This was the worst automotive service experience of my life. A routine oil change on my Audi turned…read moreinto weeks of mechanical negligence, repeated failures, an apparent attempt to avoid a proper report, an oil-soaked vehicle, an environmental hazard, corporate finger-pointing, and expenses I still have not been reimbursed for.
My Audi takes 10.5 quarts of oil. I went in for a quick oil change. The visit took more than FOUR HOURS. Early on, after sitting in my car for an extended period, I stepped out to stretch my legs. Jesse, the manager, yelled at me & chastised me about getting back into the car. I understand safety rules, but there is a professional way to speak to customers.
It gets worse. At Jesse's direction, the tech drained my transmission fluid instead of my engine oil, & then added 10.5 quarts of new oil on top of the oil already in the engine. My engine had more than 20 quarts of oil, & my transmission had no fluid.
When they told me to start the car, it immediately lit up with transmission warnings, a check engine light, an EPC light, & alarms. I barely moved before it started screaming at me. Jesse left to get transmission fluid & said he would be gone for about 30 minutes. My mom & I went next door to eat. When we returned about an hour later, Jesse still was not back, & staff said he was not answering calls or texts. Chloe said she was calling the regional manager. Jesse eventually returned, but I had no confidence the correct Audi fluid had been used.
Days later, my car alerted that it was down more than 1.5 quarts of oil. I brought it back. Chloe found the oil plug had not been properly tightened. She pulled the skid plate and showed me the oil underneath. I later learned they had replaced the correct Audi drain plug with a non-OEM plug, later identified as a BMW-style plug. Chloe & the other team were so awesome.
The worst part came when Jesse later came out at night to do what felt like a parking lot cover up oil change. Instead of sending me to a qualified shop or filing a proper report, he showed up in a parking lot to work on the car. Before he abandoned me with the mess, I asked if he had filed an official report or planned to do it when he got back to the store, which was more than an hour away. He said he was there instead of a report. That told me everything.
He had no proper containment. He said his pan had been stolen and used cardboard instead. Oil went everywhere. Parking spaces, sidewalk area, ground, around the vehicle, and all over Jesse. He was covered in oil and leaned on my car. When I asked him to put a barrier between my vehicle and his oil soaked clothes, he blew me off. He used a dirty oil soaked rag to wipe the car, which only smeared oil around. My engine bay is still soaked in oil. I have photos and video documenting all of this.
I told Jesse he was leaving an environmental hazard. The oil could reach storm drains that lead toward the ocean. I also told him the parking lot was slick, the community has many elderly residents, and the liability if someone slipped and fell was unacceptable. He still left.
I had to cancel family vacation plans, drive more than 10 miles to Walmart late at night, buy oil absorbent and cleaner, and return to clean the mess myself so no one got hurt. I worked more than three hours that night and had to cancel more plans the next morning to continue cleaning. I was there a few days ago, and the parking lot is still sealed with oil. I shared the HOA president's contact information, and to my knowledge, nothing meaningful has been done.
The regional manager refused to speak with me that Saturday. I emailed as instructed and heard nothing until I contacted corporate support. Only then did Jason respond. He still has not reimbursed me for cleaning supplies or the Lyft ride. Corporate pointed me back to the franchisee. Claims did nothing.
After all of this, I took the car to Audi Melbourne. Audi confirmed the transmission fluid was incorrect, flushed it, refilled with proper Audi fluid, removed the non-OEM drain plug, installed the correct Audi plug, performed another oil change, and completed a full inspection. The Audi bill was over $1,700. Take 5 ultimately paid Audi Melbourne directly for the corrective mechanical work, which says everything about how serious this was.
Four oil changes in approximately 1.5 months because of one routine oil change is insane.
This was not one mistake. This was a chain of reckless failures involving wrong fluid drained, engine overfilled, no transmission fluid, wrong drain plug, oil leak, incorrect transmission fluid, oil-soaked engine bay, abandoned oil spill, no reimbursement, and no real accountability.
The fact that Jesse is the manager makes this even harder to believe. If you care about your vehicle, avoid this place at all costs. I would not trust this location with any vehicle. Customers should know exactly what happened here before letting this shop touch their car.
