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I've personally witnessed the damaged caused by Jiffy Lube and other "quick
lube" establishments. People have come into the dealership with leaks,
overheating, transmission problems, and check engine lights shortly after taking
their vehicles to these places. In addition, they were sold bulbs, even though
they weren't burned out, because they told the customers that they were the
wrong bulbs. We've replaced a few engines over the years because these
establishments forgot to put oil back in.
The latest crop of problems coming in due to having service performed at Jiffy
Lube are 1) They replaced the rear differential fluid on Tundras that have
limited slip differential with regular fluid, thus causing wear, noise, and
operational problems. 2) They have found a nifty way (particularly on
Highlanders) to pull a hose from the airbox (containing the air filter), causing
the check engine light to come one. When the customer went back to the Jiffy
Lube or "quickie lube", they were sold a bill of goods to correct the check
engine light.
One of their biggest money makers is a radiator, engine, and transmission flush.
If they actually perform the service, more damage is caused by the pressure
caused by their machine than what any dirty fluid would cause. We always tell
our customers that we only drain and fill fluids (unless a rare and specific
case calls for it) because flushing can dislodge debris, thus causing more
component damage due to having it re-lodge into a vital passageway, starving the
componentry of the vital fluids (think of a person who had heart bypass surgery,
only to stroke out because a clot dislodged and went to the brain). In short,
engine, transmission, and coolant system damage occurs, often with great
expense. If properly maintained, a vehicle should never need "flushing". I have
several customers who have over 400,000 miles on their Toyotas. They follow the
correct maintenance procedures (never having any type of flushing performed),
and their vehicles run just as well as they did
when new.
Most customers would bring their vehicles into my Toyota dealership because of
the aforementioned errors. With the Highlander, we simply reconnect the airbox
and clear the codes at no charge.
I've never seen anyone who was able to get out of the "quick lube" places at the
advertised oil change price. When people come to us for an oil change, our
prices are clearly stated - $34.94 for a 4 cyl, $36.95 for a 6 cyl., and $38.95
for an 8 cyl. Our initial prices are slightly higher than Jiffy Lube and the
other quick lube places, but that's because we use Valvoline Durablend oil. We
found that it's the best all-around perfoming oil in Toyota vehicles and offers
a well-protected 5,000 mile oil change interval, which is less expensive in the
long run, as the frequency of oil changes is less. As the oil is draining, our
Toyota Certified ASE Technicians perform free inspections over the whole
vehicle. If any problems are found, I am notified and bring the customer to the
vehicle and physically show them exactly what the problem is. If the brakes are
worn, I show them exactly what needs to be done and what the cost will be before
starting any procedure. We always notate
for the customer's (and our) records what their brakes are on a percentage
basis (example: 50%f, 80%r remaining). Some people come in worried that their
brakes are bad because they hear noise or have excessive pedal travel and that
the quick lube place told them that they needed new brakes. A majority of the
time, their brakes just need cleaned and adjusted, as they have pleanty of pad
life remaining. We also show the customer how their coolant performes. All
coolant becomes dirty, but still is effective to its expiration range (on
Toyotas, 30k for green coolant, 60K for red coolant.
We're proud of the service that we provide and never, ever sell anything that
isn't necessary. We give a report to the customer, the condition of their
vehicle and tell them of
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Lubing a 96 4WD 4-Runner
Jun 29 2006, 08:52 AM
