Any issues going to quick lube type places?

Let's put it this way.

I took my 1992 Honda Accord to those "Speedy Lube" type of places.

They immediately tried to up sell you on a whole bunch of overpriced services that always thought were questionable at the least.

Could they do a simple oil change? I guess so. Even though once I paid for a synthetic fill and caught them putting the regular bulk oil in.

One time...regrettably they talked me into doing a coolant and radiator flush and fill. I can't prove it, but I think they screwed it up. After they messed with my coolant and radiator, the radiator in just a few months died. I ended up having to get a whole new radiator.

This was with a well used old 1992 Accord. With a anything as valuable, and as complicated as a newer Prius....NO WAY am I taking it to one of those places.

Too many stories of Toyota Dealerships not knowing how to properly fill the oil, I'm not going to let some Non-Toyota Speedy Lube guy try to do it.

 

How could it be bad, sounds just like the dealer!!!

 

Short Answer: No issues that you wouldn't encounter at a dealership.

If you're not going to do it?
They're just as good.....or bad as the dealer....depending on the lube place and the dealer.
If you're ever going to DIY, I would avoid the Jiffy places, since there is about a 50-percent chance that the dealer won't overtorque the oil filter.
However (comma!) the Jiffy place will probably not overfill the motor...so it's six-five and pickem.

Personally?
I wouldn't let EITHER do it if it was free, but I do my own maintenance. They probably don't allow this over on the left coast so if you're never going to crawl under your car and do it yourself?
I'd use the Castrol place in Frisco.

I'm sure that yours won't be the first Prius that they have to do an oil chance on.
Just say "no" to any unneeded maintenance....which will probably be cheaper than the unneeded maintenance that the dealer will try to up-sell you on.

My beloved company has been using places like Jiffy lube on their Priuses for several years.
I have 60K on mine and I still knock down 50MPG when I want to.

YMMV

 

Sure there have been too many threads with Dealership Oil Change flubs.

But the question from the OP was about "Quick Lube" type of places. And if you don't want to change the oil yourself, and believe it or not there are some people that don't want to do it, then you have to make a choice at some point.

I meet dealership service departments with healthy skepticism but at least their experience should primarily be with Toyota's. In other words if they screw up, there really is no excuse.

So if choosing between Speedy Lube or Dealership...I'll go with dealership.

But bottom line, if not doing Oil Changes yourself, you want to find somebody or someplace you trust. As a starting point? I'll take a Toyota Dealership Service Department over "Speedy Lube". Could either or both fail? Certainly.

 

It's to bad dealerships don't pay their lube guys anymore than any other place. People really do take more pride in their work for as little as 50 cents to 1$ an hour.

But anyways I think it would be about the same as a dealer, the only difference I see is if they screw up really badly a Dealer would be easer to get to pay for the fix than a little quick lube place.

 

bring your own oil and filter

 

Watch that they don't destroy your car's oil filter access door.

 

it's part of the bottom cover and it's a couple of hundred bucks.

 

There were members here that posted how the door was hanging down after a dealer oil change. That's why I do the changes myself and pull the whole panel to do it.

 

I have a friend who has a Cadillac CTS, about 3 years old still under warranty . She took it to Jiffy Lube for oil change. After she picked the car up she drove over the floating bridge to Seattle. Her check engine light came on and the car stopped mid floating bridge. She had the car towed to Cadillac and they found NO OIL in the system. The cap was back in place but no oil. No leak, just no oil. Jiffy Lube had forgot to put oil in after they had drained it. The dealership filled it with oil and ran it for a couple of days. Seemed to be OK. After several calls to the Jiffy Lube manager the Cadillac manger told her Cadillac was voiding the rest of her warranty. Jiffy Lube gave her some stupid excuses and not much else. She now has a lawyer, a car whose future is very much in doubt.

 

The idiot light went on mid span on the floating bridge. Car had overheated by then

 

If there was no oil the idiot light would have went on before the car left the parking lot. If it leaked out during the drive that would explain the light going on over the bridge.

 

Come on guys,,,, do you really think "She" would have stopped driving for any light on the panel?

just sayin...

Cars don't overheat due to a lack of oil. They go clatter/bang due to a lack of oil. Even then she would have 'Pressed on Regardless'.

 

The caliber of people changing oil in the Dealership Express Bays are no different than those at Jiffy lube, or any corner lube joint (the ASEs do the real work). The difference is you "likely" won't have to hire a Lawyer to correct mistakes at a Dealership. Sorry to hear about the Cadillac CTS. Sounds like that motor is history.