Surprised? You have shops that claim to be Euro experts that use wrong oil.
If I take car to a shop, I always tell them that I don’t want anything complimentary. Just do whatever we agreed on. I don’t want even windshield fluid topped off.
Midas put a generic synthetic 5W30 on 16 VW Jetta 1.4
- Thread starter Gauze4206
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If I take car to a shop, I always tell them that I don’t want anything complimentary. Just do whatever we agreed on. I don’t want even windshield fluid topped off.
I'd wish see VW 511 00 being officially reverse compatible with VW 504 00.
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Exactly. BMW dealer broke my brake sensor wire, denied it, then said we'll make up for it by doing a free water pump and give you a free oil change and pay for your sensor wire. At first I said nice, then I said wait a sec. Going back would be like sending your food back after there was a hair in it. No thanks. Guy says how much you want for the wire? I said $12. He goes $12? We can do better than that? I said $12, that's what it cost me (It was a PEX). They need to understand customers aren't trying to cheat them. Your tech broke the wire doing a wheel alignment and denied it. Best you correct the problem. I didn't make it up. Don't go back where work is inferior.
Who's rating them?
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Exactly.
I was guilty of that. I was the manager of a parts store and a lot of the shops would buy the bulk house brand synthetic oil. I always wondered what they were using for European vehicles because they never called for Castrol or mobil but they always ordered the filters. The latest trend that I have seen is there's a shortage of 0w30 mobil one because apparently there's a lot of vehicles that are specified for that weight, unfortunately they don't understand that they should be ordering the ESP or the Euro spec from Castrol or Pennzoil. I've been running the standard 0w30 in my Honda for some time but apparently the techs lack enough common sense to know that some of these vehicles take very specified oil. Truthfully it's one of the few times that liqui Moly stands out as they make a lot of vehicle specific motor oils. If you guys are out there getting your oil changed don't let them drain anything or feel anything until you have confirmation that they are using an appropriate oil especially during warranty.
A good example of completely misunderstanding what manufacturers specify and what they do not, along with not knowing the difference between an approval and a grade. Also not understanding what the winter rating means.
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Unpopular opinion, from a former VW mechanic: If Midas did, in fact, put 5w-30 synthetic in the engine, the engine will be just fine. I'm inclined to think they honestly used what they thought was an acceptable oil, and told you the truth about it (they easily could have just told you they used VW spec 5w-40) If it was my car, I'd do a 3,000 mile interval and get it changed somewhere else next time.
Apparently, drivers for non-European cars.
Yeah, I think they just checked the viscosity but didn't read another sentence regarding VW 502.00 specification.
I think he was asking where you had seen the ratings. Yelp? Google reviews?
Google, Yelp, Carfax. All had 4.5+ stars.
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just checked 2 near me whom I know are terrible. Both on google had over 4 stars. Yelp, both 2. So it would seem to me google is not statistically valid. I've heard that Yelp has some algorithm to not count fake reviews. I used to use Midas maybe 1999-2009 until one day a lifetime warranty meant not a lifetime warranty, but that's a story for some other day. I'd never bring a car there for any reason, jmoymmv.
I'm sure others can try the same in their area, google 2 locations, then Yelp 2 locations, and see.
I'm sure others can try the same in their area, google 2 locations, then Yelp 2 locations, and see.
Statistics is like a bikini; shows a lot, but covers most important parts.
if i had no vw dealership near me i would go to walmart for the oil change and pick a euro-spec oil off the shelf, paying the extra price difference if any. the last time i looked walmart was running a $49 castrol synthetic oil change special.
Agreed.
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two things...the word, "if," and the assumption they're competent. Like I said I used them up to 2009. One time I found the lift arm pressing into the body of my wife's car--I said look at that, it's not lifted correctly, the cladding is being pushed in. Can't make this up. The tech said, "No it's not!!" He immediately began lowering the vehicle. True, I wasn't supposed to walk up like that from the outside. Problem was, even though he dropped it, the panel was still pushed in. Manager shook his head, and asked me, what do you want to do. Just because we don't see it, doesn't mean there isn't incompetence. Or competence. So we have to look at the process. For an oil change? Anything is possible.
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Even being an old guy I'm so glad I live where I can do my car maintenance. Helps me sleep better at night.
+1; do a short OCI of 5K mi on that oil
Get yourself an oil extractor and make a small 2x6 ramp about 8" high. Throw both in the trunk and head for the AAP/AZ/Walmart etc. Drive one wheel on the ramp to get some clearance, start the extraction and spin the filter off. New filter on, finish extraction, dump oil inside, and button everything up. Put extractor and ramp back in the trunk and motor on. Took me about the same amount of time to write this as it would to do the change. Never worry again about oil, filter, or if it was done right. /anxiety.