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JIFFY LUBE story

5K views 31 replies 13 participants last post by  CaptSoloNJ 
#1 ·
Hey guys,

For whatever reason I convinced myself that id be ok to take my car to Jiffy Lube for a service. Too lazy I guess to do it myself.... anyways:bouncy:
The guys cross threaded my oil plug and it started leaking real good, luckily i noticed it.

Turns out they have to replace my entire oil pan

QUESTION: They want to install it, I dont trust them to do it. Dont you have to remove the RF axle in order to pull the pan down? Or how hard is this to replace. Im debating whether or not to tell them I want it done at Cadillac. Is this a B##$# to replace?

THANKS guys
 
#3 ·
03 CTS manual

is there any risk of them doing it?

I was told they have to remove the support beam, drop the tranny in order to replace it. Im nervous they are gonna mess it up more then it already is. Any harm in not putting it back together properly? Will dropping the tranny have any risks?
 
#7 ·
03 CTS manual

is there any risk of them doing it?
As curtc said, these guys weren't capable of correctly threading a drain plug into a threaded hole, so I sure as hell wouldn't trust them to disassemble that much of the drivetrain to replace or repair the pan.

If the 3.2 pan is no longer available, there are oil drain plug repair kits specifically designed to put a larger plug into the pan. Time-sert makes kits, and I'm sure others do as well (I just mention Time-sert because it's a well respected brand). Looks like the stock drain plug is 14mm-1.5, so you'd need a kit designed to repair that size.
 
#4 ·
If they weren't capable of putting a drain plug back in properly what makes you confident they can replace the pan??? I'd make them fork over the $$$ to a Cadillac dealership, end of story.
 
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#5 ·
Do not take your car back to them. Tell them they have to pay for the repairs because they broke it. If they don't, pursue them legally and make them aware of that. In the meantime, call your insurance company, explain the situation and evaluate your options. If you have the money to fix it however, have your car towed to an actual dealership and let them do the work. You have to be incredibly stupid to strip an oil drain plug. I understand accidents happen but still this is inexcusable and if I did this to someones car I would pay for all damages simply because of how bad I would feel for breaking something that's not only easy to break but also incredibly easy NOT to break.
 
#8 ·
If anyone ever trusts Jiffy Lube to even change your oil again, be very observant on what they do.
They do NOT use trained mechanics to work on your car. NEVER ever trust that they know how to do anything beyond superficial stuff.
I notice that even with an oil change they will open up your air filter for inspection, hoping to sell you a new filter. Many times, they do not close up the compartment properly. They leave out screws, don't close up the clips and do not align the enclosures properly.
They will offer to top off your coolant levels for $5. I refused, went home to check and it was already above the full line.

I go to them for my older cars (other GM cars), but will NEVER EVER bring my Cadillacs to them.
 
#11 ·
I to had a bad experience with Jiffy Lube. We had an 03 Honda Element, I used to do all the oil changes myself. It was overdue and we were out and the suggestion was made to stop and get them to do it. Long story short, they put the drain plug on so tight (must have used an air wrench) that I had to resort to a large pipe wrench to get it off. Luckily they didn't strip the threads cause the new one threaded in just fine. I wouldn't take a $500.00 junker to them for an oil change, they always try and sell you more services which they don't have trained people to perform. I chuckle every time I ride by the local Jiffy Lube as it seems they are always full with customers.
 
#17 ·
But I don't think the OP wants a wrecked one. As he has one already courtesy of Jiffy Lube.
I don't know if you're just being a smartass, but I'm pretty sure J W means there are plenty of wrecked cars out there, so he can source a good oil pan from a wrecked car.

Problem with that is junkyards don't like to separate oil pans from engines. Usually have to buy an entire engine to get it.
As I posted above, they are available on car-part.com - a couple/few dozen of them listed.
 
#19 · (Edited by Moderator)
Thanks guys this thread has been really helpful... just an update. I told the manager of Jiffy lube; "I really don't feel comfortable with your technicians installing the pan, they are NOT certified installers and I want this done correctly with peace of mind knowing I wont have to think twice about it"
Response from JL; "I will talk to my District manager about this and see if we have a shop that you can take it to"
ME; "I want cadillac to install it"
JL; "Not gonna happen"

I started getting pretty mad, I told them their a bunch of dumb ****s and I wouldn't even bring a hoopty to them for a service. Trying to explain my frustration (I mean shit they broke it in august, 5 months ago and its still not resolved)

The pan they bought they said a GM service department wont install it because its not OEM. That made me even more upset. I don't want an aftermarket pan from china or something.

I think im going to pursue this legally. If the pan is no longer available and they have to put a knockoff POS as a replacement, then they can buy me a new car...
 
#20 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hey guys,

For whatever reason I convinced myself that id be ok to take my car to Jiffy Lube for a service. Too lazy I guess to do it myself.... anyways:bouncy:
The guys cross threaded my oil plug and it started leaking real good, luckily i noticed it.

Turns out they have to replace my entire oil pan

QUESTION: They want to install it, I dont trust them to do it. Dont you have to remove the RF axle in order to pull the pan down? Or how hard is this to replace. Im debating whether or not to tell them I want it done at Cadillac. Is this a B##$# to replace?

THANKS guys
Hahaha yeah dont take it to jiffy lube i have 2 bad jiffy stories and 1 good one. The first it was on my cadillac way before i bought it of my parents. They put an oil filter in with only 1 rubber. Anyone who's done an oil change on a car with an encased egg filter knows the filter has 2 rubbers on it 1 on each end. Well it was rattling up and down making bad noises obviously as metal on metal contact. My dad had to go up there and set those guys straight when they tried to deny anything was wrong. He told them to go get a fresh one out the box because after he took it out and said look here is the problem they still tried to deny putting the filter in with 1 rubber.
Number 2 they impacted my oil filter casing and drain plug and almost made them seize up.
But my good experiance has been taking my tires and rims up to the local jiffy in the walmart to have them mounted it is super cheap and i met some alright workers there.
 
#28 ·
Do they still have your car in their possession? Legally you can show up at their location while they're open and have the thing towed else where. Honestly at this point I would make a decision to either sue Jiffy Lube or cut your losses and get it fixed.

If you decide to file a suit, it's very important that before you do anything, you have records of all contact with jiffy lube (emails, documents), specifically anything where they admit to causing the damage, the names of the manager(s) at the jiffy lube you took it to and if possible the tech who worked on your vehicle. I also can't stress it enough that you need to have pictures of the damage and any receipts or debit/credit card statements. Then find a lawyer and give him COPIES of everything I listed above. This last bit is very important, do not get your car fixed if you want jiffy lube to at least pay for some if not all of the damages. Since laws vary state by state, once you get in contact with an attorney, you can ask him if you need to leave your car with jiffy lube or if you can have it towed elsewhere. You may also mention to your attorney what you should do in regards to your car insurance company as they typically need to be involved or at least aware of what's going on.

I work at a insurance defense law firm. They protect corporations from getting sued because they defend the corporations insurance companies since the insurance company is the one that will foot the bill. I can assure you that you will definitely get money out of this but your car must remain broken this entire time. Do not get it fixed if you want to sue them. I've seen similar cases like this and you have the chance to get more money out of it, if you don't get your car fixed. You can use a number of reasons to get more money out of Jiffy Lube. For example emotional/mental stress/damages from this whole ordeal, not having a car and making it difficult for you to get to work, extra money you might of had to spend for transportation because you don't have your car. You can even have them pay for some of your attorney fees. All of this you can use to your advantage to get a higher payout.

I can ask some of the partners and attorneys here if they know any good lawyers in the Seattle area that could help with a case like this and then give you some contact information.

Again, it all depends on what you want to do. If you want to teach Jiffy Lube a lesson then buckle up because even though your car will get fixed free of charge courtesy of Jiffy Lube, you will still lose money on this even if you do end up with extra cash in your pocket.
 
#25 ·
Youprobably will have to go straight to Jiffy Lube corporate office. Explain to them the situation and how your calls are now being ignored. In the meantime you could still try the junkyard to find one. Not all wrecked CTS's have good engines in them. Because of the notorious oil problem with the 3.6 there are a lot of locked up engines out there.
 
#26 ·
Long story short I have a friend that works for jiffy, I helped him do an oil change on his car one day and noticed HE DOES NOT CHANGE OIL FILTER.


Horrible horrible. Ultimately you could probably fix it by tapping the oil pan again and getting a new bolt. Leak? Who knows. But I would make jiffy pay for the right job but it's all about evidence do you have anything proving you were there and that they did this to your car? Most likely would be in small claims court you could represent yourself or get a lawyer but in the end cost a lot more $$ and the more evidence the better, deffinitly make Cadillac do the job as you wouldn't want problems down the road. 9.9 hour job at $150 an hour just around $1500.


If you search the forums your not the only one with a stripped/broken oil drain bolt / needing a pan
 
#27 ·
Long story short I have a friend that works for jiffy, I helped him do an oil change on his car one day and noticed HE DOES NOT CHANGE OIL FILTER.

Horrible horrible. Ultimately you could probably fix it by tapping the oil pan again and getting a new bolt. Leak? Who knows. But I would make jiffy pay for the right job but it's all about evidence do you have anything proving you were there and that they did this to your car? Most likely would be in small claims court you could represent yourself or get a lawyer but in the end cost a lot more $$ and the more evidence the better, deffinitly make Cadillac do the job as you wouldn't want problems down the road. 9.9 hour job at $150 an hour just around $1500.

If you search the forums your not the only one with a stripped/broken oil drain bolt / needing a pan
Yeah if the pan isnt cracked from it being over torqued all sideways then you should be able to retap it slightly bigger but then you have to try to make sure you get those shavings out of the oil. Honestly you cant look at the dealership to do anything these days i just do it myself as they say... "if you want it done right".

Kind of off topic cause idk your friends car oil change routine but i dont change my filter every oil change. I take it out inspect it and wipe it off a bit but i change oil every 5k and filter every 10k with the mobil extended performance 15k oil and filter.....
 
#29 ·
UPDATE!!!!

After a 3 week wait to hear back from the warranty department from jiffy lube. They have decided to "DENY my claim at this time" They said it wasn't their fault. I couldnt believe this and cursed out the women on the phone. I dont know what to do at this time.

SUE JIFFY LUBE? Go back to the shop and scream at the manager.

I AM beyond pissed. Thanks Jiffy lube for destroying my car!
 
#30 · (Edited by Moderator)
Sue them. You did not sign some contract saying if they screw your car up, they are not liable. You paid them to do a job, which they not only failed but also caused extensive damage to your car especially since they made you leave with oil pouring out of the of engine causing potential further damage to your car. There are enough cases against businesses like jiffy lube that they will settle out of court. This is probably a normal occurrence for Jiffy Lube. Do not fix the car in the meantime. Have it towed to your house. Get a lawyer. Give your lawyer all exchanges you've had with Jiffy lube. Note that Jiffy lube typically throws the service manager under the bus in situations like this. So if you are successful, they will lose their job, however sometimes people deserve it.

Also, you are the plantiff in the situation. It's up to Jiffy lube to prove otherwise that A. they didn't screw up your car and B. that it was your screw up. You do not have to prove anything. You did nothing wrong. Do not let anyone else look at the vehicle until you've talked to your lawyer about it.

Oh and don't cheap out on a lawyer. It will pay off in the end with either a new engine or a payout for the price of your car prior to the damage.
 
#31 ·
I would have told the lady ok no problem just so you know you're being recorded and I will see you in court. Sue them now and like dope said don't cheap out on a lawyer get one that's aggressive and hungry for money he will pinch every dollar out of jiffy. Good luck and sorry this had to happen to you

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AlpineCTS said:
Yeah if the pan isnt cracked from it being over torqued all sideways then you should be able to retap it slightly bigger but then you have to try to make sure you get those shavings out of the oil. Honestly you cant look at the dealership to do anything these days i just do it myself as they say... "if you want it done right". Kind of off topic cause idk your friends car oil change routine but i dont change my filter every oil change. I take it out inspect it and wipe it off a bit but i change oil every 5k and filter every 10k with the mobil extended performance 15k oil and filter.....

I change filter every oil change, for $4 I rather have piece of mind
 
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