[2084] John in Portland, OR  Cracked Gasket Causes Problems

I had my daughter  change her oil in her Volkswagen at Jiffy Lube this past week.  I told her to only get the 19.99 oil change but they up-sold her to $53.99!  They told her that Volkswagen recommends that owners use synthetic oil.   They also told her that it would be on record that she used conventional oil and if anything goes wrong it could be the fault of the oil.  This was overwhelming for her and she allowed them to use the synthetic oil.  Three days later the engine oil light came on and all the oil had leaked out thru a faulty oil filter gasket they installed.  When we took the car back to the Jiffy Lube I asked to have the oil filter back as evidence.  The service manager said ok.  He showed me the filter and I took a picture of the cracked gasket.  He then finished re-servicing the Jetta and when he was finished I asked for the filter and he said he put it thru a crusher. 

Now, I don’t know what to do.   The engine got extremely hot and more than likely caused severe damage.   What can I do?  I am frustrated. 

I have attached a picture of the oil filter with the faulty, cracked gasket.  The quality of gasket on the oil filter looked poor.  Look at the attached photo and you will see sharp little tears on the inside diameter of the gasket.

[2083] Kathy in St. Charles, IL  Major Tire Problems

My son and his family had their oil changed at the Jiffy Lube in St. Charles IL. This is the same location I have gone to for the past 15 years.  Based on his recent experience we are never going there again!

While at JL they decided to have tire rotation and rear brakes looked at. Only tires were rotated and the brake work was declined.  6 days later the family was returning from a trip and had just exited Interstate 90 near Elgin IL. The left rear tire fell off the car while in the middle of traffic.  They saw that 4 out of the 5 lug nuts were gone and the 5 th lug nut had broken off and was found in tire. There were damages to the tire and the rim and the undercarriage and fiberglass near the tire area.  The mechanic stated the lug nuts were over torqued and the hub of the damaged wheel clearly showed that. JL denies any responsibility in spite of the fact they were the ONLY people who touched the lug nuts between May 5 and May 11. Do not trust your car to JL. People make mistakes but apparently Jiffy Lube employees NEVER do! They will not assume responsibility for any of their mistakes. We want to make them accountable for the damages they caused.  This family was one mile from the highway were speeds are 60 mph + and there could have been serious human injury.  They do not service consumers in a safe manner and are dangerous and should not be allowed to get away with their unsafe practices!

[2082] Jeyben in Arlington, VA  Inappropriate Telephone Call

My name is Jeyben and for the first time in a very long time or maybe ever, I took my car to Jiffy Lube this past Monday.  After my visit, I received an email from Jiffy Lube thanking me for trusting my car with Jiffy Lube.  They also asked me for my opinion.  I replied to the email with some issues I had - you can read my email below.  However, first thing this morning I got a phone call from the one person that I mention on my email!

Yes, I took the time to sit down and share my thoughts with my experience at my local Jiffy Lube not because I'm a ongoing customer but because Jiffy Lube has a reputation of being a "Local place".  Sure, the company has over 2,200 stores around the country but it's always "our local Jiffy Lube" store of simply "The place for oil change".  So, even though, I can't remember the last time I was there, I still feel as Jiffy Lube is part of the community.  This is why I took the time out of my schedule to send the below email.

However, getting this phone call early this morning was unacceptable! Here is the guy I had made my comments about on my phone! Thank goodness I was not able to answer the call but when I heard the message, I could hardly believe it.  If I sent a company comments about one of their employees, I would never expect to hear back from that specific employee.  Why would you share my contact information with that person and have them call me?  I'm thankful that I can take care of myself physically but the first thing I thought of was, "What if I was single mother?" or simply someone who couldn't take care of themselves and here is someone whom I just gave their company suggestion for better training on the phone with me!

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[2080] Rob in Huntingdon Valley, PA Missing Gasket

Recently found oil leaking on my garage floor.  I personally had not driven the vehicle for over a month since I had multiple surgeries but when I finally got back to the office noticed the floor in my garage.  Called my mechanic since the vehicle was due for inspection and he said he would check for a leak.  He called to tell me that the gasket for the drain plug was missing.  A few days earlier, I had received an e-mail from Jiffy Lube for a customer satisfaction comment.  I filled it out explaining the problem and sent it in.  A week or two later, I receive a phone call from the store manager.  Told me there was nothing he could do.  Poor customer relations.  Said that I should have brought the vehicle to him first and that he couldn’t be sure that my mechanic was telling the truth.  In his words, “ Outside mechanics are always trying to do this to us”.  Couldn’t believe his answer.  He said, what would you like me to do.  I said I’ll leave that up to you.  Still said it wasn’t there responsibility.  I reminded him that I spend over $400 a year at his location.  Didn’t matter.  When we could come to no resolve, I just said I will never be back to his location.  He said okay and have a nice day.  That was it.  Ridiculous.

[2079] Luke Employee

Hello, My name is Luke and I have a question. My girlfriend has been working at a jiffy lube for a few months now and she's the only female at this particular location. The guys have made comments to her here and there but we just kinda passed it off as garage talk. Well, they keep making negative comments about her weight and tell her she should wear makeup (she really doesnt need it) and just today one employee asked her if she's ever been in a "slut fest" and the manager walked up to her and told her, and i quote "You have a huge ass" right to her face and walked away! I can't stand for that kind of unethical treatment. She doesn't want me to do anything because she's afraid they'll make her life hell there but i can't just sit by. Can you help in any way?

[2078] Caleb Employee

Hello I have a TERRIBLE experience as a former employee. I worked for probably 20 hours including training only to get paid for less than 1 hours work. Plus here is some other juice on iffy lube. They charge 90 DOLLARS for a fuel filter which costs at the MOST 15 dollars, they would tell customers their engine air and cabin air filter needed replacing when I could tell they were brand new and would charge 50 dollars for a engine air filter and 40 for a cabin air filter a TOTAL RIP OFF. I was an apprentice at a VERY reputable local shop and knew quite a bit about cars after a year and a half of training and school and could tell that iffy lube is nothing but a rip off.=

[2077] Len in Lake Stevens, WA Oil Filter Leaked

I had my 1995 Lincoln's oil changed at the Frontier Village (Lake Stevens) Jiffy Lube and in less than a month my car ran out of oil. I filled the car back up with oil and got it to run again. I figured out that the oil filter that was installed was leaking. I removed the oil filter and cleaned it. After reinstalling it and letting the car run I could see that the filter was leaking again. I replaced the filter with a Fram oil filter and the leak stopped. I saved the oil filter and I'm sure that one of your business Reps. would want to see it to see if this is an isolated incidence or if there are more bad filters in stock.

[2075] Jon  Stripped Oil Plug

I went to the dealership to get an oil change, only to find out that during my previous oil change Jiffy Lube changed the oil plug (to one that is much harder and longer) and managed to over torque it causing the threads on the pan to strip out.  When the dealership took the plug out, the threads on the pan came with it.  Jiffy Lube claims oil pans are designed to wear out.  I don't see how anyone can seriously believe this.  I told them that, but they stuck to their story.

[2074] Anonymous in Washington State  Employee

Hey There, here is my complaint about Jiffy Lube and there dishonest way. I am a former employee. The store I worked at was in Washington State.

First off there is no respect from assistant managers and managers.  All employees are treated so poorly and disrespect that its gotten to the point where I didn't even want to go to work. I myself, the only girl in the shop, was treated so poorly compared to others and degraded all the time. When I tried to tell my manager about it he didn't do anything about it at all. My manager knew how he treated everyone yet he did nothing about it and thinks everything was fine. We had a new employee once and he would always be yelled at and disrespected. It got to the point where he tried to defend himself and the assistant manager pushed him. After that the employee who was pushed filed assault charges but you know whats the worst part about it though? The new employee was fired because he took action but management fired him AND not the assistant manager, who kept treating everyone with no respect after that. 

Second thing is the selling tactics that Jiffy Lube forces upon their employees. If you don't sell sell sell you get yelled at and your job is basically on the line. Thing is I understand every business needs to up sell but when it comes to cars its wrong. There have been so many times that I have been yelled at for not selling. They don't understand that people go in there just for an oil change. They don't go in there for be pressured to buy services that they don't even need to their car or services they can't afford. 

All the greeters are Jiffy Lube lie. I know first hand. They make up stuff to make you buy services. My advice to you all is to check your oil before you go in because they will say your oil is on a no read when in reality it was full. They say your transmission fluid is dirty when it is not. EVERYTHING THEY MAY BE TELLING YOU IS A LIE.  

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[2073] Theresa in Pittsburgh, PA Forgot to Replace Oil

I received an "oil change" yesterday, March 1, from the Greentree Road location in Pittsburgh, Pa. First of all, the process itself took over 45 minutes with only 1 other car being serviced, so I should've known something was wrong. After they were finished and I pulled out to head back home, I noticed the low oil pressure light on my dash flickering intermittently. When I got home and showed my husband, he took a look at the dipstick to find that it came back DRY. There was only .8 quarts of oil in my car! My engine could have failed on the parkway and I could've crashed! Or my engine could've been ruined! my husband's been on the phone with the idiots as that store all day trying to.get a refund, but apparently only a "District Manager" can process it? We were told this supposed District Manager would be calling us but have heard absolutely nothing. This is the worst experience I've ever had with an oil change anywhere and I certainly won't ever be returning to Nifty Lube to have this service performed again, nor will I EVER suggest Kiddy Lube to anyone I know who's looking to get their oil change. If there's anyone out in Corporate land that gives a damn, can they please help us process the refund? please? just to restore my faith in humanity?

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