Oil insert filter O ring
 

On my XC70 oil has leaked from the oil filter insert onto the alternator, which had to be replaced. This is less than 2 months after a main dealer service. I’m told it’s due to a failed/split O ring. My question is, should this have been identified and replaced during the service, where the oil filter insert was replaced, or is it something that can just happen and the fault of no one?

Well it can happen but I think we know what really happened and it was just too much effort and bonus time consuming to fit the new rings at the time,

If you're asking can I claim the cost of the alternator from them I think you'll be met with a wall of silence and the only way then is small claims which will probably cost more than the alternator in the end and you'll still not win because rubber can fail and there's no real way to prove it wasn't replaced or fitted properly.

Maybe the wrong shaped o ring was fitted. When I replaced my oil filter I needed a chamfered o ring and not a round one that came with the filter.

The filter comes with a new ring it will have been used

The absolute bane of car service: Time Saved Bonus.
The things I've seen in the trade bare testimony to your experience.
Snine T's comment says it all.
Just saying 🤔

Ugh! It's why I prefer to do as mush as I can. Another example: pollen filter crushed, debris and crud accumulating on the condenser. They also cross threaded one of the nuts holding the glove box in place. This was a random garage in Reading, no idea if they get time bonuses.

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Crazy talk! They probably didn't sit the ring properly, or didn't lubricate it thus tearing when tightening. Unlucky :Not_Impressed:

I have to say this…