But they aren't taking it seriously =(

Lie? Heck, you're lucky if they put the oil plug back in!

Fine to run carb cleaner through a car with carbs. It's all this modern new-fangled technology that's to blame!

Just so you know, the engine in the close up shots is a Jeep 4.0L

From your brothers/sisters at Jalopnik :)

Just another reason to find a trusted local mechanic. Sure, Jiffy Lube might be cheaper and quicker, but would you rather pay a little more and know your car is done right or pay less and get out quicker, but have your car breakdown because of them not putting on the oil cap correctly...

See: [consumerist.com]

It was all of the upselling that soured me forever on oil change places. I have been changing my own oil for over 9 years now, which I know is not an option for everyone. I wonder if dealerships that do oil changes also upsell, but I'm sure they don't try to push something on you that will blow up your engine.

@Bahnburner: Truth. And considering how important an oil change is to the longevity of your car I find it worth it to have my trusted mechanic do them for me. He certainly appreciates the business and I don't worry about crap like that.

When I was 16 my parents went out of town and while they were gone I realized my dad's Crown Vic (best car I've ever driven, I can't help it) was due for an oil change. So I took it to a local Jiffy lube, and guess how much it was for an oil change? $70. O, and thats before they confused a teenager into getting his transmission fluid flushed, both air filters replaced and "signature oil filter". $300+ later I found a local mechanic that changes my oil for $20 every time and tops off the other fluids to boot.

@nursetim: I used to change my own oil in an apt parking lot. It's pretty trivial and completely worth it for the peace of mind of having good, synthetic oil, a good filter (no Fram please) and the correct level in the engine. Plus, the look and smell of the oil can tip you off if you're having any engine problems.

Nothin' new ... there's not much money to be made doing $20-$30 oil changes; the money is when they upsell and cheat the customer.

Never could understand why folks even trust these places in the first place ... great idea to entrust your $20k+ vehicle to a high school dropout to do the work, eh?

That's not to say that all dropouts and quickie lube places are automatically going to do poor work, but there's not much of a reputation risk like a new car dealer's service dept. or even a local mechanic carries either.

After I purchased my house in July, I went to Wal-Mart (I know, I'm a horrible person) to get an oil change. I was in a hurry because I had a lot to do with the whole house thing and all, and I gave into their fuel injector cleaning upsell. Since then, my car makes a really weird noise (like one of those whistles that you blow in and it makes that weird spinning noise) when I accelerate. Are there any mechanics or automotive people on this board that can help me determine if it may be linked? What might one hear if they got this service and it went bad?

The problem is, my HOA doesn't allow for any type of work on cars in our parking spaces so I guess I'm stuck using these types of services. I guess I'm going to have to seek out a local guy that I can trust...

I know Jiffy Lube has hurt some people in the past, but I never have any issue there. It helps to stand at the window of the waiting room and watch them the whole time. I used to go to Oil Can Henry's but it's over twice as much for the same oil change. Plus, my car burns oil and Jiffy will refill it before the next change; Henry's wouldn't do that, or so they said.

Jiffy Lube is awful. I've forbidden my fiance from ever going there again after they tightened the oil plug so tight I ended up stripping it after attempting to change her oil myself.

On another note, I think that any undercover reporting by a local tv station involving the word "lube" should be done by no one but Carl Monday.

I had something like this happen to me a few years ago. I had just moved from my hometown- where I had my little oil change place that always did a fantastic job. So when I moved a half hour away, I decided to find another oil change place closer to home. I went to Victory Oil Change and they tried to do an oil flush. They said that my oil wouldn't come clean unless I got it flushed. I said that I'd never heard of that and that I'd even heard that sometimes flushes weren't good, in particular for older cars because of sediment coming loose and plugging stuff up. They said that they'd do my oil change, but that my oil wouldn't be clean and I that, basically, I was stupid to not follow there recommendations. So, when he showed me my dipstick with the new oil on it, there were some chunks of sediment and he said that if I'd gotten the oil flush, it would be completely clean. I left and happened to go back to my old oil change place for my next oil change. When they did my oil change, they never said anything about flushing it, so I asked them. They said that most cars do not need flushing of any kind and that I was right to question having an oil flush. And when they showed me my dipstick after the oil change, it was clean. I've also had oil change places tell me that I needed a new air filter (when I had replaced it days before), that I need to have my radiator flushed because it was all water and no coolent (when I had NEVER put water into my radiator, only coolent) and that I needed a new serpentine belt (when mine looked brand new). I find it funny that these "mechanics" think they are smarter than everyone that comes into their business. Just because I take my car in for an oil change doesn't mean I'm stupid about cars or couldn't do it myself. I could do it, but I'm not allowed to work on my car in the parking lot at my condo. Plus, men are weird when they see a young lady fixing her car and want to help or watch- neither of which I would want.

@SabreDC: Just go back to said Wal-Mart and do the change in the back parking lot. Park, do some shopping to cool the oil a bit. Then come out and drain it. Wait a little for the drops, spin off the old filter and on with the new. Pop the drain plug back in and refill. Give the guys at their shop the used oil and be on your way.

@SabreDC: Not a mechanic, but when I had a similar sounding problem it was a cracked Exhaust Manifold; the whistle when you accelerate is air escaping/entering.

I guess this was a known part to fail, because the new one had flex "shock absorbers" in it where the old one had cracked.

@Bahnburner: And damn, if you have an old car that has a gasket between the plug & the oil pan.

There are some dealerships that will try to upsell additional services that are not part of the scheduled service. Make sure you know what is being done as part of a scheduled service. Most if not all onwers manuals will spell out what service is needed for a given service/mileage interval. If the dealership wants to upsell you can always say "no, just do what is required per the manufacturer" or go to another dealer. I change my own oil and most other work on my vehicles unless they are still under warentee (sp). Even if you don't do your own service, READ the Owners Manual and know what needs to be done and when. You will have a more satisifying ownership experience. It makes me crazy when people don't read their owners manual!

If you want the scum of the Earth to work on your car then by all means take it to Jiffy-Lube. Sure not 'everyone' there is a total scumbag but we all know the types of people that work there and the majority of them could give a shit about you or your vehicle.

Yeah, I barely trust lube shops to do an oil change. These guys are not Mechanics, they are lube techs. Places like this do not require ASE certification, which means any dude who can hold a wrench can get a job. Also, don't go to the dealership for anything unless its for the scheduled maintenance. Find a recommended shop in your area and have REAL mechanics look at your car. A good mechanic will do visual inspections during the oil change and make necessary recommendations.

@Michael: Two more options that are better yet:

1: Take your vehicle to a certified dealership repair center. Sure, it's more expensive than "Franks Garage and Donut Shoppe" and there's no guarantee that they won't take advantage of your pocketbook. However, they won't screw around with services that might/will damage your car. If they do, the manufacturer will come down HARD on that dealership, whether or not they actually help you get your vehicle repaired properly.

2: Learn how to maintain your vehicle by yourself. It's daunting at first, but can be a rewarding experience in the long run. That, and your only real cost is parts!

If I don't have the ability to change the oil at home I will take it to either the dealership (for our VW) or the mechanics we trust because they have a clue what they are doing. The VW dealership charges $60 for a frikking oil change but that includes full brand name synthetic, I know they know what they are doing and if they screw it up the dealership will be fixing the vehicle. Running dino oil through some of the VW engines can cause them to fail.

@Bahnburner: I went to a Jffy Lube in Florida once where they definitely did put the oil plug back in. They sent me out of the shop with no oil in my engine, but at least they did put the oil plug back in the pan.

Jiffy Lube sold me that damn fuel injection cleaning package five years ago and destroyed my radiator. That $50 service wasn't so cheap when it wound up costing me over a thousand bucks to fix my car. Never ever again.

I'll swap out my spark plugs and rotate my tires but I hate changing my oil. Messy job and then I have to take the oil to a place that will take care of it (probably Jiffy Lube anyway? No thanks. I'd rather pay Jiffy Lube $30 to do it.

I love how the company's response is always to treat it as a one-time incident with a few bad apples, then fire the low level, low paid employees as if its all their fault.

Everyone knows Jiffy Lube corporate actively encourages this sort of upselling technique. They put incredible pressure on their shop managers to meet impossibly high sales quotas for each type of service, and push illicit upsellings as a means for making quota, then when the **** hits the fan, they blame the employees and act like they had no idea.

This is not the first "undercover expose" of Jiffy Lube's business practices, this company is so well known to be corrupt and deceptive, that they've become reliable filler material for local news stations with holes in their schedules. Jiffy Lube didn't learn after the first few reports, and I doubt they'll learn from this one.

I once got sold on "MotorVac" service (engine flushing) at a Chevron service station in Bellevue. I was dubious and hesitant at first, but the counter guy told me it provided improved performance, cleaned out built up gunk, yadda yadda. So I got it.

Got my car back, and it stalled every couple hundred feet. The engine flush had apparently led to my fuel pump burning out. But they were SO NICE to replace it without charging me labor (parts, not so much).

The real mechanic there couldn't figure out why i'd gotten the MotorVac service.

Yeah, I didn't go back.

I really need to find a new place to change my oil. I've gone to Jiffy Lube for years (one of those things where my parents went there for years, and I kept going there when I moved away many years ago). The #1 thing they try to upsell at my JL is air filters, then tire rotations, radiator flushes, and fuel injection cleaning. I've only had one problem with their service--they overfilled the coolant once and it leaked for quite awhile. No lasting damage, though it freaked me out.

"In a statement, both JiffyLube and EZLube say it wasn't acceptable for employees to lie and say services were recommended by the manufacturer when they weren't, and the employees caught would be fired."

I'd like to see Best Buy fire it's employees for offering Extended Warranties that are not recommended by manufacturers, or paid tech services which disable critical security components in Windows.

@racermd: If your car is more than, say, five years old, taking it to the dealership may not be that great an idea. Their mechanics won't be that familiar with it anymore, since most of what they do is warranty service. Plus, they know that every time they fix your old car, it's a lost sale for the dealership.

You're better off finding a good independent mechanic, IMHO.

@testsicles: I just take mine to the nearest auto parts store. They have a big tank in the back to dump it in. No charge.

I agree it's a hassle, though. I only do it because I have older, unusual cars that the Iffy Lube places have no clue about. After having to walk them through an oil change once, *and* bring my own oil because they didn't have the right grade, I realized it was easier to just do it myself.

I had the Honda dealership telling me I needed a new oil filter with each oil change, then he got pissed when I refused. Is what he said true?

@calquist: Generally yes, each oil change needs a new oil filter. A few cars allow you to use the filter for two changes; check your manual. Filters are cheap, though, and if it clogs unfiltered oil will bypass into your engine, shortening its life.

@nursetim: My arm doesn't bend in enough places to get to the oil filter on my car. Stupic Volkswagen. Still don't know how the guys at the dealership do it.

Not Toyota! The dealership I went into for an oil change (I had a coupon for a free one) recommended I get fuel injection cleaning because it was "costing me a few MPG's". My mileage hasn't noticeably diminished in the 5 years since I bought the car, and the $249.99 they wanted to charge me would probably take 75 years to pay for itself.

@narf: There is a shitload of money to be made selling even those cheapass $20 oil changes. I changed my own oil a few times. The markup on the service is like 120%!

So they fired the guy for doing his job? Corporate always pushes for more sales, why would they even ofter the service if damages your car... "greed" and they don't give a dam about the pour tech just doing his job the way they push him too...

@SabreDC: car make, model, and year please? When is the last time you had your belts changed? Otherwise so far sounds like it could be a air leak, does your car consume more fuel?

@satyricaldude: Factor in the wages, building overhead, etc., and no, there's not much money to be made at that price, hence their desire to cheat the customers.

I've always did my own oil changes, not so much for the cost savings, but for knowing that it's done correctly.

Interesting in that I recently had an issue with my 2005 Saturn Vue's gas gauge not reading correctly. GM's response was to run fuel cleaner through my car to clean off the sulfer from the inexpensive gas I'd been buying at our grocery store (10 cents off per gallon for every $100 spent).

I was told specifically not to buy the non-detergent gas (so much for saving 10 cents/gallon at the grocery store), given a list of "approved" gas stations to buy gas from AND told to occasionally run fuel injector cleaner through my car. They even went so far as to recommend which fuel injector cleaner to us (I believe it was BG or something to that affect).

The cleaning (covered under warrenty at the time) solved the gas gauge problem and it hasn't returned since I've been using the gas from the recommended gas stations. I have yet to run additional fuel additives through my engine.

I used to go to Jiffy Lube simply because it was cheap and they top off fluids as well as change oil. I had an old car that leaked oil AND power steering fluid. Took the car in, was told it was done. Drove off to the whine of no PS fluid. Looked under the hood and the SAME oil filter was there as when I brought it in. Went back and told the mgr they charged me and did NOTHING to my car. He was visibly embarrassed that they had been caught.
I never went back.

@calquist: For my car (Acura Integra) it's something like oil filter change every 5k, and oil change every 3.5k. Since oil filters cost like 5 bucks, and you're going to be down there anyway, I've always just replaced them both when I change my oil. So no, its not very shady for them to suggest that. As long as they're going to be down there, might as well replace both, since it doesn't cost much.

Jiffy Lube blows. Before my girlfriend and I started seeing each other, she used to take her car to Jiffy Lube. Last year, in reviewing her receipts from Jiffy Lube, I discovered, on at least three occasions, she was charged $40 for 'rear differential service' (obviously something they told her she needed to have done and she believed them, not knowing any better). But, funny thing, her car does not have a rear differential, it is front wheel drive. This was total, blatent fraud and outright deception.

She felt bad when I told her, but she now has an honest mechanic...me!

I got taken in by this scam the other day at a Power Toyota dealer. I had to get other substantial work done (in addition to the standard 60k maintenance schedule stuff, I had to get a brake job) and they snuck in the $200+ fuel injector cleaning service. I should have been more careful, but they did their best to "bundle" all of it together and not explaining just how much more it would cost, making it more difficult to refuse.

Many articles on automotive service, as well as the comments here note the importance of finding a "trustworthy" local mechanic who is not affiliated with a big corporate interest, but are there any reliable resources to help you find one? For as much value and safety mechanics are trusted with, there is a surprising dearth of regulation and/or competent and meaningful licensing.

@Orv: I will admit I do check the work from Jiffy Lube, the one Jiffy Lube I sent it to always came back with check fluid levels. But the place I've taken it to regularly over the past several years does a good job and I oa loose filter and was leaking oil or they added too much oil and one time they left the radiator cap off on a vehicle that you don't even need to remove the radiator cap to nly check it every so often to make sure everything's OK.

@testsicles: wow that got messed up:

I will admit I do check the work from Jiffy Lube, the one Jiffy Lube I sent it to always came back with a loose filter and was leaking oil or they added too much oil and one time they left the radiator cap off on a vehicle that you don't even need to remove the radiator cap to check fluid levels. But the place I've taken it to regularly over the past several years does a good job and I only check it every so often to make sure everything's OK.

It is obvious that the Jiffy Lube corporation is pushing its employees into selling these dangerous services. Like Best Buy pushes its employees to sell Extended Warranty. Jiffy Lube is only sorry it got caught. Take your car to a real car mechanic/shop.

Jiffy Lube almost destroyed my Civic a few years ago. Not only did the 'junior mechanic in training' (they call them, employees) put in a full quantity of oil into my engine without actually emptying it first, but he ripped my radiator hose.

The hose they had to run out, and replace, since my car was immobile. The busted engine seals due to having a drastically overfilled engine, was mine to enjoy.

Never went back.

I used to take my car to Jiffy Lube for oil changes and after three trips one year, I noticed that a day or two after the oil had been changed, something would go wrong with my car. If this had happened after one oil change I would not have thought anything was peculiar, but 3 times in a row???? That is mighty fishy. I now let my regular mechanic do the oil changes at his shop. The extra five bucks is worth it for my peace of mind.