DON'T GO TO JIFFY LUBE!!!!!

[sanitarium16]

i went to Jiffy lube to have my transmission flushed. I had the transmission pan dropped and filter changed in january of this year and i noticed the fluid smelled like varnish. I know it because it didn't get all of it out. So anyway, they flush it and put MERCON IN IT!!!!! NOT MERCON V LIKE IT CALLS FOR! I tell the guy this and he added a Mercon V additive package. Car runs OK so i thought maybe it worked. WRONG! The car wouldn't shift under load at WOT. Had the car at the 3 different shops. No engine codes or anything. Everyone was stumped. Sure as **** i brought it to Ford and had it flushed with MERCON V. PROBLEM GONE. So i had my fluid flushed twice in 100 miles. At least my transmission is free of gunk and is squeaky clean ...and i will be calling corprate!!!!!!!

 

[Bill in Utah]

They don't call if Iffy Lube for no reason..... Your lucky you did not have perm damage! Take care, Bill

 

[T-Keith]

Your probably just as likely to have that done anywhere. Remember it's the people not the sign that make mistakes.

 

[ekpolk]

quote:

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Originally posted by T-Keith: Your probably just as likely to have that done anywhere. Remember it's the people not the sign that make mistakes.

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This isn't like the old "guns don't kill people, people kill people" thing. In this instance, the people who own the sign and the building under it, choose the people who work there. I don't blame the sailors who crew the JiffyLube ship, I look to the Captain alone.

 

[Schmoe]

Luckily you caught it in time. Mixing ATF like that will almost surely spell death.

 

[ekpolk]

quote:

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Originally posted by doitmyself: {snip}. ekpolk - are you saying that employees are not responsible to do their job correctly?

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Not at all. But the real question here is ultimate responsibility. If his trans had been trashed by this mistake, the law in most jurisdictions would hold JL responsible for the harm. It was a JL shop, JL hired this tech, and of course, JL profits directly from the job. Now how JL handles this internally is up to them. We're all responsible for doing our jobs to the best of our ability, but if it was your car, and a JL employee, hired and trained by JL, ruined your trans, would you agree with JL if they simply said, "you need to present your claim to Mr. John Smith, the technician who actually changed your ATF. . ."?

 

[Jimbo]

If the company chooses to stock only one fluid and directs employees to use an additive that is supposed to change one fluid type into another, how it it the fault of the employee?

 

[Pablo]

You were expecting? We argue for hours about .2 cSt, 2ppm or .5°C. If you want it correct, I mean really correct - do it yourself.

 

[ekpolk]

quote:

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Originally posted by Pablo: You were expecting? We argue for hours about .2 cSt, 2ppm or .5°C. If you want it correct, I mean really correct - do it yourself.

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Generally, I agree wholeheartedly. The problem is that when it comes to ATF, it's pretty hard to accomplish a full fluid flush on your own. And while I have a pretty nice little collection of tools, a T-Tech machine (or equivalent) is just not within my stay-married budget. I've seen my brother-in-law do the "buckets and disconnected hoses" thing, and I'm not anxious to try it myself. Thus, on an ATF change, I'm forced to trust others.

 

[BigAl]

quote:

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Originally posted by ekpolk: Generally, I agree wholeheartedly. The problem is that when it comes to ATF, it's pretty hard to accomplish a full fluid flush on your own. And while I have a pretty nice little collection of tools, a T-Tech machine (or equivalent) is just not within my stay-married budget. I've seen my brother-in-law do the "buckets and disconnected hoses" thing, and I'm not anxious to try it myself. Thus, on an ATF change, I'm forced to trust others.

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Epolk, pulling off a cooler hose and directing it into a jug is a lot easier than I thought it would be. Another way to do it is to suction out all the fluid you can through the dipstick hole . . . refill . . . run . . . repeat. If you do it a few times you get out like 90% of the old stuff. Yes, you waste a gallon or two of fluid (You're going to recycle it right?) but it's still cheaper than taking it to a shop.

 

[Winston]

This whole ATF fluid thing is a real pain. There are way too many different types of fluids. They we have the "oh this $2 bottle of additive makes it work fine" thing. Lets make a list of all the different fluids Jiffy Lube would have to carry in order to properly change ATF. Dexron III Dexron IV SP III Mercon III Mercon V Ford Type F Honda Z1 BMW fluid Mercedes Fluid ATF +4 ATF +3 and on and on and on.

 

[ekpolk]

Shoot Winston, you left off the Nissan "Matic-X" fluids. My G35 permits the use of only Nissan Matic-J, with dire warnings of meltdown if anything else is used. The current Maximas only permit use of Matic-K fluid. Currently, there are several other flavors of Nissan fluid in production as well. Guess what -- they ain't cheap at the dealer, either. Still, I recently did my annual ATF flush at the local Infiniti dealer, assuming (and hoping) they'd use the right stuff (invoice says they did...) and it cost me "only" about $150, so not all that bad overall. It would be hopeless for the JiffyLubes of the world to keep up with all the oddball ATFs that are now out there. Maybe this just isn't a JL type job any more, unless you have a mainstream Dexron car.

 

[kingrob]

What about the Precision Tunes near me? They only stock one type of ATF fluid - Lubrizoil (or Lubraguard, I can't remember) "universal" fluid. If you're going to get the fluid changed try to do it yourself. If not, I hate to say it but maybe the dealer. These quick change places SUCK.

 

[ekpolk]

Oh yeah, I forgot to add this tidbit. My trans dipstick tube/filler is literally bolted shut and has a warning label encouraging you to take it to the dealership for servicing, or some words to that effect. Having seen the warning in about a dozen places, I'm thinking that they really don't want me to feed it anything but Nissan Matic-J. Dealer pricing on bottles of the stuff vs. having them do the job, are structured to make you take it to them. Don't you love being manipulated. . .

 

[doitmyself]

T-Keith is correct. I had a mom and pop garage install Dexron in my Dodge. A Blackstone analysis was required to get the problem resolved. ekpolk - are you saying that employees are not responsible to do their job correctly?