The fact that you drove this engine for 30 minutes after the low oil pressure warning light it not good. Did it do damage to the engine running it with no oil pressure? You can be 100% sure that it did. How much damage is impossible to tell at this time. When you see a RED oil pressure warning light that means STOP it does not mean drive on. You should have immediately stopped if it was safe to do so. All you can do now is see what happens. It will more than likely start using oil so keep a close watch on the oil level. Do not overfill but try to keep it above the low oil level mark on the dipstick. Check the oil after the engine has been shut down for at least 15 minutes and the car is parked on a level surface. This way you will get an accurate reading. Jones Junction may have left the cap off but they did not drive it for 30 minutes with an oil pressure warning light on so really who is mostly at fault. I can tell you that leaving the oil cap off will not cause the engine to loose all it's oil. It might cause some to be blown around the engine compartment but it would not loose it all. So if it was low of oil it seems they did not put enough oil in the engine in the first place which makes them at least mostly responsible. Most cars will require from 4 to 5 quarts of oil with an oil/filter change depending on the make and model. I would demand they pay for any damage and you can bet there is some. This very well may be a car you should get rid of sooner than later as down the road that wear will come back to haunt you. If it were me, I would trade this car off asap.

It's both of your faults. They didn't put the cap on tight and you drove with an oil light on but mostly your fault when you see an oil light come on your supposed to shut the engine off immediately. You said the oil light came on so you knew what the light was.

You could sue Jones Junction. They obviously did not only do their job as they stated, but they also damaged your car.

Being that you noticed the error/damage soon after it happened, there shouldn't be too much overall damage to your car's longevity, so long as it doesn't happen again.

Driving with the BRIGHT RED OIL WARNING LIGHT ! on can cause irreparable damage to the motor .

Apparently you have never read your owners manual in the oil change section. It will tell you to stop the car and shut it off when the oil light comes on! Who ever changed your oil last is responsible for engine damage IF there was an oil leak.

Take it back to Jones'. Explain what happened. Tell them, you want another oil change at no charge and cut the filter in half that they put on the last time. If there is engine metal in the filter, they owe you 1/2 the cost of an engine replacement. There insurance co. should cover that amount. They should call their ins. co. first before cutting the filter. They should hear that noise again upon starting it up after that next oil change as the oil pressure primes it self. If it dosen't make a noise, it should be fine. Better yet. have them do this step first.

If you ran your car without oil, parts will wear prematurely. In your engine, piston goes up and down several thousand times a minute. This is constantly lubricated with oil, so the friction and wear is minimal. But, if you ran it without any oil, then it will be metal-to-metal contact.

You should have your engine tested by a professional mechanic, and if any work is necessary, you need to talk to the people who did the work. You may have to take them to court for recovery.

Two weeks ago I had my oil change done at Jones Junction and I thought it was fine, It wasn't running as smoothly as it usually did but I didn't think anything of it. I had to go to work and right before I got on to 95 the oil light came one. I drove for about 30 mins, I was planning on buying oil when I got there. I parked my car and when I started it back up, it was making a weird sound, like a clunking noise. I called my dad and when he put oil in my car it ran out. Jones Junction didn't put the cap back on tightly enough so all the oil had run out of my car. My dad was able to put oil in my car with a new cap and it seemed to run fine, no unusual noises and it seemed to run smoothly again. Are there any mechanics that can give me advice on how this could effect the life of my car, and what I should do about Jones?