Lube Service Leaves Customers Stranded on the Road Warning

When Convenience and Speed Costs You More
One of the perks behind choosing to let a quickie style lube joint take care of your oil and other fluid changes is that it is often cheaper than what you pay going to an auto parts store for the supplies you need to change the oil yourself. The other perk is that of convenience.

However, in many cases those two perks prove to be false. According to a warning from a mechanic, going to a commercial lube service could very well cost you more in repairs and time than if you had taken your car to a garage with certified trained mechanics.

Related article: The Biggest Red Flag You’ve Taken Your Car to the Wrong Mechanic

Furthermore, there is also the risk to your (or a family member’s) safety should your vehicle break down and leave you stranded on the road.

That’s the message in a recent YouTube video where an experienced mechanic sits down and warns viewers about what can---and does---happen when car owners decide to take a chance on letting someone---who may or may not be a real mechanic---do maintenance on their vehicle.

A Simple Check You Can Do
Aside from the warning, the video also provides a simple check demonstration of one common cause of a rough running engine shortly after servicing was performed by a quickie style lube joint---air filter goofs made by the service tech.

Should your vehicle start running rough shortly after having it serviced, a common service tech induced fault is that of either improperly installing a new air filter and/or any of its related components.

For most vehicles this is an easy check. All it takes is to go to your air filter compartment on top of your engine and see if the cover is correctly positioned providing a needed seal to help control air flow and vacuum pressure. A dislodged cover can affect the flow of air and cause the vehicle’s air flow sensor to react unfavorably toward engine operation.

You will also want to check any hoses leading to and from the air filter compartment to ensure that they are snug and not leaking between their connections.

If both of the conditions are fine, however, then you will want to remove the air filter compartment cover and make sure that the replaced filter does not still have a protective plastic wrap sheeting on it (that the tech failed to remove) which will prevent air from getting to the engine.

The Value of This Video
The value of watching this video is that it is a good show and tell about the risks of going to a commercial lube service that might be using OJT (on the job trained) “mechanics” and why it really is a gamble and some of the things you can do should it happen to you.

That said, here is the video and its content that is applicable to all vehicles regardless of your make and model.

Failure Performing Simple Service Left Owners Stranded!

And finally…

For additional articles about related service center problems, here are a few for your consideration:

• Fast Lube Type Service Center Warning for New and Used Cars

• How Service Centers Damage Your Brakes with a Simple Tire Change

• Oil Change Customer Sued for Death in Car Service Center Incident

COMING UP NEXT: All-Wheel Drive Cars to Buy and NOT to Buy! Says This Mechanic

Timothy Boyer is a Torque News automotive reporter based in Cincinnati. Experienced with early car restorations, he regularly restores older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites for daily new and used vehicle news.

Image Source: Pixabay