Has anyone had their oil changed at a Jiffy Lube-Type Place? I'm just currious. I have read where some of you change your own oil as opposed to taking it to the Lexus or Toyota dealerships. I have never changed my own oil, but I wondered if one of those quick-change oil places could as good a job?

Solace

I believe your much better off going to a good independent shop. Ask around,your friends etc.Word of mouth is pretty powerful.

Just the other day I saw a trail of oil coming out of a quick oil change place and running down the street.
I wonder how far this poor soul made it before the engine locked up.

Karl

Are you sure it was oil? How often do you think they actually put oil in the crankcase instead of, let's say, ATF? If they do actually add oil, how often do you think they add he right amount and/or correct weight? I would say taking your car to Jiffy Lube is one big roll of the dice.

Thanks for the responses. You have spoken and I have listened. I'll be avoiding the quick-change guys.

Solace

I used Jiffy lube for 20plus years on my company cars, however they are not always the best as for techs. Oil changes are not rocket science, but the folks in some of those places are not the sharpest I have ever seen. I never had a problem, however I always checked my car afterwards to make sure things were right. Same goes for Walmart etc. But quite frankly I have received poor service from Lexus dealerships also. Just be careful. A good independant is probably the safes bet, especially after you build a relationship with them.

I used Jiffy lube for 20plus years on my company cars, however they are not always the best as for techs. Oil changes are not rocket science, but the folks in some of those places are not the sharpest I have ever seen. I never had a problem, however I always checked my car afterwards to make sure things were right. Same goes for Walmart etc. But quite frankly I have received poor service from Lexus dealerships also. Just be careful. A good independant is probably the safes bet, especially after you build a relationship with them.

Artbuc- since I drive a F-150 PU I frequent a couple or three of those sites. There are many many horror stories to be amazed by. I have had 1 pan plug pulled in my life that I didn't pull, and that was warrantee on a new Impala that I ordered in '62. I hope I never get to the point that I can't do it. If so I would probably use a good independent shop, NEVER a quick lube place.

Lenore, I agree completely with your comment re Lexus dealerships. My wife's good friend lives down the street and she used to own a 99 RX300. They bought it new and took it to Lexus of Wilmington for EVERYTHING. They dropped a fortune at that place. One day she called me because she found oil on her garage floor after a routine service at LOW. Guess what? They had changed the gear oil in the rear differential and the fill plug was loose - only engaged a couple threads - about ready to fall out. I told her I would be happy to top it off for her but I suggested she quickly take it to LOW just in case the differential had suffered any damage. Yep, pretty disheartening when you can't depend on a Lexus dealership to replace the gear oil in a differential. The service department at LOW is pathetic.

Just Do it yourself. By a pan that is also a storage container. All it takes is taking off the dust cover under the bumper to get to it. Get a good filter wrench that fits it's size and another for the pan and may be a funnel if you are a bad aim in filling it. The thing is by the time you pay for the Quick lube outfits to do it with their cheap arse oil and filters and the cost of driving there plus your time you can pay for the 7.00 Mobil 1 Extended or Amsoil and the best filters out there in Wix. What you can do to also save money is to go 12000 miles on the Synthetics and just change the filter and add 1 new quart of oil every 3-4000 miles. This way you do not have to pay 40.00 every 3000 miles for it and you end up pretty close in cost to dino oil and a cheap filter. Instead it cost 12.00. If you think this a bad practice there is a site out there where a guy took a Corvette to 25000 with out a change but did what I said to do. He did an Oil Analysis every change. He found the base oil improved and by adding a new quart and filter it would replenish the additives. The additives are what protect the engine and oil breakdown. With the analysis they can tell the condition the engine by the oil and it was showing no signs of wear. I believe they tore the engine down too and confirmed this.

Dealers are stupid high in price. I know the Kansas dealers charge 109.00/hr for labor. That is doctor's fee high. Oil changing is not rocket science and mentioned.

I finally did get an reputable independent mechanic to change the oil. His shop specializes in Toyota, Lexus, and a few luxuary car work. They charged me $60 for the whole thing. The mech did suggest what you did ArnoldsLex. He said that I could come in in 3000 miles and just change the filter and 1 quart might have to be added.

If changing the oil is as simple as you say, I may try to change it myself next time.

Thanks for the advice guys!

Solace

Solace- I am assuming you had synthetic put in, for that price. Going on that assumption, I certainly don't think the filter needs to be changed at 3k mi. Maybe 5k at the earliest. The synthetic isn't going to break down or get dirty (mostly carbon) like the dino does so it shouldn't be as dirty as conventional until about twice the miles. I believe in frequent oil changes, but on the Ford Truck sites I regularly visit, there are guys who use synthetic and change it at 3k mi.- now that's just crazy!
I change the filter from the top when I change my DIL's oil and that way you don't have to remove the plastic cover down below. (What you don't take off, you don't have to put back on!) It's not real easy either way, but with the right filter wrench, I prefer to change from the top. The engine needs to cool down because you're working around the exhaust manifold. For what you can buy a 5 qt. jug of synthetic and a good filter at Wal-Mart for, I would say go for it! Just don't use the "Orange Filter of Death"...Fram.

Yes, it was synthetic. Thanks for the tips!

Solaces

I had my oil changed yesterday - at an independent Foreign Auto Clinic in Melbourne, Fl - I asked for Synthetic - don't think I have used it before - it was about 43.00 out of a 91.00 bill.

Had to have a new battery cable clip put on - battery acid keeps leaking out - so I bought a battery at Auto Zone instead of another Lexus one.

I am going to put up a post regarding battery acid leaks - so far I have not seen this topic, but as this is my 3rd battery plus original on a 2000 and all the same problem - leaking acid.........

SL- Has anyone ever checked your alternator output? It sounds to me like the regulator is allowing it to put out too high a voltage. If a battery is not overcharging you shouldn't have that kind of problem. Nor should you have to be replacing batteries every 2+ years. Have someone reputable who knows what they're doing check the output. (not all people who will do it for you are necessarily reputable or skilled) It should be putting out approximately 13.8 V to 14.8 V. I prefer to see about 14.2-14.4V on a good healthy system at about 1500 RPM. It should be checked at that RPM rather than idle.