Angry at Walmart service center

[billt460]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW
.....They're all single stupid mistakes........

That they obviously keep making often enough, on such a regular basis, that it requires them to employ a different, more idiot proof method in order to prevent it...... Because for whatever reason they can't seem to get away from continually hiring and firing people who just can't seem to remove and install a simple threaded plug without destroying it. So this way it keeps their inept employees who make these continuous errors, away from wrenches they can't be trusted with touching.

I would call that many things, but common sense surely isn't one of them.

 

[bullwinkle]

I've been changing my own (& family members') oil my whole life, I have yet to strip a drain plug. I have seen many that were so tight they were likely put on with an impact wrench, though. I have a feeling WM has also had the opposite problem of plugs falling out in operation, resulting in clueless customer blown engines-this is their way of avoiding both issues.

 

[PimTac]

Just some speculation but maybe this store has had a couple of drain plug misadventures and they are trying to avoid any further ones? You do expect clean oil on the dipstick after a oil change though.

I would be upset if I were a Jets fan too.

 

[Eddie]

A total overreacting to an accepted method of extracting oil from an engine. Get a life. Ed

 

[Ignatius]

Originally Posted by billt460
Originally Posted by FordBroncoVWJeta
A lot of stores have gone to the vacuum tube so they do not screw up drain plugs.

How in God's name do you, "screw up a drain plug"? If someone is so mechanically inept they cannot remove and replace an oil drain plug without damaging it, or the car they took it out of, they have zero business being allowed to touch anyone's vehicle. I don't care who they work for.

So, just to make sure I get this straight..... They have these nit wits supposedly use an extractor, because they don't want to run the "risk" of ruining the drain plug, threads, or oil pan. But yet they have no problem allowing them to remove and install oil filters. That is the dumbest logic I've ever heard of.


It is very easy, I recall a thread on BITOG in recent months where people were reporting experiences they had where a quick lube worker stripped their drain plug. I had this happen to me at a Subaru dealership a few months ago and got a free oil change out of that dealership after reporting it.

My two 2018 Subaru Outbacks use a poorly painted drain bolt with a 14mm head and it is located in an akward position under the car at an angle. Once the paint starts to wear off (which happens quickly and easily) it can easily cause a wrench or socket to begin slipping and wear down the bolt head. I ended up changing the plug to an unpainted 17mm Dorman plug, it was a terrific investment of $3.

To me this is a question of why quick lubes are too cheap to replace a drain plug should it be stripped down by them or even just doing it as a courtesy should a customer bring a vehicle in that has one? "Losing" $3 or some other small amount of money on a new drain plug may be a goodwill/good faith practice that could easily bring them more business in the future.

 

[eljefino]

My plow truck has its drain plug gunged up beyond use. So I siphoned out the old oil with aquarium tubing. Some vehicles have very narrow dipstick tubes. It took me several days-- I got a quart a day. Naturally I didn't have a vacuum hooked up and the oil was cold and the tubing was like 3/16".

I'm sure I didn't get it all. That all said, when I put in 4-ish quarts of new oil and ran it for a minute, it looked new on the stick.

I would not go back to that particular walmart.

 

[Excel]

going to walmart for anything auto is your first mistake

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted by billt460
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
.....They're all single stupid mistakes........

That they obviously keep making often enough, on such a regular basis, that it requires them to employ a different, more idiot proof method in order to prevent it...... Because for whatever reason they can't seem to get away from continually hiring and firing people who just can't seem to remove and install a simple threaded plug without destroying it. So this way it keeps their inept employees who make these continuous errors, away from wrenches they can't be trusted with touching.

I would call that many things, but common sense surely isn't one of them.


There's a non-zero chance that ham-handed self-oil changers or persons with worn-out motors will bring a car with a barely hanging on drain plug to WM hoping they can sue WM and its deep pockets when a simple oil change goes wrong. WM has well paid (!) bean counters who watch these numbers along with other preventable losses.

 

[Eddie]

Sometimes I wonder if BITOG name should be changed to the WHINING GROUP. Ed

 

[billt460]

As I get older, the thought of me continuing on doing my own oil changes, was starting to give way to having them done at some point down the road. After reading this thread, I'll continue to press on and do them until it becomes a physical impossibility not to. Regardless of how uncomfortable or time consuming it becomes, it's better than dealing with what I'm reading here.

Hopefully, if it boils down to not being able to change my own oil due to physical limitations, my ability to drive will have diminished as well. Thereby solving the problem altogether.

 

[WagonWheel]

Originally Posted by Excel
going to walmart for anything auto is your first mistake


I disagree. My Walmart provides excellent auto service…when they collect my used oil

You can find coupons for discount oil changes at reputable shops all the time, so I question why anyone would go there. Caveat emptor!

I did recently catch the end of a conversation when I walked by the WM auto center service desk. Some guy, in a straight monotone, was saying how so & so was going to get fired and how he will sue if anything is wrong with his truck. Let your imagination run wild on that one.

The irony is it's never the people who say they're going to sue that actually sue.

 

[Railrust]

I have no problem with oil changes through the dipstick tube, but the thing I'd wonder about/worry about with Walmart (or anyone else) is that it's too easy to kind of cheat the person on the oil change...it's just too easy to put that tube in there and not take it all out. Whereas when you pull that drain plug it's actually harder and more messy to not let it all out. People are people, they're going to cut corners if they can.

 

[sst9303]

When I took the X5 in to the dealership for the 5000mi change they asked if I had a preference of extraction or conventional, I asked if I could watch if I chose the vacuum method and they agreed..........they measured what came out and put that amount back in, changed the filter and started it to let it warm up then waited 20 mins to check the level.

It was actually kind of cool to watch.......it took ~40 min total from arrival to out the door.

 

[GZRider]

If you don't want the mess of doing the OCI yourself or are on the road for work and cannot and don't like quick lubes or spending time at the great wall of china mart there are other options but you've gotta have a little tact. Many a good local small town independent mechanic still exists in the US, find a nearby one with good word of mouth recommendations and ask politely if you can pay them the $30 cash to change your oil the right way with the supplies you provide on a lift while you and they check out the rest of the undercarriage for leaks or other issues and rotate the tires. 5qts of Castrol Edge EP or Mobil1EP is $25.XX online, the high end filter < $10, and the 10 pack crush washer and drain plug< $10 combined so you're talking about $75 once a year for a professional to do the work or $25-30 twice a year to be frustrated with how it's done.

 

[Railrust]

Originally Posted by GZRider
If you don't want the mess of doing the OCI yourself or are on the road for work and cannot and don't like quick lubes or spending time at the great wall of china mart there are other options but you've gotta have a little tact. Many a good local small town independent mechanic still exists in the US, find a nearby one with good word of mouth recommendations and ask politely if you can pay them the $30 cash to change your oil the right way with the supplies you provide on a lift while you and they check out the rest of the undercarriage for leaks or other issues and rotate the tires. 5qts of Castrol Edge EP or Mobil1EP is $25.XX online, the high end filter < $10, and the 10 pack crush washer and drain plug< $10 combined so you're talking about $75 once a year for a professional to do the work or $25-30 twice a year to be frustrated with how it's done.


I'm not saying an independent wouldn't do something like for you, but I'd venture to guess most wouldn't unless they knew you. I've heard customers call an independent and ask if they can bring in their own parts/fluids, and the answer is usually...do you bring your own food into a restaurant and stand back there and watch the chef cook it? And this is said in a friendly manner. However if it's a regular customer, I can see them accommodating you...but even then, allowing them in the shop, allowing them under the vehicle, having them ask questions, watching what you're doing?? It'd take a lot more than $30 bucks for me to allow that, insurance restrictions alone make that not worth it.

 

[tiger862]

At the Goodyear in town you bring your own oil and filter then stand outside the chain and watch them. When I had surgery they were only one that agreed.

 

[chainblu]

Originally Posted by Excel
going to walmart for anything auto is your first mistake

Actually, my local WM TLE does pretty good work.

I've used them several times over the years. As far as I know, they still drain there. But, more and more Walmarts are going to the vacuum 'drains'. In some cases, city ordinances are forcing the change. How do you know that isn't the case here?

 

[slybunda]

Originally Posted by Jimmy_Russells
With a top mount filter using a vacuum extractor is the greatest thing ever.


This is totally true. If the filter is under the car and i have to go through the hassle of jacking the car up and going under then i may as well use the drain plug.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted by bullwinkle
I've been changing my own (& family members') oil my whole life, I have yet to strip a drain plug. I have seen many that were so tight they were likely put on with an impact wrench, though. I have a feeling WM has also had the opposite problem of plugs falling out in operation, resulting in clueless customer blown engines-this is their way of avoiding both issues.


^^This^^ ... and now that some are willing to do their own ... ramps, pans, funnels, oil, filters, and six point wrenches have made great birthday gifts ... LoL

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted by Eddie
Sometimes I wonder if BITOG name should be changed to the WHINING GROUP. Ed



I guess rant threads on BITOG is the equivalent of holding hands and singing "Kumbaya" or something.......


The best one recently was on the "tire forum section" about the guy who ranted about Discount Tires" mistake on his TPMS-4 pages of posts later he takes his can back to them and they make it right.


The point of his post was????????