Jiffy Lube, oil Express, inc. mike Oberst Manager neglient dishonest, failed to top off batt. fluids leading to alternator damage, charged 19.99 for 2x2 sign stating next service due Lacey Wa 98503 Washington

Jiffy Lube does a number of checks and fluid fills on your vehicle with the oil change. On of the services they do is test the battery with a tester. This equipment can differ between franchise's and locations. But they all will give you an idea of the battery condition.

Jiffy Lube also will check and fill the water on batteries as long as they are not a sealed / maint. free. I have worked in several Jiffy Lube locations and I can say I have NEVER seen any distilled water for toping off batteries.

As far as Prescribed Maint. goes, the customer should not be doing this if he has a fleet agreement. Fleet customers can bring their vehicle is for tests and are also under contract at milage intervals for service. They would need to bring the vehicle to a Fleet authorized repair facility and have the problem diagnosed.

If the vehicle was brought to a Jiffy Lube and they did not test the battery or check and fill if needed the water level, then they are responsible for that. Much like the other tech said battery water does not disappear over night and more than likely did not cause the alternator failure. A number of things can be attributed to a alternator failure from the amount of draw to belt tension. Point here is that Jiffy Lube advertises the service of check and fill and that was not done. If the battery was sealed they could have noted the indicator eye or the result of a visual inspection conducted the under hood inspection during the service review.

Jessi,

I was a mechanic for several years and can absolutely tell you without a doubt that your alternator failure was not Jiffy Lubes fault.

If your battery was that low on water, it was already ruined, as this low level does not happen overnight. Therefore your vehicle was running straight off the alternator due to the neglected battery. Your neglect of the battery is why you bought a new alternator.

If you check with Jiffy Lube and read the description of services, checking or servicing fluid in a battery is NOT on the list. They may do this as a courtesy to you, or may choose not to. It is not part of what you paid for.

As far as being so low on oil after the service 1.5 weeks later, either you have a serious leak, or your engine is so worn out it should be replaced also. Again, not Jiffy lube's problem.

Why not check these items yourself daily or weekly? Why not have your drivers document pre trip inspections? These are easy solutions.

I used to think that it was a good idea to go to Jiffy Lube, but no more. One time I took my car in for just a routine oil change, etc. The next morning there were all these puddles of oil under my car. I opened up the hood and discovered that the oil cap was no where to be found, certainly not ON the oil reservoir where it was supposed to go. When I drove home, the oil splashed all over the engine and inside the hood, running off all over the ground. I drove very carefully back to the Jiffy Lube place, showed them my receipt from the day before, and asked them to look under the hood. Ooops. They replaced the oil, found my cap, and washed off splashed oil. Could have had much worse consequences if I had had to drive any distance after leaving the Jiffy Lube. My mother, who is elderly and lives 600 miles away with my sister, used to take her car to Jiffy Lube all the time. One day she called me in a panic saying that her transmission was "jumping around". I told her to take the car to a trans. shop (NOT Aamco) and found a reputable one for her. Her trans. was completely out of trans. oil, even though her receipts from faithfully taking the car to Jiffy Lube every three months showed that the trans. oil was always checked and full. She had no leaks to account for the empty reservoir. The manager at the trans. shop she took it to (and I would love to give you the name of this place because they are great) wrote a "To Whom It May Concern" type letter for her that the trans. oil reservoir was dry, that the cap looked like it had not been opened in a long time, and in his opinion, there was no way that Jiffy Lube had been checking it as they said they were. Jiffy Lube said they were "not responsible" because there must have been a leak. I will never use them again, neither will my mother or sister.

well, I got my $($108) back for cost of "service" on one vehicle removed from credit card and $30.00 cash for a new battery total payback =$138 ....total loss =$132 for new alternator, $50 labor cost to install, $19.99 l.o.f.-not @ j.l., ($202.00 total $ value) & 2 days down time w/ no vehicle & all trust in service stations a TOTAL LOSS ...priceless THANKS FOR NOTHING...

As someone who has run fleets of vehicles, surely you've heard of Preventive Maintenance?

Are those who drive your vehicles checking the fluid levels. I'd hate to see them run dry of oil and have an engine siezure.

It should be your driver's or fleet manager's responsibility to check the vehicles at lease weekly for fluid levels and other PM.

Someone should have checked the batteries long before you took them to Jiffy Lube.

I am not an employee of Jiffy Lube nor am I expressing an opinion on their liability in this case.