back in to tell them that I know the C5 has to have a special type of fluid, and that it is critical.
When I went back to collect the car they hadn't found the leak and the car was on the forecourt in the low position. One of the mechanics was adding oil to the tank and I asked him for an empty bottle so I could buy a couple of extra litres to top up until I could get the Citroen garage to take a look.
So off I went to Halfords 2 days later to buy a couple of extra litres. They took one look at the empty oil bottle and I could see the look of horror on their faces.

They tell me it'll cause almost irreparable damage and will cost a damn fortune to sort out the problems it'll cause.

In the meantime, Citroen have found the leek, will charge the normal astronomical price to mend it, but I discovered the wrong oil problem since then.
So, what's the score here guys?
There's been 3 litres added so far.
Is this a case of a complete flushing of the system or worse?
The car is in pristine condition but has 114000 miles on the clock so the residual value won't be much I doubt. It may be write-off if costs are substantial.
Naturally I'm going to the garage that added the wrong fluid to make a claim for damages but I want to give them a cost based on fact, not on the standard Citroen doom and gloom and profit ratio.
I would like input on the fix, the problem that wrong oil will cause4. Is it going to destroy seals or worse etc.
Off to Florida for a fortnight so the car won't be mended (for the leak) until I get back so would like to be able to give a complete breakdown of remedies and costs to the original garage before i go back to Citroen.

[addo]

Well, what did they put in? Cat's pee?

How can any damage be estimated if the causative agent is unquantified?

[Mandrake]

If its conventional DOT 4 brake fluid all the seals in the hydraulic system will be ruined, especially if you let the car sit for a few weeks after it has already been pumped around the hydraulic system...the only chance for it to survive is to get it flushed out ASAP and there are still no guarantees that things will be ok. Chances are various components will start leaking if not straight away then a few weeks/months down the road.

If its any thin mineral based oil that has been put in, such as conventional Dexron II ATF (which is commonly used in power steering) then you will be ok - the friction enhancers will wear the hydraulic components more rapidly than normal, but only if you do a few thousand miles or more. If you get it drained out and the system thoroughly flushed it should be just fine.

So as Addo says, the prognosis is highly dependant on WHAT was put in. Until we know that we can't be specific.

Regardless of the amount of damage I would make a claim on the original garage. If they put the wrong stuff in its their fault and they are responsible, even if the only cost is to have the system thoroughly flushed.

[Gibbo2286]

That's a pretty odd tale, if Citroen found the leak and fixed it surely they would have spotted if the wrong fluid was in there and fixed that too.
As for you chances of getting compensated for damage done I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you, courts don't give compen on hearsay they want evidence and showing them an empty bottle won't be enough.

[Lynnzer]

What they put in was Carplus LHM+.
It says on the filler cap it should be Total LDS.
Any problems?

[Mandrake]

LHM+ is the mineral oil used in older Citroens Xantia and earlier. LDS is a synthetic oil used in C5 and later. LHM+ won't hurt the seals in a C5 as far as I know but should still be drained out and replaced as soon as possible, with a second drain and replace maybe a week later being a good idea to deal with the oil that would have been in the piping during the first drain. Annoying, but not a disaster, and I wouldn't expect any long term damage provided it is drained soon.

[addo]

I wouldn't sweat it. A full flush and you should be good.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

I'd have it drained and filled with Hydraflush (or whatever it is called) drive for a couple of hundred miles and then have filled with the correct fluid, only way to be sure really.

[Mandrake]

I wouldn't suggest using Hydraflush - the Hydraflush that is commonly spoken of is a slightly different formulation of LHM+ designed to flush LHM based systems, so you would be "flushing" with almost the same wrong stuff that you were trying to get rid of, further contaminating the system. Unless there is an LDS version of Hydraflush, but I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere before...

Besides, the flushing aspect of Hydraflush is mainly extra detergents etc to lift muck out of the systems into suspension in the oil so they can be drained. It wouldn't provide any additional benefit when the point of the exercise was to replace incorrect but clean oil rather than clean grime out of the system...

Just draining and replacing, possibly twice with a hundred mile or so gap in between the first and second drain is all that's needed.

[cachaciero]

LHM+ is a semi synthetic version of the fully synthetic LDS, you shouldn't have any problem driving on it for a while.
Citroen will probably be a bit picky and want to flush it all out.

cachaciero