Complaint Review: Jiffy Lube - California

On February 1, 2019 at 12:34pm I took my car to jiffy lube #2920, located at 37140 25thstreet east, Palmdale Ca. 93550.  I own a 2005 Mercedes C230 Kompressor sport, and has been a loyal jiffy lube customer for the past 12 years.  My car has always been serviced by Mercedes of Valencia, and has never given me any issues.  I thought this day would be a typical oil change with no problems, as my car WAS is fine working condition.  I brought my own oil as recommended by Mercedes, which was Mobil 1 synthetic (6qts). They changed the oil and filter and I paid $45.73 and was on my way to pick my 3 girls up.  I drove 3 miles to the school, put my car in park and I noticed that it was wobbling from side to side.  I immediately called jiffy lube and told them, and they said to come back and they’ll check it.  I drove right back to the store and they recommended using their oil which was a thicker grade than the one I brought, however it was Pennzoil this time.  I was charged for a whole new filter as well as a fresh new oil change ($107.09).

I left the store and drove home, parked my car and didn’t drive again until Monday morning when I dropped my kids off at school.  I got 2 mins from my home, and my car shut off in the middle of the street.  I attempted to turn it on to warm it up (which I’ve never had to do before) and when I pressed the gas to go, the car shut off again.  This is the first time this has ever happened since I purchased this car brand new in 2006.  I had the car towed to an auto shop that’s rated very high on yelp, and waited for a diagnostic.  In the meantime I submitted a claim to the corporate office for my district and spoke to the district manager Christian Rosas.  After telling him the issue, he immediately got defensive and said they’re not responsible even prior to getting the diagnostic.  I got the diagnostic finally on 2/6/19 and sent it to the contact person for claims which is Juan Perez.  He said their mechanic would need to look at it, but accused me and the auto shop of lying about the diagnostic.

 I asked him why would he assume that, when his mechanic hasn’t looked at the form yet, but he kept saying they were lying.  Frustrated with his response, I still waited to see what the outcome would be. I called the next day, and it was denied due to there being oil in the car.  I explained to him that the issue wasn’t “no oil” it was “low oil”. Apparently jiffy lube only put 4 of the 6 quarts that was needed, which caused my engine to be damaged.  I also called my service advisor at Mercedes and he informed me that all cars especially mines, cannot function properly off low oil and only 4 quarts will damage the engine.  I told Juan it’s not about anything other than them doing the right thing. He agreed to get a second opinion but that was denied as well.  If you look at the service comments from the first visit it says “possible engine oil leaks”, on the second visit the comments morph into “idleling rough, leaking EXCESSIVELY, cyl 4-2 misfires”.  The auto shop did a pressure wash on my engine and found no leaks.  This letter is my last resort, as I am in need of the right thing to be done in this situation.  I shouldn’t have had a normal oil change turn into a damaged engine.  I have since paid the $2,235 repair costs and would like to be reimbursed as well as refunded for the oil change in the amount of $107.00.