Valvoline Instant Oil Change — Local services in Longmont

My son took his car in for an oil change. When he got home (maybe 15mins later) he texted me saying something was wrong with his car. I went and looked at it. Noticed a ticking noise. Call Valvoline a few minutes later. My thought was wrong oil. We had it towed back to the location. They drained the oil they had just put in a few hours before. One of the techs noticed it was black and burnt.(oil was just changed maybe 2 to 4 hours ago how could it be burnt?) he also noticed bits of metal shavings in oil and maybe 3 quarts drained out. We then had it towed to a dealership that was near our house. They did a diagnostic and found that the torque converter was shedding metal pieces into the turbo and engine. Gave the diagnostic information to an employee they sent to Harold Jackson the area manager. I called multiple times asking when we could come to a resolution. He didn’t call me back. I then went to another location where he was at and talked to him. He said “I will let you know Monday or Tuesday what will happen. That week passed. I then contacted the customer care line. They were helpful but only so much they can do. Harold still did not make contact with me or my son. Talked to customer care again sent them the documentation of the diagnostic stating that the cause was lack of oil. Since that was the last place that changed his oil it seems they would take responsibility. The car has no leaks. The oil was full from the 3rd oil change that day. ( CSR from another location came and looked at it and changed the oil again)The lube tech that changed his oil said she didn’t do anything wrong. But putting less oil than needed is wrong. When talking to another tech that drained the oil from the first oil change he said maybe 3 quarts came out burnt and with metal shavings. Harold failed to talk to that technician just kinda wanted it to go away. The replacement of his engine is between 21k and 22k. I understand him not wanting that to happen on his time as the AM. But to own a good business you have to run a good business and frankly he doesn’t do a good job. He lies and cheats his way around customers. I’m hoping that the good lord gives him what he deserves. We as people need to take responsibility for the action of those that fall under us in the chain of command. The tech he hired made the mistake and I feel as if he doesn’t want to take ownership for his employee’s mistake. Its hurtful knowing we still live in a world where people aren’t honest. The other techs are good but Mary she’s a horrible lube tech and sets a bad reputation for other women in that line of work. And no this wasn’t her first time breaking a customer’s car. All I can say is don’t go here if value your vehicle. I’m sure Walmart could and would do a better job. The amount of disrespect Harold has given me and the name of the company is going to cost him more in life. I hope they let him go and find a more qualified individual to run their franchise. Reading the reviews it’s as if he doesn’t take any...

Livid.....

Two days ago, I brought my wife’s 2018 VW Atlas in for an oil change. It’s a little pricey, but the attendants are courteous and fast and we live around the corner - it’s convenient.

Had the oil changed, thanked the staff, drove the car the two block drive back home and parked it for the day.

The next morning my wife hopped in the car to take the kids to soccer. Upon bringing the car up to speed (greater 25mph) the undercarriage dust cover ripped off and was jammed between the chassis and tarmac. Half a mile from the Valvoline store (which had ironically just closed for the day).

My wife pulled over and called me to come help them out.

In order to change the oil on the Atlas the undercarriage dust cover must be removed. There are 6+ bolts that hold it in place. Valvoline neglected to place the bolts back in when securing the dust cover post oil change, damaging the car.

The silver lining was we had planned to drive 8hrs to visit my in-laws the next day. Glad this happened a few miles from our home and not in the middle of Nebraska.

An oil change is hard to screw up. We (the customer) trust that the job will be done properly because of the simplicity of the task. However, a cross threaded oil plug or negligent work may not be identified at time of service, and can cost the customer thousands. The fact that this location was close, clean and polite is all lost on incompetence.

How do you rebuild this trust? Add a monitor to view the technician’s work (like surgery). Have the technicians call out and confirm each task. Add these tasks to the checklist copy you provide to...

I used to take my vehicles to Oil Can Henry’s which was bought by Valvoline. This place is in close proximity to my home, and has historically been pretty quick, so I figured I’d give it another shot. I purchased an Audi a few years ago, and after a bad experience at this same establishment where they were literally blindly pulling/breaking hardware off of my engine looking for a dipstick that didn’t exist (the oil is checked through the computer in the cabin of my car), I have been hesitant about going back.

Today, I pulled up to two guys sitting on the curb looking pretty bored, pull into the service bay, ask about the price of a fully synthetic oil change, and before popping my hood open EXPLAIN IN DETAIL to them that there’s NO DIPSTICK and what’s happened in the past. They seemed to speak very fluent English and SEEMED to have an understanding of what I was communicating, and then the guy in front of my car promptly proceeded to starts pulling hardware off of my engine. Un-freaking-real! I immediately decided that if they were unable to comprehend what I was telling them, they were also highly likely to mess up the oil change and I had them close the hood and I left. It’s beyond frustrating when someone doesn’t listen to extremely simple instructions and has zero regard for the customer and their concerns/property. I have to believe this behavior goes on frequently at this location, as it’s happened to me twice now, and there were zero cars in line on a Sunday where people are typically out taking care of...