A Day At Jiffy Lube

[Brian R.]

Today I went to a local Jiffy Lube to get the oil changed in my wife's car. While I was there, they said they could change my transmission fluid and flush my radiator (Toyota 45K recommendations).

I figured that it would be a time saver to do it while I was there on the weekend rather than screw around with this during the week at my local mechanic and have to drive her car to work and drop it off, pick it up afterward, etc. So, I said OK, change the transmission fluid and flush the engine coolant.

I should have known something was going to happen when the guy installing my oil filter had to be shown that you have to apply oil to the filter gasket.

The transmission fluid replacement went OK. To change the transmission fluid, they have a cool machine that has a visible movable piston in a vertical cylinder. The piston is initially at the bottom of the cylinder with new fluid above it filling the cylinder. There are two lines connected to either ends of the cylinder. The bottom line is connected to the transmission line that feeds the transmission cooler. The line connected to the upper end of the cylinder is connected to the return connection on the transmission. The engine is run and the transmission pumps the old fluid into the cylinder and the piston is displaced upward and pushes the new fluid into the transmission through the return line. After about 15 min, the fluid comes out of the transmission clean and red and it's done. (The wonders of modern technology).

While this was going on, the guy in the next bay needed his car pushed out of the bay backwards for a reason I didn't determine. The Jiffy Lube guy at the steering wheel held the car door open and was looking backward while the car was pushed through the narrow opening in the rear of the bay. (Do you see where this is going?). The owner of the car was in the parking lot behind the car and started yelling "WATCH THE DOOR, WATCH THE DOOR" to no avail. CRUNCH and the car door was history. He started yelling that he was going on vacation the next day and I guess that got sorted out between him and the manager. I gave him my name and phone number as a witness and lost interest in that source of amusement.

Meanwhile, the Lexus in the next bay was getting its tires rotated with a neat lift that raises the entire car far enough off the ground that the tires can be removed and replaced and the guy in the pit can still work on the oil change. There are four large rubber blocks placed between the lift and the car at the four corners of the lift. After the car was finished, one of the guys drove the car off the lift without remembering to remove the large rubber blocks. The car bounced high enough to bottom out the suspension hard (twice, he kept going after the first one). That was kind of exciting.

Then, they went about flushing my cooling system. For this, they have another machine that provides a reservoir of fresh coolant and a couple of hoses to connect to the radiator return hose (top) and the upper radiator hose connection. The car is again idled and the old coolant is pumped out of the engine and into a tank and new coolant is sucked out of the machine and into the radiator. (This had promise). The guy who connected it to my car was mumbling something about hating this old machine and only liked the new (broken) machine.

I decided at this point that it would be prudent to monitor the temperature gauge in the car while this process proceeded. Sure enough, bubbles started rising into the new coolant reservoir and the enging started overheating. I shut if off and took stock of the situation. Sure enough, he had connected the output hose of the machine to the output connection of the engine and viceversa. Once I showed his the error of his ways, he reversed the connections and it actually went well after that.

After the process was completed and the coolant lines were disconnected from my car, he was ready to start working on another car when I asked him if it would be advisable to start the car and check the coolant level in the radiator. He thought it over and another guy talked him into it before he had time to think about it too much. When the engine started, they put another quart or two of coolant into the radiator and finally got the coolant to where I felt comfortable driving away.

After I left, I felt I would have been pressing my luck to return to there and get the sticker with my next oil change mileage that they forgot.

I think I was lucky to have escaped with my life.

[jashas62]

Sounds like a fun time!!!!

[SniperX13]

After your views of the way that shop was run, I would go and report to them to the bbb. that places seriously needs a revamp in training.

[MagicRat]

The most serious problem with all these 'quicklube' places is the very low wages they pay their staff. You just cannot expect skilled and professional people to lean the business and take reasonable care for minumum wage.

The second, scary thought is the idea that the transmission fluid change machine is a good idea.
It is not. An automatic transmission pan MUST be dropped and cleaned out and the filter MUST be changed to provide the best possible service.

There is a reason why almost all transmissions do not have drain plugs. This is to FORCE the mechanic to drop the pan in order to remove the fluid, thus making a clean- out and filter change easy.

[280zxguy]

man i be the guy that had his door ripped off had a field day with the manager...

[Brian R.]

Originally Posted by SniperX13

After your views of the way that shop was run, I would go and report to them to the bbb. that places seriously needs a revamp in training.

Actually, I know a guy who works at Shell corporate (owns Jiffy Lube) and gave him the store code and permission to clean the story up a little (a little less comedy) and show it to someone above him in his work.

I also wrote an e-mail to Jiffy Lube on their feedback address. They apologized, but didn't even offer me my money back or free service in the future or anything.

Piss on them.

[Brian R.]

Originally Posted by MagicRat

The second, scary thought is the idea that the transmission fluid change machine is a good idea.
It is not. An automatic transmission pan MUST be dropped and cleaned out and the filter MUST be changed to provide the best possible service.

There is a reason why almost all transmissions do not have drain plugs. This is to FORCE the mechanic to drop the pan in order to remove the fluid, thus making a clean- out and filter change easy.

I agree that that is a good idea, but that procedure does not change a significant portion of the transmission fluid. You also need something to change the fluid stuck in the valve body and the torque converter. They don't see fresh fluid unless you pump fresh fluid through the system. Given a choice between the two maintenance procedures, I have come to the opinion that exchanging the majority of the fluid is preferable to dropping the pan and changing only a small portion and the filter.

The torque converter in Toyotas really needs a drain plug as is seen in some other brands.

I guess the right way to do it is to pull the pan and then circulate fluid through it as described in the following article:

http://www.gadgetonline.com/TransFlush.htm

[saperich]

I thought the reason for no trans. drain plug
is so the technision doesn't drain the fluid,
and add 5 more qts. of motor oil.

[RickwithaTbird]

Originally Posted by saperich

I thought the reason for no trans. drain plug
is so the technision doesn't drain the fluid,
and add 5 more qts. of motor oil.

lol. I could just imagine that. If that happened to me I would love it. I'd take them for a new trans and engine.

[kathygarnerville]

That's why I won't use Jiffy Lube. I usually use Expressway for cars I've had in the past. Just not sure if I'll use them for one of my new cars, the Toyota Highlander. The way the dealership talks, using the pink antifreeze, etc they make it seem like taking the car to any outside mechanice, etc would be a bad thing.

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by Brian R.

I agree that that is a good idea, but that procedure does not change a significant portion of the transmission fluid. You also need something to change the fluid stuck in the valve body and the torque converter. They don't see fresh fluid unless you pump fresh fluid through the system. Given a choice between the two maintenance procedures, I have come to the opinion that exchanging the majority of the fluid is preferable to dropping the pan and changing only a small portion and the filter.

The torque converter in Toyotas really needs a drain plug as is seen in some other brands.

I guess the right way to do it is to pull the pan and then circulate fluid through it as described in the following article:

http://www.gadgetonline.com/TransFlush.htm

Good tip. After the change you can pull off a cooler line, and run the engine, which will pump out a lot of the remaining fluid through the line. You add fluid through the dipstick until the stuff comes out clean.

I have done many trans services. IMHO it is MUCH more important to clean out the pan than change the fluid. All the debris in the pan will quickly contaminate the new fluid regardless of how much you flush the fluid.

[ghostguy6]

Originally Posted by SniperX13

After your views of the way that shop was run, I would go and report to them to the bbb. that places seriously needs a revamp in training.

Training, you actually think they give you some sort of training there? I worked in a place like that for 9 months and the only training I ever got was on the computer system. The damn computers must have been 15 years old, they were running windows 3.1(i think) I was the top "mechanic" at the shop because I had been taking automotives in H/S at the time. Trust me on this they do not provide any sort of training what so ever. Whenever there was something I couldnt do they just said, "nope we dont do that" In the nine months I was there, the out of calibration torque wrench was used once, they didnt even have access to torque specs The tools they provided were down right dangerous. I literally picked up a 9/16 wrench and bent it in half with my bare hands. How the hell can you do a good job with tools that crappy? Ok enough ranting, If I continue this will get moved to stress relief

[techspecs]

I saw something similiar that testifies to the "expertise" of these "quickie service" places. Reading your statement that the guy needed to be told that he had to lube the gasket with oil before installing the filter reminded me of this. I was having a fuel filter changed on an older car and the lines were rusted on it and you couldn't really reach it easily without a lift or oil change pit. I had talked them into letting me into the shop area while the work was done (although they shouldn't have). A few spaces down someone was finishing an oil change on a Ford Crown Victoria. When this guy started it up to pull out of the bay, within moments the engine was knockin so bad someone was yelling at him to shut it off. Turns out the old gasket from the filter was fused to the block and didn't come off with the filter. When it was started it blew all the oil out quickly from not being sealed right. What's funny was when this 18-20 year old told the eldery man that owned the car that the idiot that did the last oil change apparently didn't lube the gasket and that they weren't responsible, was when the man told him to check the computer to see who that idiot was since they had changed the oil the last few times and he had his receipts!

[4trackmixtape]

This thread's funny as hell! My ex-girlfriend had her oil changed at one of those places and they forgot to tighten the drain plug (big surprise right). Long story short her engine seized up and the shop was not liable for the damage for some reason or another. Not sure of specifics as this was a couple years before I knew her. Yet another reason to do your own fluid changes.

[cobradude360]

no thats sum funny stuff at the shop i work at atleast we have our heads on stright but the door thing is kinda funny but very stupid