Valvoline Instant Oil Change [VIOC]
reviews and complaints

3/26/23

I asked for a conventional oil change which I always get and with a coupon highest charge I get is $24. The worked said he synethic better and fir the 75.99 I was charged around $64 I asked for the lesser value $50 which I can get $15 off he said no the $50 in conventional oil. I've been going to valvoline for many years. This time I was unsatisfied with the charge.

On February 25, 2023 I went in for a convenient oil change since I had time and didn't feel like making an appointment with Nissan dealership. WORST mistake ever. Michael the man who attended me was very condescending when I asked questions like, "will my tires be checked" and "will you be topping off my anti-freeze" he somewhat chuckled and said, "yea we do that here too" and him and the man at the hood of my car would whisper and giggle. They also tried charging me for almost everything or upselling I guess you could say. All I asked for was an oil change and new filter. Well, I left without my tires being checked or filled, since my sensors notified me that they were still at 32 and not the 36 as Michael said they would be. I left feeling like that job was done incorrectly since they were laughing and goofing off, so I called and made an incident report. Well, I was told that I would get a call back in 48 hours and never did. On 03.18.23 my maintenance and oil filter sensor notified me my car needed attention. I of course wasn't surprised and called Valvoline right away and asked to speak to EDUARDO the store manager. Eduardo was quite pleasant and apologetic on the phone and told me he'd be in Monday, 03.20.2023 right at 7:30 am for me to go ahead and come on in and he personally would check my car was done correctly and attend me. I asked if he would be in Sunday, he said no, so I confirmed I'd be in Monday at 7:30. That time was actually perfect being I had to have my son at school by 8:15 am. I arrive at the shop right at 7:30 and I see a man inside. I see he isn't acknowledging me, so I go up to the garage and he opens the door for me. I let him know I'm there to see Eduardo. Same gentleman comes back to my vehicle and lets me know that Eduardo would be with me at 8 am when the shop opens. I asked him to please remind Eduardo of our conversation and that he specifically told me to be there at 7:30. This poor man goes back to relay the message to Eduardo. The same man comes back out and apologizes and states that they open at 8 am and that Eduardo is busy doing opening duties. That if I can't wait until 8 am I could come back. It was already an inconvenience being there a 2nd time, I didn't plan on returning for a 3rd time, nor wanted to for fear something was wrong with my vehicle. I get off my car to personally speak to Eduardo, which I feel he should've done initially and this poor man starts telling me, "Mam you can't go into the shop the shop is closed" but I went into the waiting area anyway and saw Eduardo counting money. Eduardo looked unpleased to see me and I told him, "you told me to be here at 7:30" Eduardo said, "no I didn't" I then told him of course you did, how would I know you would be here, I don't just make up times in my head" I told him I had to get my son to school and it was convenient for me to go at the time he stated. He then proceeded to continue to argue and say, " I said I'd be here at 7:30 and I'd get you in at 8 am" Which he never did. I would have been there right at 8 had that been the case and made arrangements for someone else to take my son to school. I'm pretty sure he just forgot. He was annoyed but nonetheless he told the gentleman upfront to pull me in. Eduardo was done in less than 10 minutes and let me know the job was done correctly they just didn't reset my button and he filled up my tires with air and guided me out. I have to say, I truly believe if I was a man, I wouldn't have been treated this way the first time, nor today. I am so disappointed in how I was poorly treated. Not only as a customer, but as a woman. I've never felt so degraded by a company before. I've actually had great experiences prior to this at Valvoline's. Unfortunately, I will no longer use their services, nor recommend them to anyone. Very disheartening that men in this industry can be so chauvinistic. Woman shouldn't feel stressed while handing their own obligations to maintain their vehicles.

Yolanda

03/19/2023 2:21PM

Invoice: 238101

VIN: 1GNDT13W7Y2248865 MO 4NESIE

CURRENT MILEAGE 283.396

LS, 6CYL 4.3L (L35), VORTEC, MFI (W)

Brought my 2000 Chevy Blazer in for Oil Change and Filter change.

Valvoline Tech did full inspection of vehicle all lights and instrument panels were working. when they where done with my oil change they had me pull out of bay, I noticed that my lights for mileage and ( park , reverse, drive, Overdrive, EXT. were not working. Valvoline Tech came out and asked me was their a problem, I said yes, my lights are not working. then I told her everything was working when the Tech inspected the vehicle. I not sure what happen while they worked on my vehicle

I had Valvoline instant oil change change my oil 12/11/22. The La Tijera in Los Angeles, CA location. Now mind you, I check my oil levels weekly says keep the level on point because my SUV has the 2azfe oil consumer engine. I recall I checked my oil and filled tires a few psi right two nights before 2/21/23. Oil was OK, probably needed to add a quart after driving to long beach, but near 2 or top dot. I am about 25 miles into trip on 2/21/23 and in the highway when the oil pressure light turns on. I pull off highway, I have oil in suv with me as I buy the big box or jug add keep in my car. I checked oil level, damn near empty. I fill it up. Oil pressure light cleared itself. The next day before driving, I see a very large oil leak under my car. I top it off with oil, then driving the oil pressure light and CEL, VSC, 4WD light come on. I check oil, it's low again. Full it up. Drive to Auto zone to get a filter and oil filter removal cap. I plan to do an oil change as this seems to be the known fix. I noticed there's an oil leak under my car. I drain oil, I try to get filter off by hand. Can't get it off. I was doing this change actually near a Walmart parking lot. So I walk over to Walmart and I get a extension for the ratchet so I can use the oil cap remover and take the filter off. It won't come off with that. So I go back to Walmart and then I buy a metal strap device to wrap around the filter to try to get it loose. It won't come off with that. I recruit the help of two different men, who after questioning their understanding of oil changes and they both confirmed that they're well adept and do their own oil changes I asked for assistance. Each one of them slid under my car and attempted for about 30 minutes each to get that filter off and could not do it by hand or with any of the tools that I had. It is presumed that my oil filter has been over torqued and this will cause a leak. I put the drain plug back in and filled up the car with oil to the proper level and drove home on side streets, stopping every 5 mi or so to top off the oil to prevent any damage. The pressure light remained on, the CEL, VSC and 4WD lights cleared itself. The car since the first pressure light went on, has been shuddering while driving, and it's gotten worse as I went home, despite my best efforts to keep the oil filled. Today (2/27/23) I went to investigate, it has been raining very heavily the past few days and I could not get underneath my car during this time. I got a lot of photos where there is obvious leaking from the oil filter dripping and layers of oil caked under parts around it and it's spread all over under my car. I couldn't see this when I was doing my oil change from that advantage and I didn't have a light to light it up. This is a major oil leak right from that source at the top of the filter and is leaving me without a vehicle. Is driving it like this is too dangerous potentially causing engine to seize and expensive with all the oil that I've been putting in the car. The last people to touch that filter prior to me where the staff who put it on at Valvoline. Valvoline instant oil changes, I've learned from online research since this transpired, has many many complaints of over torquing the oil filter causing leaks and damaging engines. Also Lawsuits where results published and I imagine many more that have gone to settlement before any published result could happen. I believe my engine has been damaged from this. Despite my best efforts to keep the oil topped off, eventually became too much and ran out in under 25 MI. I have been restricting my driving since It was already too late the car vibrating and struggling with the loss of oil as I was driving. I'm not driving it at all as of 2/24/23. I don't want to risk further engine damage if there is any. I will have to tow this to a professional shop for evaluation of this issue and get a repair estimate so I can bring this to Valvoline and have them pay for their mistake. There's no other source of an oil leak in the car. It is coming directly from that oil filter and then going everywhere else underneath it and around it. This could be damaging other parts of the car, I'll find out the full extent of the damage when somebody looks at it. I'm very frustrated with this. I'll be contacting Valvoline tomorrow. I'll be making a demand letter very soon and I'll be taking them to court if they do not offer to pay for all the damages to my engine that this is caused. An oil filter should only be hand tightened never use a torque wrench or any kind of other device. I don't know if they used one here but if it was hand tightened, it should be easily removed with a filter cap or the metal strap device that goes around the filter. Stronger hands were used. All this failed. That's very evident that it was not properly tightened but rather over tightened causing damage to the oil filter seal, causing a leak that got worse and worse to the point where my car became damaged from the lack of oil. Picture show the size of an oil leak after 1 1/2 blocks of driving sitting for 30 minutes. Car was filled with oil just before I drove. It's quite a loss of oil. The other picture shows the underside of the car where you can see the oil filter in one of the corners of the photo they might have to be rotated. You can see that there's layers of oil kicked onto that oil filter and I'll get a picture of the oil filter at the top when I have a professional shop look at I went under the car tonight to look with a flashlight and it was thick at the very top of that oil filter and looks like it just gets pushed behind it from the wind or driving and covers the plastic Shields, the sump on the opposite side of the drain plug. The drain plug faces the rear. All the parts above the sump that are at level or below the connection of the oil filter. All that's just cake and covered with oil.

Took my 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid to a Valvoline instant oil change facility in Menomonee Falls, WI. A couple hundred miles later my check engine light went on. I didn't think too much about it, but noticed that my car started acting strange so I took it in. When the shop took a look they found that the baffle underneath the valve cover had broken off and done a significant amount of damage to multiple engine components. They asked where I got my oil change, because in there words that is the only way this could have happened. They gave me the number for Valvoline claims and I logged a claim on January 11th. First, the shop manager went to the dealership and looked at the damage. He attempted to tell me that the tech told him this could have happened in other ways, but when I spoke to the shop they told me he was lying. They have nothing to gain by lying but Valvoline does. Finally after a few weeks of calling every day I did get the Regional Manager to call over to the shop to discuss the problem for himself. He promised me that at this point it broke in their hands and that he would get a quote to get it fixed. He first discussed getting a quote at a replacement engine, but ended up setting on the proposal for the fix on the current engine. The shop sent the pricing and he mentioned that would need to get approval from his VP due to the amount. After that, I couldn't get ahold of anyone for 3 weeks to give me an update on the approval process. Today I just got ahold of the VP and he told me that they would be denying my claim due to watching the video and not seeing any evidence that they caused the damage. I have called almost every day since January 11th and sometimes multiple times in a day. I was forced to get a rental car because this process has taken so long. I'm baffled by the horrible customer service, the terrible communication.

In December 2022, took my 2015 KIA for a Coolant Flush. Did not drive vehicle for several weeks. Never had overheating issue since purchasing the new vehicle. No leaks. Valvoline had full records of their service on KIA. The engine began to overheat. Valvoline put in coolant in the reservoir. The engine overheated again. Coolant was over 1 gallon low when I checked. KIA was towed to Martin Auto only to discover the Master Cylinder and head gasket needs to be removed block and expensive work done. Due to a faulty Coolant Service. William, the Supervisor, spoke with Martin and did not present a fair accounting and said his wife has the same 2003 KIA and the engine had the same problem 4 months after purchase. My problem was not the same as his William’s wife. William was rude and only wanted to get Kudos from Corporate. He did not listen when he called on February 6, 2023.

The staff and Supervisor Kyle are great. BUT if you a looking for a company and a local supportive supervisor that stands behind their work, go to Martin Auto in Anna, IL, or Today’s Technology or Plaza Tire in Carbondale, IL. I will recommend to my co-workers and students not to go to Valvoline and will publish complaints of this problem.

received an oil change from them 1/15/2023. Got on the highway less than 3 hours later my vehicle was no longer working. Had my vehicle towed to Ford Champion dealership and the dealership informed me that my oil had too much oil and that could be the cause on why the vehicle is not work. I spoke to someone from Valvoline yesterday and they wanted me to get my car towed to a dealership that they partner with to tear down the engine but i did not feel comfortable with having someone that they partner with work on my vehicle because they were giving me the run around for 15days . So the next day they left a voicemail saying that my claim is closed and that is unacceptable.

My fiancé, Craig Salek, took my 2014 VW Jetta into Valvoline Instant Oil Change on 23 Mile Road in Chesterfield, Michigan for my regularly scheduled oil change a few weeks an ago. The technician(s) began to start working on the car by opening the hood, removing the oil cap, and did an air filter inspection. They informed Craig that they didn’t have the oil filter needed to complete the oil change, so they placed ann order for one and said they would contact me when it was available.

A couple of days later my car started to rhythmically “rev up” when I was at an idle. I took it into my mechanic and he said that my oil cap had been left off and that he found it wedged between an area in the engine compartment.

I had to pay $322.33 to have my car repaired from the loss of oil that was created due to the oil cap being removed and not put back on.
I am a loyal customer at that location and I have never had issues before this, however, I do think that this should be rectified with a reimbursement to me.
Receipt for repairs attached.

Thank you.
Sherri (Cheryl) Sample
[protected]
36629 Main Street
New Baltimore MI 48047

I wanted to make a distinction between what happened and what Valvoline Instant Oil Change did to convince me the Die Hard Battery with a 5 year warranty from the Kuwala technician died on me. Plus I have the receipts and a phone number for the technician to call directly to confirm what I am stating in these emails and the complaint.

I will provide the URL of my complaint in the next email to you. Thank you in advance for your help and support.

My old battery gave me every indication it was dying. I had to hold the start button for a longer period of time before the car would start. And it became progressively harder to start the car. Then it just died in my garage.

The technician replaced the battery and without any problem started right away and the idle was good.

At VIOC, after the new battery was replaced the car idle did not hold and they had to do several adjustments to get it to start and hold the idle. Plus I did have to press on the gas to get the charge up, the alternator going and the solenoid charged. I HAVE MY RECEIPTS FROM THE BATTERY REPLACEMENT THE DAY BEFORE HURRICAN IAN.

Wow. Leander, TX location. Avoid this place!
Cant speak for all the employees, but when my Wife took her car there, they apparently like to play the game of getting her to commit to additional charges, and even adding/charging addition services that were never even discussed - all without discussing pricing until they take your card, charge you, then give the card back and wave you out of the garage - and won't give you a receipt until you stop and ask for one!

Even the prior quoted price of the full-synth oil change for the make, model, year and engine of the vehicle I gave them was a lie. The 93.99 price was given to me "plus tax". However, even though they KNEW the vehicle ('21 Santa Fe), they proceeded to charge an "extra oil charge" AND a labor charge for the oil change on top of it. Don't be fooled by their scam operation.

Speaking to the manager is a complete waste of time since he tries to talk to you like you are an idiot with things like: "Anytime you get work done anywhere, they charge for labor" and "We don't know in advance how much oil your vehicle takes". Seriously. He actually said those things and a few more.
Been going to JiffyLube, Walmart, and half a dozen other places in the Cedar Park area for 20+ years and never had an issue until going to this scam Valvoline location.
On a positive note, my Wife said they were really friendly!

I live behind this store along with several other single family neighbors. on 1/11/2023 at 7 pm a car had backed up to one of the bays, parked, had its trunk open and was blasting base music from speakers in the trunk. This music infiltrates our homes, makes our wall hangings and tables rattle and destroys our peace. I walked over and the person who owns the car, white, and heavy set man about early 30's came out - I asked him to turn it off and he adamantly stated he would turn it down, I asked if he could at least turn off the base and he repeated he would turn it down — I told him turning it down does not help as it is the base that causes the disturbance He was rude and curt and stated again he would turn it down - which he did not. He stated he worked at Valvoline — If this is the kind of person and customer service your corporation is Ok with - this is pretty bad. Please there must be some policy for not disturbing the neighborhood you do business in = especiallly when we are all home after work and want to enjoy the peace of our homes

At Location 060050 Austintown Ohio On 12/20/2022 I had My Oil changed on a 2012 Chevy Equinox On Christmas Day Dec 25 2022 My Wife was driving the Car and staled a couple of times the Engine started making Noise she Drove right back home. Sounder like timing chain noise. I added 2 quartes of ion started the car the noise Stopped Added another quart of oil to fill back up. I m driving the car to Valvoline to get checked out

George Feschenko [protected]

The car did not leek any oil before the Oil Change. I check the oil at every gas fill-up. I do put a quart of oil in about every 600 miles. It was a little low on oil but did not put oil in because was due for a oil change

I took my Hyundai Tucson in for an oil change on December 10th at 8 am at the Sumner, WA location. During the oil change the technician relayed to me that there was a leak coming out of my transmission. I mentioned that I had not noticed any drips under where I park my car in my garage. The technician said there was a spill plate under the transmission that the leak probably spills into and I may not notice the leak. With the recommendation of your technician I took my car into get it looked at at the local auto shop. After some diagnostic work, they noticed clean oil dripping around the engine and transmission. The oil itself has been filled 3/4 too full and then spilled around the inside of the engine. I now have to get my oil changed again as it was filled too much.

Claim Number: 3:C50163689 First of all, I'd like to start by saying, "I'm a long time Valvoline customer but I will never, NEVER use their services again. " November 2022, I went to Valvoline, grand ledge, Michigan to receive a full standard oil change. after i left the shop, assuming all was well, i drove home. approximately 20 miles later (20 miles distance to house) by engine began clunking and long story short, the technicians at Valvoline failed a major safety hazard, and didn't secure my oil drain plug securely causing all the oil to drain out and a mirage of engine problems, including an engine seizure and a declaration of vehicle totaled from a local repair shop (invoice include). Fast forward to today, 12/8/2022, i have no vehicle to drive and a $7,000.00 repair bill! I filed a claim with Valvoline and had a visit by the store manager, Chris, to inspect the damage, alongside Chris's assistant manager. After they evaluated the damage, i was told by Chris, we will contact you Monday. Monday comes along and I receive a call from Chris claiming he couldn't confirm the details of the invoice i gave him and stated "we aren't going to be able to help you out": and hangs up. I have no option to appeal? no higher authority to appeal my grievance with Chris? i wasn't even offered a refund on the oil change either, how about them apples? this company is a joke, I am sure we will receive a reply from Valvoline on BBB claiming no wrongdoing and state my claim is denied for such and such and offer no reimbursement whatsoever. we are furious and I promise, this fight is far from over! -Keith Whitmore Charlotte, Michigan

11/10/22 went for an oil change. Paid the bill & waited maybe 20-30 minutes, during that time there was confusion while they worked. (overheard the manager we don't do things like that here, we are not a mom & pop Shop, and was not happy with one of the employees). I was notified that a refund would be given because they did not have the right tool to take off the oil filter. Issued the refund, and tried to leave but waved to stop they forgot to put the engine cover back on and then went home. As I walked around my jeep there was oil everywhere on the left side I also looked under the hood gas cap was broken (maybe more I'm not sure). 11/11/22 took Jeep to All-star Dodge for an oil change, just sat down and a technician came to tell me the oil cap was broken and possibly the housing. I needed to make another appointment to have this looked at. I immediately emailed Valvoline and received a claim number.

11/18/22 All-Star Dodge waited for my car as they worked on it, found a broken oil cap, (I have the parts) and the housing was definitely broken. My bill is $1,132.24.

Emailed all information to Valvoline. I was told my claim was denied. I want to speak with the area manager, but still, waiting on a return phone call. 12/1/22

On December 29, 2021, I went to the Valvoline oil change facility on West Genesee St in Syracuse, NY. The oil was changed, or so I thought, and I drove away. Within a few miles the car started bucking and stalling and several warning lights appeared. Not knowing why this would be the case, I tried to get home but shortly realized I wouldn’t make it. I returned to the Valvoline facility where the on-duty manager explained that the transmission fluid had been drained instead of the oil. He refilled the transmission and drained the excess oil and said if I had any problems to return. All seemed well although the car started a “clicking” noise soon thereafter that I didn’t associate with the issue with the transmission fluid. Recently the noise became much worse and I took the car to my Subaru dealer (Romano Subaru Syracuse) where I was told the transmission was damaged and beyond repair. Also that the fluid in the unit was the wrong type. They asked if I had been to a instant oil change place and of course I said I had. The Service Director said he gets one Subaru transmission a week due to this mistake. I now need to have to transmission replace due to the negligent service at Valvoline and I need to know how to submit the invoice for Valvoline to pay.

Jeffrey Averill. Subaru VIN 4S4BRBLC2D3275921

I had an oil change preformed by Valvoline, West Roxbury, MA on 12/11/21. My next oil change I had done at the car dealer BochNissan, Norwood 8/31/22. When they came to change the oil filter it was discovered that the previous installer had stripped the threads of the housing and they had to order a new part, which left me without a car for a day and a $374.53 bill.

I called Valvoline that day to file a claim, No. CS0061058 and they said that someone would call me. The service manager at West Roxbury location was rude and unhelpful. I have made 4 chat line calls to Valvoline customer services trying to get the claim resolved and on the last call 11/9/22 I was told my claim was denied by the Area Service Manager, George, "because of the length of time between services with no sign of leakage". I had my oil changes done on the schedule required and the dealer technician said that the filter was on tight, but crooked due to the cross threading, so leakage would not have necessarily happened. Valvoline management have very bad communication skills.

On 10/16/2022 afternoon in Bakersfield CA, arrived for just a oil change, I mentioned I have a prompt to keep my hood open, cause my lift supports needed service. Tech mentioned they had prompts to keep good open, minutes later, he says only has 5-30 sae & 10-30 saw oil only. Vehicle has over 230,000 miles, rule of thumb thicker oil for high mileage vehicles. Went across the street to purchase thicker oil, went back for the oil change, now my hood won't open, never got the oil change. My issue is good was working fine, until the tech had shut it in a way not applicable. Second tech mentioned we shut the hood on all vehicles the same way, that I know some hoods you ease down, and close it from a short distance, instead from the top, when it's wide open. Now I'm driving with a hood tied down with a rope, had to remove the grill, missed work, doctors appointments etc. I would imagine Valvoline oil change service, would take care of any billing in making my hood shut properly as it did before the techs tried to service my vehicle, looking forward to hearing from you soon, thanks.

I got my daughter's oil change at a Valvoline oil change facility on August 25th 2022. 366 Centre Street Quincy Mass. My daughter came home Monday August 29th. She stated that her car sounded like it was going to blow up. I took the vehicle to my mechanic Tuesday August 30th. The vehicle was driven less than 45 miles from the time the oil was changed till the time the engine failed. He stated that there was no oil in the engine and the engine had failed. I told him that I got an oil change on the 25th. He stated that something let go and the oil had leaked from the engine because of something Valvoline had done. He did his own oil change and also added a high mile additive. He stated that he was not sure how long the engine would last because of the damage that was done with no oil in the engine. I got a call from my daughter on Monday September 26th. She stated that all the dashboard lights came on and the Car would not drive. The engine had completely failed. I spoke with Jeff the assistant manager at Valvoline. He told me to bring a receipt from my mechanic about what had happened and what he did to the vehicle. Michael the manager went out and inspected the vehicle. I got a call from Michael the manager who stated that because all the dashboard lights were on, I needed a tune up. I told him I need a new engine because whatever his shop had done caused the engine to fail. I spoke with the Valvoline claims department, and they stated the claim was denied. They stated Michael had spoken with my mechanic. Michael stated that my mechanic overfilled the engine with oil which was not true. Michael never spoke to my mechanic and blatantly lied about numerous things. My daughter car was in perfect working order before It was brought in for an oil change. Less than 45 miles later the engine failed because of the lack of oil in the engine.