Repair/Service: Oil change

Hourly Rate: $35

Total Cost: $35

Xpress Lube used a Kia filter on my Toyota.

Xpress Lube damaged by engine and will not make restitution.

I have had my oil changed by Xpress Lube for several years. Recently they installed the wrong filter on my car. The oil filter literally fell off the car after driving several miles. Although the owner Dave Bennett declined to help my wife who was stranded on the highway due to lack of time he found the time to look in the bushes for filter. When he found the filter he refused to return my property to me. He claimed the filter must have been defective therefore he had no liability. Bosch the manufacturer of the filter explained why the filter fell off and said that they specifically do not allow such a substitution.

Mr. Bennett declined requests to refund me the cost of the oil change and road service charges. He has only offered to have the engine externally inspected by his friend at a local shop. Bosch has recommended an exhaustive internal inspection of the engine due to loss of oil when the filter fell off. They explained to me that it is never good to run an engine without oil.

I would avoid using this or any other Xpress Lube. The risk to your car is too great. It would be better to use a shop that will carefully check the filter they intend to use and be sure it is made for that application.

I have requested the return of my filter but Mr. Bennett has declined. He told me that Bosch destroyed it during testing. Bosch told me that they did not receive a request for testing from Mr. Bennett nor would they destroy a filter during testing. Their procedure is to return the filter or keep it for five years. They could not explain why they did not receive a request from Mr. Bennett.

Mr. Bennett did write a note saying that they did use a filter for a Kia on my Toyota and again offered an inspection by his friend.

Summary - Do not use Xpress Lube and caution all you friends of the risk of using Xpress Lube

by RichardS on March 29, 2011