low/no oil from Jiffy Lube and what next?

[Stbentoak]

I’m saying they did a complete change including filter as fast as they could. With no record…


oh, and one more thing… DON’T EVER GO TO THESE PLACES….
that is all….

 

[iamdub]

First- new guy and thanks ahead of time for any assistance!

Okay, kind of a weird one here. Some of this doesn't add up, but I know what the end result is, so my main question is what can I do about this now, and is there any legal recourse with Jiffy Lube?

2022 Tahoe 6.2 belonging to my girlfriend. currently about 15k miles.

-she had the oil changed last week on the 31st.
-About 6-700 miles on the car since the oil change.
-She called this morning frantic that her oil light came on. Instructed her to pull over immediately and check it, but she proceeded about a mile or two down the road back to the jiffy lube since it happened to be so close.
-JL informed her it was actually empty and that it took all 8 quarts to fill it up- she has pics of this happening and they admitted it was 8qts "low".
-They sent her on her way with hardly even an apology, and refused to document the incident on paper or in their system- although she took some pics of it happening.
-They claim it was a loose oil filter... but after I crawled all under the car this afternoon, there is not evidence of any sort of an oil leak, especially 8 qts worth. Its immaculate underneath. In addition, there has not been a drop of oil on the concrete driveway.
-I don't believe the car could go 600 miles with no oil in it, but... I have no other explanation as it was certainly not a normal leak. Again the truck is spotless underneath... So I am presuming it was never filled up (but 600 miles empty?)

So now what??
-IF the car could go that long with no oil, how much long term damage is there?
-I don't understand why the oil light just now came on? again, zero signs of a leak, but was certainly empty when got there. If it was a catastrophic oil dump that triggered the light, why no signs of leak? bad sensor? maybe guys lying and drain plug fell out- even so, I would think there would be some splatter underneath?
-Is there any recourse with JL for the damage done, even though its not manifested yet?
- I am considering a dealer trip to see if they can document anything with a computer scan. Although, I doubt they would be willing to state anything about damages.

Again, I know this sounds off, but I've checked and double checked for leaks and they dumped 8 qts in it today, and its topped off just right when I checked it after.

thanks yall. And I know... stay away from the fast lube places...

I’m saying they did a complete change including filter as fast as they could. With no record…


oh, and one more thing… DON’T EVER GO TO THESE PLACES….
that is all….

^^^This. I think it was low and they just did a full drain and fill. Either they only used six quarts for the previous oil change (does she have a receipt?) and a little burned off over that ~600 miles or, more likely, the plug was loose and it leaked until the low level light was on. They would've cleaned off any stray oil when it was over their pit.

There's too much that can go wrong when there's low or no oil in these engines. Older/racing engines with solid lifters only use oil for lubrication so they'd have a better chance at survival if there's still enough oil hanging out between the moving parts. These modern engines with AFM and DFM have hydraulic lifters that require oil pressure to pump up and drain hundreds of times during every drive. It never would've left their service bay without noises, lights and likely damage had it been started and ran for more than a second or three with no oil.

 

[IWtahoe602]

Thanks guys- replies make sense. Again, really wish I had been there in person. getting an oil analysis does make sense for piece of mind.

 

[Doubeleive]

Thanks guys- replies make sense. Again, really wish I had been there in person. getting an oil analysis does make sense for piece of mind.

word of advice, STAY FAR AWAY from jiffylube, pepboys. or any other shady type quicklube.
take from us with experience, either visit a locally owned & operated clean & tidy shop or take it to the dealer

 

[Baja_Bob]

As a kid I worked at an oil change place and back then we would set the dial on the gun to 4 quarts. After an engine start we'd check the oil level once the filter was filled and then top off, most cars and trucks at the time only took 5 quarts. Maybe the tech was doing multiple jobs that day like checking tire pressure and washing windows and only put in 6 quarts or so like @Doubeleive said and never got back to check oil level and top off. These places go through employees every week and they don't get much training either and they are turned loose on a $70k truck.

 

[genestoy]

Whenever I have my dealer change my oil the first thing I do when I get home is check the oil level and make sure the oil fill cap is on tight and inspect other items like the windshield washer fill and cap etc. Never trust ANY service place 100% whether it be the dealer or a fast lube place (which I myself would never use).

 

[IWtahoe602]

ha, oh, I know!! I worked in one of those places when I was 15.. the stories... I service my own stuff as much as I can, but this one isn't mine- and between her construction projects for me, keeping a couple boat and a few bikes running, I jus let her do what she does with her own car!!

After thinking about it, the situation doesn't make sense and you guys are probably right- they drained what was left, then re-filled. That part was just lost in translation to me.

 

[Blackcar]

or does the dealer trip disclosing this possibly void warranty coverage should it implode??

Yes

 

[swathdiver]

When I managed a Jiffy Lube a 100 years ago, we reset the oil guns to zero after each use. The tech in one bay checked the work of the tech in the other bay and the same thing down in the pit before a car was declared finished by the manager running the bays who also put his hands on everything topside and down below if only 1 person was in the pit. Only by ignoring those procedures and not having a culture of excellence, even among felons, resulted in negligent damage to customer's autos.

 

[Quark]

I've always taken mine to a dealership for oil changes. Last time I asked that the spare tire be checked and it was extremely low. Evidently that 70 point check list isn't followed.

Yesterday at the Cad dealer the dent guys fixed two dents in the hood. One I hadn't seen and they spotted it right away. On the way out I asked for a free oil change which might have been a waste of time.