Can I drive my car w/bad thermostat?

The "dromes" at Jiffy lube LIKELY left an air bubble in the cooling system, and noticed it got hot when they started it. If you are lucky the bubble is now out and it will not overheat again. Drive it locally, not farther from home than you are willing to walk, and see if it stays down where it belongs. If so, one of 2 things has happened

- the bubble worked it's way out, or you have a "failsafe" thermostat that is now stuck in the open (cold) position. If this is the case it will take "forever" to warm up to normal now, and will need to be replaced. If it still overheats, take it to a REAL mechanic - not a Jiffy Ape - and get it tested and repaired properly.

For every dime you save going to Jiffy Lube it is virtually guaranteed you will spend at LEAST another dollar due to their ineptitude.

Ineptitude or downright swindling! I have ladies in my office who go to those places because they have "Ladies Day" specials, but they end up getting COMPLETELY ripped off for things like gas cap seal replacements, power steering fluid flushes, windshield washer hose replacements, etc. One lady had been only taking her car to a "quick lube" place since it was new. After about 4 years she said that it was making some odd noises. She had just had it serviced by them. I climbed under it and found that none of the grease fittings had been greased for who knows HOW long! Find a REAL mechanic and pay $25.00 for a properly done lube, oil, and filter job without all of the un-needed wiper blade and PCV valve crap!

>

I forgot to mention that indicator for coolant does not go off. In addition, I idled the car for 5 or 6 minutes and the temperature gauge only went to half.

mindi

Mindi - the drones only did half a job - you had a bubble. Now that the bubble is out the reservoir is low. You need to top it up with 50% glycol. You can buy it ready mixed or buy full strength and mix half and hald with water. Fill to the cold mark and drive the car. After it warms up and cools off, check it and top it up again. Might be a good idea to remove the cap WHEN COLD and fill the rad before filling the reservoir to be sure it is not WAY too low. The fact it went to half, but not over, indicates to me the thermostat is just fine.

Or you can find a good mechanic, tell him your story, and pay him to do it for you. Find a good one, and stick with him. You might pay a bit more, but you won't get ripped off.

Ask around and find out who your friends use and are happy with. Ask questions when you go to the shop you think you want to use, and ask for references - preferably owners of a car similar to yours (same make/model) If you are not comfortable, walk away. There are, believe it or not, at least as many decent shops as ripoff joints, but substantially fewer exemplary shops. Worth their weight in GOLD.

I'd never go to Jiffy Lube. :( Glad I never went. I have a mechanic that's real good so I have him do all the oil changes and maintenance that I can't do myself. One has to be careful of those. And any place that fixes cars and has a "ladies" day or "seniors" day, I'd stay away from. Seems some like to blatently advertise who they want to swindle. I think that's kind of insulting. :(

NN said

I went to the three major "quicky" places in my area a few years ago. None of them lubed the chassis. This is after I specifically told them to insure it was lubed.

On the positive side, one note to BBB, and I got all my money back. Each time. Free oil changes... 2 minutes to lube it myself. Not so bad after all? ;-D

A new thermostat is fairly cheap. Once your coolant is out it is 2 bolts and a hose clamp (my car). If you get it flushed tell them they get $10 more to do the thermostat, works with CarX

Thanks to everyone who replied to my message. I ended up going to my dealership and they had a quick look. The radiator wasn't properly bled when it was flushed and it was low on fluid. (One of you mentioned that as a possible problem). Added a little more anti-freeze and I was off and running.

Needless to say, I've written a letter to Jiffy Lube to let them know of my dismay over the poor service.

mindi wrote

That won't help. The best thing you can do is stay far away from places like that. Folks need to either learn how to do the basic maintenance stuff, or at least find someone who is competent. It's amazing how many things which are not "rocket science" and can be done "by anyone", turn out to be things that can be screwed up by "everyone" if you aren't careful.

Ian

mindi said

File an online report with the BBB.

I did this, for lack of 'chassis lubing' with three major 'Jiffy Lube like places' and got 100% refunds every time.

Most GOOD replacement ball joints and tie rod ends have them - and if a lub shop advertises a "lub and oil" the least they can do is LOOK for the dang things. Anything that moves CAN have a fitting.

I agree that most passenger cars don't have fittings these days, but most SUV's and trucks still do. The place that does the oil changes on my F250 Super Duty 4x4 lets me stand there with them as they lube everything, check the transfer case and differential fluid levels, etc. I was lucky to find them. They are an old time Shell station, and their lube, Oil, and filter jobs on a standard car are right at $20.00. Of course my Diesel is more because it takes 13 quarts of oil and the filter is as big as a loaf of bread. The best thing about them is that I can send my wife there and not have to worry about them trying to scam her into new rubber brake lines, PCV valves, Windshield washer hoses, etc. It also probably helps that we drop them off a big tray of cookies and a case of beer every Christmas!

Geoff Welsh said

95 S10.

GW.

It must be one of hose pre- 1992 cars with all the grease fittings.

LOL

========= Harryface =========

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