I bought my 2012 Mercedes C250 used and after a couple months my Service B indicator came on. So I looked it up and there was a lot of checking and evaluating but the main thing was an oil change. So I took my car to Jiffy Lube thinking they were competent professionals that can take care of my car... THEY AREN'T! Soon after my oil change I started to notice the initial crank up was taking a little longer then usual and there was a bit of a rattle once it did start. After a day or two of this happening the check engine light came on, so I took it to the Mercedes Dealership. They said that the WRONG oil filter and WRONG oil was put in by Jiffy Lube. The dealership flushed the oil and put a new oil filter on and reset the check engine light. It stayed off for a day then came back on. I took it back and they replaced the Camshaft Cylinoid, reset the check engine light and gave it back. Again it stayed off for a day and came back on, so I took it to the dealership again. This time they kept my car for a month doing tests and came to the conclusion that the oil filter that Jiffy Lube put in caused damage to the inside of the engine and now needs to be replaced for $17,000!!!!! And is NOT covered under warranty because of the "AFTER MARKET" oil filter Jiffy Lube used. Now little ol' me is stuck in a fight with two giant corporations saying it's not their fault. My car is now parked in my driveway for good until this is resolved because I don't want to cause more damage and be blamed for it. Has ANYBODY been stuck in a similar situation with any car? Please help, I just don't know what to do.

 

Man, I'm sorry to hear of your troubles! It sounds like Jiffy Lube should fix you up. I don't know what your oil filter looks like but you would have to work at using the wrong filter. They aren't the usual spin on filter like most US cars use. This really sounds fishy!

I hope you've learned your lesson about Jiffy Lube. I wouldn't take our PT Cruiser to them for anything that requires them to put something in or on it.

Good luck and keep us up to date!

 

Sounds like you need to get a lawyer to fight Jiffy Lube for a new engine. Also I would recommend getting your head examined for taking your new Mercedes to anywhere like a Jiffy Lube.
Moving on though as hindsight is 20/20 how much have you talked to Jiffy Lube about this? I assume you have spoken to your local store but you need to go higher up to have a shot at finding someone with authority to get something done.
Mercedes has no responsibility as it says all over the warranty that using non approved fluids/filter/parts will void you warranty so befriend them to find out exactly what is wrong inside the motor as even with wrong oil I can't imagine it ruined an engine in less than 500 miles unless the oil was crazy thick or thin and the filter blocked fluid from pumping around. Sadly you said it was rattling which could mean oil was not reaching parts of the engine hence a whole new engine but see what actually died as this will be helpful in fighting with Jiffy Lube. I first would get Mercedes to document what exactly broke in the engine and hopefully they kept the wrong filter and maybe a sample of bad oil to give you? Then have them get you a full estimate to put the car back to new also include any expenses you have had so far. Then get your attorney involved and get his/her recommendations on how to move forward. If you want to try it yourself I would get everything I mentioned and go meet with the local manager and if he/she wont agree to write a check to the shop of your choice to fix it get his bosses number and go from there. Obviously getting the bosses info might be difficult so you may have to call another shop in your area or see if they have a corporate number and see who you can get involved. Last idea is get a local news organization involved bad press can always help especially if you live in a big city and get a big news organization to help out.
Good luck and keep us updated
We all have done stupid things so don't feel to bad we even started a thread about it... sadly some are more costly than others

 

Legal advice may help.

You need to equip your self with all the detailed facts so you can go in to bat.

How many miles has the car done since the Jiffy service?

What brand & type of oil filter did they use?

What brand & type of oil did they use?

Do you have a complete list of the damage to the engine from the dealer ?

Why did it take them a month to ascertain the damage?

Did you buy from this MB dealer or a another yard?

 

I would follow samaritrey's advice to a T

 

I can't help it to ask myself: How this car engine died after just a few hundreds of miles since JL changed the oil & filter and this one:

https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...t-attempt.html

was like new with an engine cleaning and oil changed after...35+ THOUSAND miles without any oil change???

Just wondering...

 

i would get an attorney if all else fails, i would start looking for a salvage yard for a used motor a lot less then a new one

 

My advice:


1.) Post this in the W204 Section
2.) For the love of God why would anyone take a Mercedes to Jiffy Lube?


Good luck. I honestly do not see you winning this since Mercedes specifically states that we use nothing other then OEM Parts...

 

He's not talking about the cylinder head.

Sorry to hear of your troubles, but really how could YOU take a almost new Mercedes to
those trunk monkeys?
Learn to change your own oil, find a competent mechanic, OR last resort use the dealer.
Though on newer car, dealer is good for stuff like this since they will fix anything else they find for free and update service bulletins.

Hope you have a receipt from JL showing what oil and filter was used, and/or the actual f'd up filter and an oil sample.

 

The obvious has already been mentioned here but moving forward you're going to have to get a lawyer. Jiffy Lube will give you the run around if you try dealing with this yourself, all of your claims will fall on deaf ears without legal representation but that in itself will cost you a fair amount. Honestly an oil change is so easy to do at home on these cars it's beyond me why anyone would take their Benz to a shop for an oil change especially a place like Jiffy Lube. $17 grand seems a bit high though, my neighbor had a new engine installed in his Audi Q7 and it cost $12 grand.

Jiffy Lube *shudder*.

 

first if MB is claiming that the wrong filter and wrong oil caused the damage then they should have to prove it. Do they have the filter and oil sample to prove this? Did bits of the filter fall off and get into the engine? Have them show you!
I cannot see how incorrect oil can damage and engine in 500miles. A clogged filter would cause the bypass to open putting unfiltered oil thru the engine, again doubt that it would cause a problem so quickly.
So if MB can prove it then you can take Jiffy Lube to court, If they cannot prove it then they have to cover it under warranty.

 

Exactly what I meant when I made reference to this thread https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...t-attempt.html in my post above.

I rather believe that a Mercedes engine will go 35+ kmiles with that horrible oil than die within 500 miles due to wrong kind of oil or filter.

 

So as of today here is whats going on. The day I posted this I took my car to a competent Mercedes service center, other then the puppets at the dealership. They replaced my camshaft cylinoid censor saying they were 99% sure this would fix the problem but I still have to deal with the damage that has been done. I'm not a negative guy but I knew that the check engine light would come back on and they assured me that it wouldn't. I didn't drive it at all yesterday and the second time I started it today, the check engine light came back on!!! Needless to say I took it back to the shop and they will get back to me on Monday. I then called the Mercedes dealership service dept. and had the service manager tell me exactly why the oil filter caused the problem, this is what he told me. And please tell me if this sounds completely ridiculous!

The Mercedes oil filter retains pressure/oil in it when the car is off so that it gets the oil where it needs to go almost instantly. The "wrong" oil filter that was used allows the oil to drain and lose pressure while the car is off. Because of this, the oil filter didn't get the oil to parts that needed to be lubricated fast enough causing metal on metal grinding. This is why they saw metal shards in the oil and light scaring on the cylinoid when they opened up the valve cover. Because of these two things MBUSA condemned my engine and drew a red flag on my warranty saying the type of metal they found is proof enough that the engine is totaled.

I talked to my insurance company and they say they would most likely cover this type of damage. I'm not sure but if they do, that kind of sounds like my best option at this time. Any objections?

 

I had a long post just about written last night but it all boiled down to a bunch of questions so I figured I'd let somebody else post some facts. I see nobody's posted so I'll ask my questions and give my more abbreviated comments.

Is there a sample of the oil from Jiffy Lube that can be analyzed? I would have that done if possible.

Did the indy replace the oil and filter with the proper ones? What is the difference between Jiffy Lube's filter and the proper one?

What was the code that was thrown when you get your CEL (Check Engine Light)?

As for the explanation from the MB service manager - I don't automatically challenge strange sounding things they say any more after I thought my service adviser was nuts when he told me that the alternator pulley went out taking my A/C compressor out (but he was correct). On the other hand, there are examples on this forum where MB service people in some dealers sound less than honest. His explanation of the pressurized oil filter sounds like a cool thing but I'd like to know more about it.

If your auto insurance will pay for the new engine, that would certainly be your path of least resistance. They could decide what they wanted to do about Jiffy Lube. You should decide never to go to them again - with ANY car.

 

I find it hard to believe you can ruin an engine in 500 miles with the wrong engine oil, regardless of weight and/or synthetic content.

I also find it hard to believe that an aftermarket oil filter is that much different from the OEM filter. If these are still the tube chaped filters, there is no pressure release spring or valve on the filter ... about the only thing you could do is put on a filter that's too short?

Is it possible that JL put tranny fluid in the engine by accident?

It just sounds fishy to me ...

 

The oil filter (at least on the M271 and EVERY other car I have owned) does not retain pressure when the car is off, that's why it's normal to hear a bit of top end noise on a cold engine before oil pressure comes up. It does, however, retain oil in it. Just not under pressure. AFAIK.

 

It's not making sense to me, either. There doesn't appear to be anything about the filter that would hold any significant pressure but that doesn't mean the housing can't hold pressurized oil after the engine is shut off. It would be the only engine I've heard of that does that (there are systems that do that - in a previous life, I've used the Accusump that does that).

Oil that is too thick could damage the engine but I agree that 500 miles shouldn't be long enough to require a new engine.

If Jiffy Lube had somehow used the wrong filter - or even no filter - 500 miles seem like a survivable distance.

I would think that Jiffy Lube would have itemized the oil and filter they used and the receipt should tell at least part of the story.

Maybe the OP could post some documentation...

 

Please note that this thread continues on the W204 forum

 

Out of curiosity, what oil did Jiffy lube put in your car and does it say on your invoice which filter they installed with a part number? I hope they at least put synthetic oil!! Correct me if i'm wrong but doesn't synthetic oil leave an oily film on the metal surfaces even when the engine is off which prevents engine wear at startup??

 

Here's the new thread in the W204 forum https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ew-engine.html

 

Thanks k ~ I should have posted the link.