Flushed but didn't refill coolant

Posted Tue June 19, 2012 11:47 am, by Les N. written to Jiffy Lube

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On Saturday, June 16, 2012 I went to the Jiffy Lube location on W. Broad Street, Falls Church, VA and had a full service oil change and an optional "complete antifreeze/coolant replacement service." I paid and left their location as a satisfied customer. Later on Saturday afternoon, I was driving on the highway and noticed that my air conditioner wasn't really cooling the car and a few minutes later saw the temperature gauge indicator shoot to its highest point.

Concerned about overheating, I turned on the heat which reduced the temperature reading and went directly to the closest Jiffy Lube location to me at that point. It was your store on Fairfax Blvd. in Fairfax, VA.

I was informed that the stores were not part of the same franchise group but that they would take a look for me immediately. They came back reported that there was NO coolant whatsoever in the vehicle. Pablo, the manager, reported adding 6 units of coolant to the radiator and 2 additional to the reservoir. (which would correspond to the 8 units billed on my invoice from the morning).

Pablo called his counterpart, the manager of the Falls Church store to make him aware of the problem. Clearly Gary had no interest and was adamant that no error or problem existed.

I was extremely grateful for the professionalism and assistance offered at the Fairfax store to get me back on the road. I was pleased that they observed that no leak was present so that could not have been the cause of the problem.

On the drive home, I also called Gary the manager of the Falls Church store, who showed no interest in the problem and assured me that everything done in his store was as it should have been. Because of his complete disinterest, I asked if there was someone at Jiffy Lube corporate that I might speak with. He told me that that do me no good as all corporate would do was forward my complaint back to him. Finally, he relented and gave me the name and number for Doug Barricks, his operations manager. I called and left a message for Mr. Barricks on Saturday afternoon and have not received a return call.

I have been a faithful customer for many years and recommend Jiffy Lube to others. While I have heard the horror stories, I have never experienced a problem until Saturday. I am clearly very disappointed considering the threat of breaking down along the side of the highway, or suffering permanent harm to my engine from operating without coolant.

At the very least, I believe Jiffy Lube needs to refund the $141.48 that I paid for my service on Saturday. I also want some sort of written acknowledgement that this occurred in the event of a future engine issue developing.