steeveage

Hi all,

Thought I'd draw on the car experts on this forum. Last Saturday a friend took her 2001 RSX into good'ol Jiffy Lube (which is a mistake unto itself) for an oil change. She switched to synthetic. Upon driving away, she noticed that her car had become "growly" -- imagine a CAI at WOT, but this is at any RPM, and she never takes it above 3000. She thought it was the synthetic doing the talking and didn't think anything more of it...

...until she mentions this to me in passing tonight, and I instantly think, they forgot to put the air filter back in. She is going to open up the intake tomorrow to have a look, but my question is:

How much damage will be done to your engine if you drive w/o an air filter for 4 days?

ILLustriousUA6

iTrader: (2)

dont ever go to jiffy lube.. i've seen their bad service... u should check if they even put the synt. oil in the car... they are all bad.. it's like they hire sum inexperienced newbs...

alex2364

Why would they touch the air filter when doing a oil change? There would be no reason to touch the air filter unless she told em to clean it. BTW, there is no 2001 RSX. The RSX was introduced in 2002.

SpeedyV6

Places like Jiffy Lube will automatically check things like the air filter, wiper blades, or transmission fluid for free to see if there are any other products or services they can sell to you.

steeveage

Thanks for the correction on 2002.

I guess as part of their standard service Jiffy Lube checks all sorts of stuff in your engine, including pulling out your air filter and checking to see if it's dirty.

Anyone have an idea of the damage caused?

Socol

Has it caused any damage? Maybe, but probably nothing noticeable if any; find out if she's driven in dust or rain. While you're at it, I'd check (if at all possible to determine) if the oil filter itself had actually been changed. Jiffy lube is notorious for not putting in a new filter. I’m sure most have seen this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiCAJ8ULnaI

DelawareCLS

This is why it's smart to do oil/filter changes yourself! You have only yourself to blame if you screw up

I doubt much damage would have been done unless she was driving in adverse conditions, as pointed out before. Biggest risk would be sucking in some piece of debris but I think that would be noticed before long.

pebe

When I went to Mavis for tires, they do the same thing. They call it a 'safety check'. They were so safe, they forgot to put the airbox cover back on, so as I'm driving home, my car is twice as loud as normal. When I get home and open the hood, my air filter (which was a brand new K&N I just put in the day before) was exposed and the clips that close the cover were broken. Luckily, they only broke on of the clips and I was able to put the cover back on. Point is, your going for oil or tires, they should do just that. Dont touch anything else.













Oh, and never ever ever ever ever eeeeever, go to Jiffy Lube

Street Spirit

Can always just ask them not to bother with the other stuff and to only change the oil.

GreenMonster

meh... I hate "what if" threads... find out if the filter is there or not, and then I'll offer my opinion on 4 days without one....

teranfon

Four days? Very unlikely if she wasn't driving in adverse conditions. If the air filter has been left out however, some contaminants have likely entered the crankcase. I would definitely go back and demand a fresh oil change, as these contaminants are now in the new synthetic.

Terry

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

And going forward, find someone else to do the oil changes. If she or one of her family members cannot to them, I'm sure someone else she knows can.

Just do whatever you need to do to stay away from those fast lube places...

kipwa007

I saw a news report a couple months back showing rampant fraud occuring at several Jiffy Lubes in my area. They did the whole hidden camera thing and nailed about 8-9 locations around the L.A. area.

/k

alphason'sac

Yeah, they bring you the filter and tell you it needs to be replaced but they don't even carry the filter that fits in to the car. That used to happen to me at the Texaco Express Lube that I used to go to years ago. They would come in with a lot of bogus stuff like that.

I already ranted in a previous Jiffy Lube Thread, so like everyone else has been saying, tell your friend that if she cares about her car, she should only let a real mechanic or the dealership change her oil. I would bet my last dollar that they didn't even put synthetic in the car (if they put oil in it at all)

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

YEAH!!!! I saw that too. Like 5 out of the 9 sucked and when the guy went to talk to the guy in charge he denied everything. I hate jiffylube. I got a fitler and an oil change with synethetic at my acura dealership cheaper then a friend got dino oil and a filter at jiffy lube.

Socol

Um, I don't mean to sound like a jackass but if you two actually read what others post in a thread then, well maybe, hell I give up…

SpeedyV6

This is why you need to get your oil changed at WalMart. They never try to upsell you and they always put in the exact brand and viscosity of oil you ask for.

BTW, what is a normal interval for replacing a paper air filter? Mine always looks spotless even after 20,000 miles.

teranfon

I thinks its mostly dependent upon operating conditions. My trucks tend to need replacement every 10 000 or so kilometers. I find the cars about every 25 000 km. or so.

Terry

bigman

Man, ive seen some big ass leaves and shit on my filters before, so i'd be hella worried about what got into that motor. I'd put a new filter in and make sure that the car sounds ok, like no ticking/knocking noises.

subinf

I've never seen a shop not try to upsell anything. Dealerships, independent shops, etc. Pretty much industry standard.

subinf

How is that possible? Dealers don't charge less than 30 bucks for a synthetic oil change

alphason'sac

In my experience, Quick Lube Places have always been more expensive. That is the trick. I never paid less than $35 for an oil change at Texaco Express Lube for regular oil. In hindsight, this was folly on my part which I am still paying for today with the nice crack in my oil pan.
Even if the Quick Lube was cheaper, the fact that you have a trained person looking at your car instead of some monkey that walked in off the street is priceless.
Also in my experience, Dealership service departments have a better track record of making good on mistakes than do the Quick lube places. All of them should be closed down.

subinf

^ - I've experienced the opposite. Doesn't really mean shit. Dealers charge way too much for basic work. Its not smart to go there unless you have warranty work. Best idea is just to go to an independent shop.

alphason'sac

It depends on the dealership. My dealership charges $25.00 for an oil change but like you said, I go to an independent shop to get all of my work done, moreso because my car is 11 years old. If my car was new, I would lean more towards the dealership for like you said warranty work and my indeopendent shop for other stuff. Being that my car is so old, I only typically go to the dealership for parts that I cannot get or won't trust from anyone else. I agree with you that this is a great alternative. I say to my friends all the time "take it to the dealer or a real mechanic, NEVER to the Quick Lube". But, I would rather they go the dealership than gamble at the quick lube. Good Point though.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

It was 50 bucks for me but hers was orginally 30 bucks but with the filter it was like 55 or something and mine was included in the 50.