Valvoline Instant Oil ChangeReviews of vioc.com

THEY DAMAGED MY CAR! I brought my car in for an oil change and they damaged my oil pan because they over-torqued the oil plug. They even documented the damage on the invoice, but when I filed a complaint and presented the evidence, Valvoline denied my claim. They didn’t even contact me to tell me they denied it. I had to call them and ask them why. When I finally did get a hold of them, they told me there was a video but couldn’t show it to me because of “trade secrets”. Valvoline told me that the video recorded the technician acknowledging that they torqued it incorrectly and yet they still denied my claim! This whole process has been terrible. Take your vehicle anywhere but Valvoline!

DO NOT GO HERE. They stripped my oil plug 2 times now and busted out a chunk of inside my pan. Came home and noticed a lot of oil leaking the next day. They weren't open when I noticed it. Had to get it fixed before Monday. Had a mechanic fix it. Rip off when they were the ones who caused it. Will never go there again, and no one else I know will either now. Will not be reimburse bc they didn't approve it but me being a single mom with kids I'm supposed to wait for them and not take my kids to school or go to work so they can fix something that was their fault. Called and talked to the assist manager. It took a week and a half for someone else to call me back after I called again to get an update. Poor communication and poor training on your part.

I bought a battery from this location that exploded and did not want to replace it in any way shape or form even though it was under warranty with them. I had to get a tow truck rent a car and my truck was in the shop for A-day getting diagnostic checks from the exploded battery The area manager Matt is the biggest joke I've ever seen.

**READ ME** The story of how a simple oil change became a $3k+ out of pocket expense. Zero stars if I could. This place is atrocious. Here's the story: My wife put her Toyota Corolla into the shop for a simple oil change. After the mechanics were finished, she started her drive back home. After a minute on route 7, the check engine light flashes at her and the car comes to a stop. Police arrive and assist, and I arrive after she calls me. I check the oil and it's bone dry. Police officer indicates he sees oil trail all the way back on the road. Tow truck is called and arrives, at which point he checks the under the vehicle after he hooks the car up...and sees there is no filter. We tow it back to Valvoline and they indicate the wrong filter was installed, and must have loosened after being driven. Amazing. They agree to foot the bill for a rental and cost of the repair, which is of course the bare minimum. After a couple of days to wait for a specialized mechanic to conduct the inspection, surprise, surprise, the engine is seized and needs to be replaced. Engine needs to be found in supplier inventory, and based off of that, a completion date can be estimated. Valvoline indicated two completely separate ETAs, after communicating with my wife and I separately. They also indicated completely different engine mileage to us separately, one time being 20k miles and the other being 25k. Weeks go by and they say the engine has arrived and is being worked on. THEN they say the replacement engine has a crack and needs to be returned, pushing the date of install back further. After finally finding an engine to install, the work is complete and we go in for pickup. Valvoline indicates there is still a check engine light, which should "disappear" after vehicle use. Wisely, we decided against returning the rental that day. The day after we received the vehicle, I kid you not, the vehicle did not start. For this ordeal, Valvoline did offer a warranty, but what good is a warranty if the service personnel carrying it out can't do their job? We gave the car to them for a simple oil change, fail. We give them the opportunity to correct their mistake, providing ample time for due diligence and making sure the car is in working order...fail. I decided against taking it back to them because of this, and took the car to Tyson's Toyota. I had to pay out of pocket for the inspection and maintenance of course, but the car is repaired! The check engine codes were P0016 and P0017, Camshaft/Crankshaft related. These codes don't just disappear eventually, though they do once the problem is fixed...weird huh? We are currently seeking legal advice on how to proceed, as Valvoline is refusing payment past the date of when they delivered the broken vehicle back to us. I sincerely hope you stay away from this place. It simply isn't worth the risk.

Very dishonorable company. I had my car's oil changed at Valvoline. My car died in the middle of the road a mile away. I took it to my mechanic who determined it was missing an integral piece related to the oil filter. This was replaced and the car has been fine since. This cost me $405. I've contacted the store manager Patrick who says that the car showed up without the piece. I explained that the car will not run correctly without it and also asked if it did not have the piece upon arrival, why was I not notified? I've contacted Valvoline corporate who had Patrick call me back to say that they cannot honor any mistake.

I have a 2011 Hyundai Sonata that I bought new and have changed the oil religiously as recommended by the manufacturer (before I reach 5,000 miles). That means I have changed the oil in this car alone over 40 times. I have also changed the oil myself in a variety of vehicles I have owned hundreds of times, either doing it myself or having someone else do it for me. I have also taken apart motors that have used all types of oil, (or lack thereof) to see how friction affects a motor and the benefits of frequent oil changes. This was my first time going to Valvoline Instant Oil Change, and I regret doing so. This is why. I drove up to the location and asked the attendant if he could do two things for me. The first was a conventional oil change using 5W-20 (the oil recommended by the manufacturer). The second one was if he could make sure all of the old oil was removed before adding the new oil. He assured me that both of those things were no problem. I was then met by another individual who seemed to ignore everything I told the previous individual and criticized me for not getting a synthetic oil change (something twice as much as what I was quoted) and wanted to argue about it. He even gave me a copy of a letter he said he got from KIA that says synthetic oil is a good idea. As I have mentioned, having done numerous oil changes, I know all about synthetic oil and its purported benefits but that is not what I asked for. Then I had to go through an interrogation in which I thought I was in a police station about when I had changed the windshield wipers last, when I had rotated the tires last, etc. It was obvious that their technique is to get the customer in the shop, berate them until they agree to a synthetic oil change and then try to sell them as many other things as possible. The major problem, however, is that they use a vacuum system to syphon the old oil out of the motor which leaves some old oil in the pan. The problem with this is that residual oil is the worst of the worst. There is a reason why there is a plug in your oil pan that you are supposed to remove to drain the old oil out of your motor. If you have ever done an oil change the way it was intended to be done by removing the drain plug, you will notice that the last oil out of the pan is the dirtiest and the slowest to come out. That’s a sludge of dirt and other abrasives, and you want as much out of your motor as you can get. Otherwise, you are only doing half the job. The technician did a variety of “test” on the car that I did not authorize including what looked like him trying to rip the brake fluid reservoir from its mount. When the technician finished, he showed me the dipstick and just as I suspected the oil was darker than it should have been. I mentioned this to him, and he claimed that the problem was that I keep using conventional oil! He then gave me a sticker that indicated that I need to return for another oil change after 3,000 miles instead of the normal 5,000 recommended by the manufacturer. But, I guess that would be correct since he didn’t remove all of the old oil out of the pan. Sort of a half an oil change that keeps the customer coming back more frequently. So in summary, if you want something that’s fast and halfway done and don’t mind being given a hard time about buying things you don’t need, this may be the place for you. Otherwise, I would go someplace else to get a proper oil change.

Horrible!!!!!!!!!!!My daughter had her car serviced at your Warrensville location back in January 7, 2023. The total cost of the work came up to $294.00. Unfortunately, her car began losing antifreeze. Once it was diagnosed by another professional mechanic, we were told that the Dorman water outlet was cracked on the hose and put back on cracked. The mechanic also stated that by putting the piece back on cracked it started a slow a leak. He also stated that the proper flush has nothing to do with breaking the part, the part was broken by the last person who serviced the car and that was Valvoline. Ironically my daughter was driving her car back and forth to work and church with antifreeze leaking out of her car. She first noticed that her heat wasn't getting warm, and the car began running hot, that's when she pulled up the hood and there was no antifreeze! Overall, she brought it back to Valvoline and we both were told by the manager that the video was going to be looked at and she would receive a call in several days. She never got the call until my daughter called her back. She also reached out to the Cooperate office and she was told to file a claim and she got no response back. Once she reached out to you all on YELP you decided to respond stating that the video was reviewed, and it wasn't your fault BULLL!!!!! I work for a newspaper, and I did my own research and I have multiple complaints documented of poor service and similar situations like this happening to others like my daughter. Not to mention I have a video of the mechanic who repaired my daughter's car and his statement. I feel at this point because of the lack of communication on your part that this matter will further be addressed.

Not only did I not receive the service I paid for, they damaged my car and refused to pay the bill to return it to pre-Valvoline conditon. The manager, Adelfi, told me that I was, "just one person," and he, "was not concerned about losing my business." Truly reprehensible business practices. Avoid at all cost. 1126 Robert St S Saint Paul, MN 55118