Complaint Review: Jiffy Lube

I have no idea what that "employee" was talking about. I am a Jiffy Lube employee and I personally take off every radiator cap from EVERY car that comes into my shop. The only reason the cap says "never open hot" is because you can't just open it all the way, right away, and pop it off. You have to do it slowly and allow the pressure to be released.

There IS a reason you shouldn't test the coolant from the reservoir. If the customer, or anyone else for that matter, recently topped off the reservoir, your test will only reflect the boiling/freezing point of the recently-added coolant, not the coolant that is pressurized and circulating inside the cooling system. This is exactly why you should POP THE CAP and test it from there.

My suggestion for you: speak with the manager before getting your service before you enter the shop, and request that he personally do the service for you. It is not in any shop's best interest to cut corners on your car, considering they provide a 3 month/3000 mile warranty.

Jim,

I am not taking sides in this issue. However, I need to point out a flaw in your logic regarding the reading of the oil level.

You stated, "Now getting to the oil being low, one quart low as you stated. "the oil was a quart low" In my experience like 100% of the time if you car isnt on level ground you will not get an accurate reading on your dipstick. And even more, you also have to let the oil settle before you get an accurate reading."

Now here's the flaw in your logic:

Even if the car is not on a level surface, and the oil has not been allowed to "settle", there is no way that a full oil level would read one quart low. If anything, a "one quart low" reading in this case would actually be more than a quart low. This comes from 22 years of driving experience, and checking my own oil level on a regular basis.

It has been a long time since I have used a service such as Jiffy Lube to change my oil and check my fluids. I am perfectly capable of taking care of that on my own. But a quick check of the Jiffy Lube website states that the Signature Service includes a check of the antifreeze/coolant reservoir level, but says nothing about checking the actual radiator.

However, it seems to me that if her radiator was extremely low on fluid, then the reservoir should have been empty or close to it. That should have raised a red flag with the service tech. But since we were not there, we have no way of knowing if this was the case.

Also, if the original poster is correct about the other fluid levels (oil, washer fluid) being low, then it is quite possible that the reservoir was empty as it may have been overlooked. If this is true, then Jiffy Lube did not perform the advertised work and is liable.

I know, I know, a lot of "If's". Unfortunately, this is the type of situation that cannot be proven one way or the other.

On a final note, your last paragraph is uncalled for. She was only stating her situation when her car broke down. I don't think she was trying to use her children to gain sympathy points. Trash talk only deminishes from your credibility.

I can only speak of my experience as an ex employee and now a very loyal customer of Jiffy Lube. The fluids do all get checked no matter what anyone says, Ive been there on the inside and now on the ouside. On the washer fluid not being filled I can see that. JL does a large # of cars a day and it is only human to miss something along the line. BUT as for the coolant not being filled I will call ur bluff on that and tell you that your full of it.

The coolant level gets checked by means of the clear bottle reseviour. Its gets filled to the full mark and thats done. Now, if you radiator itself was low on coolant there is now way the employee could know this, unless he/she removes the rad. cap. Which then leads us to the fact if the manager of the location is a responsible person, who cares about his/her employees. A manager who cares would clearly state to all his employees never to remove a rad. cap unless the car has cooled down. Given the fact that most JL oil changes only last about 10-15 min. that doesnt give the car enough time to cool down completely. So that being said and understanding the workings of the coolant system leads me in only one direction. Your radiator was low on coolant as was your reseviour. The reseviour was filled to the full mark. The rad. cap was not removed for SAFETY reasons. When the vehicle is driven the radiator takes the fluid from the resevior.

res-er-voir...(rez'er vwar) 1.a place where water is collected and stored for use, esp. water for supplying a community. 2. a receptacle for holding a liquid or fluid. 3. any large or extra supply or stock.

I talked to Webster and this is what he said a reseviour is. So that being said the reseviour did its job by supplying the rad. with coolant and since the rad was low to begin with it wasnt able to keep the engine cooled. Hence your situation, and cracked head. Now getting to the blown head gasket. When head gaskets go, they ALWAYS tend to go in one of the following ways. 1.Antifreeze gets into the oil. 2. oil gets into the antifreeze. 3. Both. Now its been my experience that no matter which way it decides to go there have been cars that go 1000's of miles with that excisting problem. My car actually went over 30,000 mile with a blown head gasket. I just kept up with all my oil changes and changed the coolant frequantly. It was that or get a new car. Now getting to the oil being low, one quart low as you stated. "the oil was a quart low" In my experience like 100% of the time if you car isnt on level ground you will not get an accurate reading on your dipstick. And even more, you also have to let the oil settle before you get an accurate reading. So all of this being said I rest my case.

After writting all of this I cant help but laugh that you would actually put down that your a widow and have 5 children and you have triplets that where in the car with you. Nice touch!! I give you 2 points for that. Drama, simpathy, and coulda,shoulda,woulda points. Never use your children to try to get something. Anyway nice try!!!!

I can only speak of my experience as an ex employee and now a very loyal customer of Jiffy Lube. The fluids do all get checked no matter what anyone says, Ive been there on the inside and now on the ouside. On the washer fluid not being filled I can see that. JL does a large # of cars a day and it is only human to miss something along the line. BUT as for the coolant not being filled I will call ur bluff on that and tell you that your full of it.

The coolant level gets checked by means of the clear bottle reseviour. Its gets filled to the full mark and thats done. Now, if you radiator itself was low on coolant there is now way the employee could know this, unless he/she removes the rad. cap. Which then leads us to the fact if the manager of the location is a responsible person, who cares about his/her employees. A manager who cares would clearly state to all his employees never to remove a rad. cap unless the car has cooled down. Given the fact that most JL oil changes only last about 10-15 min. that doesnt give the car enough time to cool down completely. So that being said and understanding the workings of the coolant system leads me in only one direction. Your radiator was low on coolant as was your reseviour. The reseviour was filled to the full mark. The rad. cap was not removed for SAFETY reasons. When the vehicle is driven the radiator takes the fluid from the resevior.

res-er-voir...(rez'er vwar) 1.a place where water is collected and stored for use, esp. water for supplying a community. 2. a receptacle for holding a liquid or fluid. 3. any large or extra supply or stock.

I talked to Webster and this is what he said a reseviour is. So that being said the reseviour did its job by supplying the rad. with coolant and since the rad was low to begin with it wasnt able to keep the engine cooled. Hence your situation, and cracked head. Now getting to the blown head gasket. When head gaskets go, they ALWAYS tend to go in one of the following ways. 1.Antifreeze gets into the oil. 2. oil gets into the antifreeze. 3. Both. Now its been my experience that no matter which way it decides to go there have been cars that go 1000's of miles with that excisting problem. My car actually went over 30,000 mile with a blown head gasket. I just kept up with all my oil changes and changed the coolant frequantly. It was that or get a new car. Now getting to the oil being low, one quart low as you stated. "the oil was a quart low" In my experience like 100% of the time if you car isnt on level ground you will not get an accurate reading on your dipstick. And even more, you also have to let the oil settle before you get an accurate reading. So all of this being said I rest my case.

After writting all of this I cant help but laugh that you would actually put down that your a widow and have 5 children and you have triplets that where in the car with you. Nice touch!! I give you 2 points for that. Drama, simpathy, and coulda,shoulda,woulda points. Never use your children to try to get something. Anyway nice try!!!!

I can only speak of my experience as an ex employee and now a very loyal customer of Jiffy Lube. The fluids do all get checked no matter what anyone says, Ive been there on the inside and now on the ouside. On the washer fluid not being filled I can see that. JL does a large # of cars a day and it is only human to miss something along the line. BUT as for the coolant not being filled I will call ur bluff on that and tell you that your full of it.

The coolant level gets checked by means of the clear bottle reseviour. Its gets filled to the full mark and thats done. Now, if you radiator itself was low on coolant there is now way the employee could know this, unless he/she removes the rad. cap. Which then leads us to the fact if the manager of the location is a responsible person, who cares about his/her employees. A manager who cares would clearly state to all his employees never to remove a rad. cap unless the car has cooled down. Given the fact that most JL oil changes only last about 10-15 min. that doesnt give the car enough time to cool down completely. So that being said and understanding the workings of the coolant system leads me in only one direction. Your radiator was low on coolant as was your reseviour. The reseviour was filled to the full mark. The rad. cap was not removed for SAFETY reasons. When the vehicle is driven the radiator takes the fluid from the resevior.

res-er-voir...(rez'er vwar) 1.a place where water is collected and stored for use, esp. water for supplying a community. 2. a receptacle for holding a liquid or fluid. 3. any large or extra supply or stock.

I talked to Webster and this is what he said a reseviour is. So that being said the reseviour did its job by supplying the rad. with coolant and since the rad was low to begin with it wasnt able to keep the engine cooled. Hence your situation, and cracked head. Now getting to the blown head gasket. When head gaskets go, they ALWAYS tend to go in one of the following ways. 1.Antifreeze gets into the oil. 2. oil gets into the antifreeze. 3. Both. Now its been my experience that no matter which way it decides to go there have been cars that go 1000's of miles with that excisting problem. My car actually went over 30,000 mile with a blown head gasket. I just kept up with all my oil changes and changed the coolant frequantly. It was that or get a new car. Now getting to the oil being low, one quart low as you stated. "the oil was a quart low" In my experience like 100% of the time if you car isnt on level ground you will not get an accurate reading on your dipstick. And even more, you also have to let the oil settle before you get an accurate reading. So all of this being said I rest my case.

After writting all of this I cant help but laugh that you would actually put down that your a widow and have 5 children and you have triplets that where in the car with you. Nice touch!! I give you 2 points for that. Drama, simpathy, and coulda,shoulda,woulda points. Never use your children to try to get something. Anyway nice try!!!!

I can only speak of my experience as an ex employee and now a very loyal customer of Jiffy Lube. The fluids do all get checked no matter what anyone says, Ive been there on the inside and now on the ouside. On the washer fluid not being filled I can see that. JL does a large # of cars a day and it is only human to miss something along the line. BUT as for the coolant not being filled I will call ur bluff on that and tell you that your full of it.

The coolant level gets checked by means of the clear bottle reseviour. Its gets filled to the full mark and thats done. Now, if you radiator itself was low on coolant there is now way the employee could know this, unless he/she removes the rad. cap. Which then leads us to the fact if the manager of the location is a responsible person, who cares about his/her employees. A manager who cares would clearly state to all his employees never to remove a rad. cap unless the car has cooled down. Given the fact that most JL oil changes only last about 10-15 min. that doesnt give the car enough time to cool down completely. So that being said and understanding the workings of the coolant system leads me in only one direction. Your radiator was low on coolant as was your reseviour. The reseviour was filled to the full mark. The rad. cap was not removed for SAFETY reasons. When the vehicle is driven the radiator takes the fluid from the resevior.

res-er-voir...(rez'er vwar) 1.a place where water is collected and stored for use, esp. water for supplying a community. 2. a receptacle for holding a liquid or fluid. 3. any large or extra supply or stock.

I talked to Webster and this is what he said a reseviour is. So that being said the reseviour did its job by supplying the rad. with coolant and since the rad was low to begin with it wasnt able to keep the engine cooled. Hence your situation, and cracked head. Now getting to the blown head gasket. When head gaskets go, they ALWAYS tend to go in one of the following ways. 1.Antifreeze gets into the oil. 2. oil gets into the antifreeze. 3. Both. Now its been my experience that no matter which way it decides to go there have been cars that go 1000's of miles with that excisting problem. My car actually went over 30,000 mile with a blown head gasket. I just kept up with all my oil changes and changed the coolant frequantly. It was that or get a new car. Now getting to the oil being low, one quart low as you stated. "the oil was a quart low" In my experience like 100% of the time if you car isnt on level ground you will not get an accurate reading on your dipstick. And even more, you also have to let the oil settle before you get an accurate reading. So all of this being said I rest my case.

After writting all of this I cant help but laugh that you would actually put down that your a widow and have 5 children and you have triplets that where in the car with you. Nice touch!! I give you 2 points for that. Drama, simpathy, and coulda,shoulda,woulda points. Never use your children to try to get something. Anyway nice try!!!!