Complaint Review: Jiffy Lube - Mercerville New Jersey

I always have my oil changed every 3000 miles, give or take a hundred or so.

I went to jiffy lube for their "signature service" which they top off all fluids and give a quick inspection to the belts and hoses.

As my car was being serviced, one of the mechanics came into the waiting area and told me ,"you have a very serious problem with your car"

I followed the man out into the garage to my car and was told that the oil pan plug was extremely stripped of threads and that i was lucky that the drain plug had not fallen out of the oil pan due to engine vibration because the oil plug did not have any threads left on it to keep it tightened in place.

I looked at him and asked how did it get that way?

He said that someone had either cross threaded it or used too much tightening force because that`s the only way the threads on a metal bolt could be ruined in the way that it was and he showed it to me.

I looked at him and asked him again "how did it get that way" and he said that it was that way when he removed it to drain out the old dirty oil.

After some discussion as to whether or not midas did it 3000 miles ago or not, he said he would put a new one in for me. As he did it seemed like it was taking too long to screw in another one and seemed like it was hard to turn.

After a couple of minutes he removed it and looked at it and its threads were barely visible because it too had become stripped!

I looked at him and said great, what am i gonna do now?

He said that he would put in another one but that it would be the same so i told him to tighten it enough so it won`t leak oil but don`t tighten it so much that it strips again.

He did it and away i went thinking that midas was responsible.

The next day i noticed a puddle of oil under my car`s engine and i thought, wait i have a stripped oil plug now and oil is leaking out of the oil pan. Why wasn`t it leaking before?? My car has never leaked oil from the oil pan before i took it to jiffy lube.

Jiffy lube does,`t lift up your car where i go for oil changes,there is a pit down on a floor below ground level where the mechanic stands to do his work.

I can`t prove it but i`ll bet thet the guy remove the drain plug, dropped it, couldn`t find it and put in a new one that did`nt have the right thread pitch and ruined the oil pan`s threads and the threads on the oil plug.

i went back the next day to jiffy lube and told them "my car did not leak oil until after you did my oil change" The proof was on their service checklist that the oil level upon arrival was "ok". and that they should restore my cars condition to what it was before i took it to them.

they told me that it could not be fixed and it was`nt their responsibility to fix it.

I stated that my car was`nt leaking oil when i took it here and now it is and therefore it is your responsibility.

when asked how i thought it was them and not midas i said that because for the last 3000 miles my car did not leak any oil and that if the drain plug was the way you said it was when you removed it why was`nt it leaking before! when i came here the oil level was ok and you printed that here on this reciept!

so to make a long story short i have a car now that leaks oil and the correct fix is to spend over 500 dollars to buy a new oil pan, and pay for labor cost for whoever makes the repair.

Gary

mercerville, New Jersey
U.S.A.