Lots of “quick oil change” joints like Jiffy Lube have pits in their floors so they can work on your car without lifting it. That’s all well and good until they actually do need to use the lift, and somebody royally screws it up.
A reader just sent in these pictures of their friend’s Honda Pilot, which appears to have fallen off a lift and right into this shop’s oil change pit.
We’re told the incident occurred last week at the Jiffy Lube in Towson, Maryland, which passed along the following through the company’s media office:
“We are investigating the situation thoroughly. However, we believe the incident may have been caused by the improper balance of the vehicle in the lift and removal of tire may have caused a shift in distribution of the vehicle. We are assessing to determine what additional training is necessary for our service center employees to ensure this does not happen again. Thankfully, no one was injured during the incident. The safety of our employees and customers as well as the integrity of the vehicle are always top priorities in operating our business.”
“We are currently working with the customer to return the vehicle to its original condition at the time of the service as quickly as possible. We deeply regret that this occurred.”
As our tipster tells it:
While in the waiting room, [the Pilot’s owner] hears a scream and a crash as her SUV topples off the lift into the oil changing pit. Took two tow-trucks, 4 jacks from underneath and in the pit and 4 hours to get the car out.”
Apparently the car was then taken to a Honda dealership to determine the extent of the damage, but not before the staff at Jiffy Lube assured the Pilot’s owner “that once they got the car out and the wheels back on, she could just drive it home and be fine.”
I mean, maybe it would have been fine, but I probably wouldn’t have been in a rush to shrug this off myself.
The takeaway here is to take your car’s service seriously! That might not mean doing the work yourself, but be careful about... oh hell, who are we kidding. An oil change and tire rotation is so simple you should be able to get it done at a kid’s lemonade stand without worrying about your car being totaled. Somebody fucked up hard here, and I sincerely hope this Honda’s owner gets recompense one way or another.
Be careful about where you get your car wrenched on.
Hat tip to Jason!