Roosbok

I haven't yet, because I am still getting coupons from the dealer for a $20 oil change. Jiffy is up to around $30. I called a Jiffy Lube once and asked if they had the 5w 20 oil and they said they did but for an additional $5 charge, so you would be talking $35. But I was just wondering if anyone has taken their 7th gen Civic to a Jiffy Lube and how the experience went.

94civicsedan

Get it done at walmart...i think i only paid like 20 bucks for it. But I dunno about the type of oil though.

blahblahblahblahblah

do it yourself and save $25

Mex

iTrader: (5)

I take my car to jiffy lube.. I don't trust myself to do anything but rotate the tires as far as maintenance goes. I know nothing about engines. They do a jood job with my car.. the interior is nice and clean when they're done. they don't even re-adjust my seat like most places do try to get ahold of those $5 off coupons (or maybe that's a local thing..)

silverdevil

iTrader: (5)

Change your own oil for $15 and save the rest. It's not hard, just:

1. Lift car
2. Remove drain plug
3. After oil drains install plug
4. Remove old oil filter
5. Lube new oil filters seal with oil
6. Install oil filter (only hand tight)
7. Lower car
8. Put 4 qts oil in your car
9. Start car and make sure it doesn't leak
10. Have a beer and save $20

sspem2

iTrader: (22)

exactly its not hard.
unscrew oil filter.
just unbolt the bolt for the oil.
oil drains.
wait 10 mins for oil to drain.
put bolt back on.
new oil filter on.
and add 3-4 qrts of oil.
save yourself $20 and use it towards something useful.

Mbow

It's 20 and change at my local dealer everyday. It's not worth it to save 10 bucks to me doing it myself. Plus, I get that nice receipt from the dealer. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

StraightEdgeCivic

thats 3.4 quarts to be exact (lx)[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

Roosbok

I know how to do it but I live in an apartment complex and I like Jiffy because it is so convenient, no appointments just drive in. They used to have the $5 coupons, but I haven't seen them for a couple of years, they must be doing well.

ak

iTrader: (19)

Purrfect oil changes. $9.95 or $12.95 using Multi-grade oil...

htowncivicEX

If you're not going to do it yourself, at least take it to a Honda dealership. That way you can be assured they will use the correct filter and put in the right type / amount of oil. Some of the cars I see everyday I just have to shake my head at.... it's obvious that these cars had their previous oil change done by some crackerjack operation. These cars almost always have the wrong filter size for the car, the drain plug is stripped, loose, or is missing the drain plug washer, etc.

One of the cars we're working on right now has a serious problem with its brakes. Want to know why? Because during the owner's previous oil change, some guy put MOTOR OIL INTO HIS BRAKE FLUID RESERVOIR! Now his entire brake system is basically ruined and we have to replace everything.

juscallmetoyota

iTrader: (1)

I got that Hendricks warranty deal. I get free oil changes for the next 3 years plus all my tune up for free too @ the dealer =)

2001CIVICLX

I took my S-10 to Jiffy Lube several times. Then a control arm came loose? Why? Because they didn't do the job they were supposed to do. Be careful.

Nothing against all Jiffy Lubes, but the one I went to fired the guy who had been working on my car before I came in to complain because of problems with his work. Just be careful who you take it to.

JoeB16

"and add 3-4 qrts of oil."

.... 3 to 4 eh?

am i the only one who sees the problem here?

i think maybe you SHOULD be taking your car to jiffy lube [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

Mex

iTrader: (5)

yeah, same here, they won't let us do dirty work out front of our house.

Erichyung

i got jiffy lube, they do a good job on the oil change. I normally pay 25 bucks because 5w-20 oil is additional charge. If you don't want to do it yourself, then jiffy lube is definately a good alternative.

Boilermaker1

iTrader: (16)

My dealer advertised the "cheapest oil change in town.... $16.00 For that, I'll just let them do it. Until they screw something up (like the Ford dealer leaving a rag in the engine after changing the oil in my dad's Explorer.)

solar

iTrader: (1)

3.4 (three point four) quarts is the exact amount to add, 4 quarts over fills the engine, its in your owners manual and the Service Manual.[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

civicdeveloper

yeah, DIY on the oil change. it's easy.

besides, used motor oil and everclear is hella tight, and it f's you up!

j/p

bhayes82

jiffy lube sux0rs. i took my '93 saturn there once, and their car wash busted my driver's-side mirror off. they put the wrong oil in my friend's '89 caddy, which sabotoged the engine (they did replace it, however...). they also screwed my friend's dad (i don't remember how exactly, i just kinda remember him telling me about how jiffylube messed his dad's car up... again, paid to fix the problems, but still...)

i don't trust them. i finally got the courage to change my own oil last time... it was pretty easy. this coming from a 19-year-old kid that went to private catholic cake-eater high school that isn't supposed to know anything about cars [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

htowncivicEX

Here are some of my gripes about oil changes.

(From an oil changer's perspective):

1) Aftermarket filters that are the wrong size

These suckers are a royal pain to take off. All Honda vehicles are supposed to use one of two different sizes - the old big ones (lol... I can't remember the exact diameter measurement) and the newer small ones. The old big ones are used on every model Honda except for the 2002+ CRV's, 2001+ Civics, and the new Civic Hybrid and Insight (these cars use the newer small filters). I'm not sure what size filter the new Pilot uses, though.

We use two different methods to install / remove oil filters - a circular 'grip' type filter wrench and a metal cap. The circular grip is basically a flexible circle ring latches on to the filter and allows you to apply gripping force. The metal cap attaches to the face of the filter and allows you to use either a wrench or a ratchet to turn it whichever direction. For the new small filters, we have to use the metal cap since no one makes a filter wrench that fits the small filters.

Well occasionally we get cars that have an aftermarket filter (usually way too big or way too small) that do not fit any of our tools. In this case, it's time to bust out the huge scissor-style clamp and just use brute force to tear the thing out. Not an easy task when you're working under a boiling-hot oil pan and you keep rubbing your arm against an exhaust b-pipe that is approximately a zillion degrees. Trust me, I've got the second and third-degree burn marks to prove it. When we finally get the irregular size filter out, it's usually torn to pieces (which is ok, because it just goes into the recycling bin afterwards).

So do yourself (and the future oil changer) a favor and use the correct size OEM Honda filter whenever you change your oil. Thank you!


2) Aluminum billet oil caps

It sounds dumb, but oil caps are really hard to unscrew sometimes. All the dirt and soot collects around the cap thread and makes taking it off a real chore. Sometimes we even have to take a wrench and just hit at the darn thing until it comes loose. As if it wasn't hard enough to take off the oil cap in the blazing hot engine bay - aluminum oil caps are about 10x hotter than the normal plastic ones. I almost burned my hand off the first time I tried to to unscrew one.


3) Ridiculous body kits with big bulging side skirts

I was changing the oil on a riced-out Accord V6 the other day that had these ghetto side skirts that were all scraped up and were practically falling off. The lower arms of the car lift wouldn't clear the side skirts, so one of the other mechanics had to lift up each fender so I could fit each lift arm underneath the car. Then I had to do some contortionist tricks to reach around/over/under the side skirts to mount the height increases onto the end of the lift arms (height increasers are used to raise the height of the pads, so that the metal part of the lift doesn't hit the side skirt before the pad hits the lift point). After all of that, the side skirts STILL pushed against the metal part of the lift arms when I lifted it up The entire oil change took about 30 mins, 20 of which were spent trying to put it properly onto a lift.


4) Cars equipped with aftermarket alarms

I can't tell you how many times we've had a car on the lift and we're in the middle of the oil change and all of a sudden the car locks its doors and the alarm goes off. Please set your car alarm to valet mode when taking it in for service.

solar

iTrader: (1)

I was a mechanic for 10 years and I never had any problem with removing oil filters. Sure there where the few that where stuck because the last guy over tightened the filter, but if you have the right tools its never a problem. Oil changes are the easiest mantanance to do on a car.