Dealer service necessary?

Any damage to any vehicle as the result of improper maintenance by someone not trained to work on that vehicle, is not covered by a warranty.

Why would you even consider letting the $8 an hour high school dropout, without any of the proper equipment, performing ANY service on your $26,000 hydride? There is a technician at you Ford dealer who was trained by Ford, at the cost of around $3,000 to the dealer, working with $6,000 worth of equipment, that knows how to properly maintain that vehicle. Even the Ford dealer will not allow his technicians, not trained to work on hybrids, work on hybrids.

mike hunt

Jim Ch>

wanna bet lmfao they need 1 trained tech EMPLOYED if he is busy at the moment any tech can take the job

even people who work the lazy lube like you mike

hurc ast

Having oil changes and other maintainence performed by a company other than the dealer is fine. Ford cannot decline to honor a warranty because the service was performed by an outside vendor.

Jeff

As Jeff said, having oil changes and other maintenance performed by a company other than the dealer is fine, BUT Jiffy-Lube ??? NOT A CHANCE EVER!!! I wouldn't take a car I was selling to Jiffy-Lube let alone one I wanted to keep. I do all my own maintenance and repairs, but if I didn't, I would want someone with some hands on automotive experience to do the simple stuff on my car, not some kid who isn't even qualified to take your order at McDonalds.

If you want to have the work done somewhere other than the dealer, please try another true auto shop, not a ZIPPY LUBE.

That's not true of the Honda Dealers. Non-hybrid work on the hybrids can be done by anybody in the shop.

If the filter is easily inspected by the owner then it shouldn't void your warrantee. Just keep a service record. Take a notebook, record the date, odometer reading, service done, and attach any applicable receipts (parts if you did it yourself, or a work order if it was done by a shop).

I made a warrantee claim for piston slap in a vehicle of mine. They needed to see proof that proper maintenance (oil changes) were done. I showed them the service record, and that was good enough for them. Maintenance doesn't have to be done by the dealership, but it does have to be documented.

As for getting Jiffy-Lube to do it... I'd only let them change my oil if I were in a squeeze, and I'd do so under careful supervision. They probably would have no knowledge whatsoever about your hybrid system. Your best bet would be:

Do it yourself, bring it to the Ford dealer, or bring it to another autoshop that would be knowledgeable on what to check in the "high-voltage battery A/C filter".

Don't take it to Jiffy-lube. They are barely qualified (at best) to change your oil, let alone touch your hybrid system.

snipped-for-privacy@mailcity.com wrote in part:

I guess the consensus is that i'd be an idiot to get an oil change and a filter check at JiffyLube.

I'd be very surprised if the Ford dealer doesn't have my filter inspection, oil change, and tire rotation done by a high school dropout. Maybe he has had a high school dropout trained on hybrids...

I'm new here, so I don't know who is who, but I appreciate all the comments.

-- Jim Chinnis Warrenton, Virginia, USA

Why? How difficult is it to change oil, considering they can get under your car in seconds? My only concern would be the quality of oil that was being put into my vehicle if I was using it from the large drums. As long as I'm getting my new oil from a sealed container, it makes it easy and efficient for me.

Evidently quite difficult, I know personally of three occasions where one flavor or another of the local "zippy lube" has destroyed an engine due to their incompetence. you would be damn lucky if they did put the right fluid in the right place.

The first, Jiffy-Lube did the oil change on my co workers wife's Toyota and she left, evidently she was totally oblivious, she drove down the interstate pumped out all her oil and continued until the engine seized. Turns out the monkey at Jiffy-Lube cross threaded the oil filter (how the hell do you cross thread an oil filter). That day the manager of the Jiffy-Lube was very apologetic and agreed to pay for everything, then the Jiffy-Lube corporate office stepped in and said they would take no responsibility, and pay nothing.

The second and third occurrences were both cross threaded or stripped drain plugs, that ended up loosing the oil and damaging the engines.

Most businesses have some desire to produce a quality "product" while they make their money. Not Jiffy-Lube, their incompetence is by design, not default. they want to make the most money they can, not the happiest customers.

Generally the most knowledgeable guy in the place couldn't tell you how to find top dead center on your number one cylinder if his life depended on it.

NO THANK YOU, I'll take my car to a place that knows something about what they are doing.

Small claims court would fix that.

Jiffy Lube doesn't appear to have a service outline for Hybrids. Even with an outline they make costly mistakes and don't rate high in my idea of quality service.

Bill

Even something as simple as an oil change can be botched badly and end up costing hundreds of times more than the meager savings. We have all heard the stories of the fast lube joint kid who forgot to tighten the plug. Here is a different twist, from personal experience. A few years ago I purchased a used Grand Marquis in 'mint' condition. Even though the engine oil looked clean, I proceeded to change it right away. One little problem: the plug refused to turn. When the 250 lb-ft setting on my largerst torque wrench still wouldn't move it, I was bracing for the worst; like on most newer cars, the engine has to come out of the Grand Marquis in order to remove the oil pan. Finally, an impact wrench did the trick. To my utter amazement, I did not find any damage -- something good to say about Ford's design of the

4.6L V8 oil pan! I don't know who was the last one to tighten that plug, but they must have thought that its purpose is to hold the car together...

Never said they could, but if the bozo uses an improper filter or cross threads the drain plug and the oil get too low, the damage is not covered by the warranty. Getting an oil change at a fast lure company my save you ten bucks but they will not get your vehicle caught up on all of the current TBS. Most dealership now offer fast lube, lower cost, service as well and the don't use re-refined oil.

mike hunt

Jeff wrote:

If the dealership expects to be reimbursed by Ford for the warranty claim, they better use a hybrid trained tech. LOL

mike hunt

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote:

Agreed.

However, there are good shops where independent techs are able to quite reliably take care of the car.

I would not recommend going to Jiffy Lube either.

Jeff

Yep. Gotcha.

I forgot that any quick oil change franchise will automatically botch the job, while dealership service employees couldn't possibly make a mistake.

Just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page.

I don't have any affiliation to either side and have used both.

Well correct me if i am wrong, but a TSB is NOT necessarily a recall or a free service? And some TSB's are not necessarily a do it now or it will quit service. Not that its a bad idea, but if its not a warranty issue a TSB repair could be additional money to be paid. SO, you go in for a oil change anc come out paying ????

I agree on the hybrid, that its components should be up to current. But that should be warranty. (for now anyway)

Bob

Re: Dealer service necessary? Group: alt.autos.ford Date: Thu, Apr 21, 2005, 10:51am From: snipped-for-privacy@mailcity.com

Never said they could, but if the bozo uses an improper filter or cross threads the drain plug and the oil get too low, the damage is not covered by the warranty. Getting an oil change at a fast lure company my save you ten bucks but they will not get your vehicle caught up on all of the current TBS. =A0

Most dealership now offer fast lube, lower cost, service as well and the don't use re-refined oil. mike hunt

What part of 'Most dealerships now offer fast lube, lower cost, service as well and the don't use re-refined oil,' didn't you understand ;)

mike hunt

Eric Tol>