Valvoline Instant Oil Change [VIOC]
Reviews and Complaints

EPA#CAL000471506

Hi my name is cas black and me and my whole family uses you guys services for oil changed and other service issues for our vehicles. I recently went to one of your locations 8/19/23 at 6:02PM address is 7540 Greenback Ln, Citrus Heights Ca 95621. I’ve gotten an oil change numerous of times and this time at this location it was very unpleasant. The staff members was rushing customers and getting mad that customers was coming 5Min before they closed. One member stated they do not get paid enough for this but this is your job to assist everyone who comes before closing. They rushed my oil change service I paid $137.00 for I don’t mind paying for the service but when I get bad service that is not called for. For instance your employees at the location said my cabin air filter was good but no one asked to check the cabin air filter or did they come inside the vehicle to check air filter. They did not look at my windshield wipers blades like they usually suppose to, to see if I wanted to get to get new blades which I did want to but due to their service I did not even mention asking about new blades. If they lied about checking my cabin air filter I don’t believe they did the service correctly as they was trying to rush. I provided them with my email address for the receipt they did not send the receipt like they said they would. I was only provided with a copy of the vehicle information paperwork with my name on it and no one asked me about the 12Mo fuel treatment I do not know what that is so why is it on my paperwork? Also they did not check the Air filter or ask me anything about the air filter as well as the cabin air filter. They did not check my fluids level on my vehicle because they did not even top off the washer fluid. They said the wipers was good but my blades are worn out so how was it good? They did not check my battery as well this oil change service was the worse service I ever received at a Oil Change business. Now my vehicle is experiencing issues with the oil pressure every since they worked on my vehicle and did the oil change. I am trying to avoid taking this matter further due to the lack of professionalism and lack of workmanship by your employees at the location. I was assisted by one female who was Caucasian and 2 males that was African American Saturday evening8-19-23. I do not want to have to take this matter further but we have to come to a resolution for this matter especially considering for my vehicle I have to get European type of special oil and it is not cheap. I should not have a issue wrong with my vehicle after getting a oil change but the service i received was the worse service and I would not doubt it if they messed up along the way due to them being in a rush to close down. The employees that was working on my vehicle that day should be held accountable for their actions and especially in the profession they are in that is no way to treat long term customers. You are suppose to throughly do all the proper checks on the vehicle when you are doing a oil change to offer customers products if they have things that need to be changed such as air filter and cabin air filter and other parts as well. I did not receive the service I thought I would and I am not sure if they did a real oil change on my vehicle especially due to them lying on my worksheet and stating certain parts on my vehicle was good. Please let me know how we can resolve this matter and I am taking my vehicle to Duncan automotive in Citrus Heights Ca for diagnostic due to s issue occurring after the oil change. Thanks!

I am a former csa of vioc (not the one in this complaint). Although I see why you would be frustrated, they could have been short staffed that day where everyone was in the pit taking care of something (sometimes its necessary). The reason we HAVE to guide you into the bay is for safety. You could easily run into he pit and not only destroy yiur vehicle, but potentially injure yourself and employees who could be on the catwalk or something similar. I'm sorry this angered you, but it was a huge safety issue and liability...you were in the wrong on that one. Also, if you were unruly or aggressk e, thag could be another issue. If anyone ever was angry or yelling at us, my boss made us turn them away. Thr fact is, we don't know what impulsive decisions an angry canustomer may make, so we don't want to be put at risk. Vioc cares very much about its customers. But safety for guests and employees alike comes first.

They extracted the old oil, but didn't fill with new oil.

Hence, $3, 000 and a new engine later, we've been to court and are scheduled for another hearing as Valvoline is appealing court order to give us $3, 000!

I have the St. Louis Blues

Sounds like their own fault, madC? Really? They PAID for an oil change. It's the responsibility of Valvoline to refill the oil...that is the POINT of an OIL CHANGE.

I had an oil change and inspection. They stripped a lug nut and when they pulled the parking brake lever up it stuck. Since they didn't know how to fix it I had to drive a half mile to a service station with the parking brake on. They unstuck it for free in about 5 minutes. The Valvoline tech said he couldn't pass it because the lug nut was missing (that he stripped). I put a lock washer on it and re-threaded it. he said bring it back when you get the lug nut on. I did so, and the first thing the guy did was pull the parking brake lever up, thus refreezing the back brakes. I made them fix it this time and told them they had better learn how to un-stick the parking brake when it freezes, so that other motorists will not have to have their cars towed. I told them that I would be lodging a complaint, for all the good it will do.

I recently had taken my vehicle to the Valvoline Oil Change location near my office during lunch for a quick oil change. Little did I know how much pain this preventative maintenance trip was going to cost me.

That evening as I left my offfice the car didn't start on the first try. I didn't think anything of it at the time but then the next day my car began to shudder and shake violently and I had to nurse it back home. I had the have the car towed to my local dealer to find out what was wrong.

I was suprised when they called me and asked if anyone had changed the oil or serviced the air filter recently. I was told that when they checked the engine they found that the hose from the air filter had become detached and that the oil dipstick was halfway out of the slot which caused oil to spray in the engine.

I asked them to put this info on the service ticket and then contacted the Valvoline shop to complain. The manager sounded very concerned at first but then after several calls with no follow up she basically said they found no fault on their end after reviewing their video of the service bay and only offered me a free oil change.

The incident basically cost me $160 for a tow and diagnostic at the dealer not to mention a lost day of work. I'm not the type to complain but I really felt that Valvoline was the cause of the engine failure and should have done more to compensate me beyond one free oil change. Needless to say they will not be getting any more of my business.

On July 6th 2011 I had my oil changed at Valvoline Instant Oil Change in St. Peters MO they convinced me that using 5W-40 synthetic oil was in my trucks best interest".

On July 15, 2011 my truck would not start I had it towed to JC Car Care who did a diagnostic/pressure test, the oil pressure was at zero, they changed the oil to 15W-40 diesel oil which is what FORD Motor CO the manufacturer of my vehicle recommends and the vehicle started and has been running fine since".

On July 19th I visited the Valvoline shop and informed Jerry Creach the Manager of the problem and presented him with the bill from JC car care which detailed the repair and specifically states that the vehicle mfg/. does not recommend synthetic oil in these vehicle and that they also only recommend the use of 15W-40 oil!. Any other oil can cause serious problems.. He made a phone call and told me that it was not the oil and there was something wrong with my truck and they were not responsible;.

On July 19th I made a phone call to Valvoline's customer care hotline at [protected] I spoke with a lady named Terra, she looked up my invoice then looked in a Valvoline cross reference guide which in fact confirmed that the local Valvoline store had used the wrong type/weight oil and the problem was their responsibility and that she would be opening a claim and I would be contacted within 24 hours".

On July 19th I was contacted by a man named Chris who identified himself as the Area Manager for Valvoline, who became very rude told me the oil could not cause the problem and the problem with my truck was a weak oil pump and that he had independent information that showed that the use of 5W-40 oil could not cause this problem and would work fine in my truck, I then asked him to send me a copy of this information to which he answered he couldn't, it wasn't available or he couldn't access it:. I call BS... I requested he call the mechanic at JC Car Care that worked on my truck, which he did, along with another expert named Lou Craven at a company called DTI who also told Chris at Valvoline that the thin oil was not recommended and that he had seen this cause problems in diesel engines more times than he could count.

In addition on July 18th 2011 I went online and payed $38.00 to speak with an ASE certified Ford diesel mechanic through JUSTANSWER.COM I explained to him the problem and asked if a weak oil pump would cause this problem, his answer "NO it is likely just the oil because your 2006 6.0 calls for 15W-40 and the 5W-40 is just to thin. Your oil pump is just fine." He also supplied me with a page from a Ford tech manual that shows that the recommended oil is 15W40 super duty, I have a copy of this tech manual.

Also on July 18th 2011 I contacted the local Ford dealer Pundmann Ford In Saint Charles MO I spoke with a technician there who said again that the only oil Ford recommends for this vehicle is 15W-40 and light weight oils tend to foam and mess with the fuel injectors causing a lack of pressure which doesn't allow the diesel engine to fire.

It should be noted that Chris the area manager from Valvoline spoke to the same people and claims that they never said these things. I spoke with my mechanic after his call with Chris and we compared notes and caught him in a couple of lies. His name is Jack he can be reached at JC Car care

I also spoke with a man named Mike at Valvoline who is supposedly a technical guy, who also was very rude and basically told me that none of these people I have spoke with have a lab including the Ford dealer so we don't know what we are talking about.

In the face of all the supporting documentation that I supplied Valvoline including a bill for $400.00 from my mechanic for diagnosis and changing out the oil to the correct stuff. Valvoline still denied my claim.

Are these the kind of people you want to give your hard earned money to? I will certainly never spend another nickel with these incompetent liars. Do yourself a favor learn from my misfortune and BOYCOTT VALVOLINE!

i initiated a complaint last month 1/10/11 regarding a valvoline oil cange exactly one month prior at the columbus, ohio, broad street center of which i had oil changed 12/10/10 and on 1/10/11 my oil gadge began to signal low pressure & my engine began to 'tick'. this was after a month long of driving. i went back to the service center & was told my engine was low by 4 quarts of oil (this is without having any prior leaks or problem withmy vehicle engine). upon inspection by the car dealer, it was found that 'insignificant' oil level lead to engine seal breakdown & these seals will have to be repaired to maintain engine quality. i was contacted by the service manager at valvoline who gave me nothing more than his review of the video recording when i was there which showed onlythat my oil had been changed while the car dealer & manufacturer have stated that 'there could not have been ENOUGH oil put back into the vehicle during the 12/10/10 service. i wish to be further notified by valvoline in regard to correcting this mistaKe.