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Nov 1, 2007 10:17 pm US/Central
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I-TEAM: Jiffy Lube Investigation, Coupons Offered
(WCCO)
Similar oils, different prices. It's what the I-TEAM uncovered over the summer at Heartland Automotive Jiffy Lubes in the Twin Cities and other states.
"You're told that it's a better, and it's not better," said Bruce Jones, Professor of Automotive Technology at Minnesota State University. "That's a rip-off."
Heartland representatives told the I-TEAM it didn't know both its "good" and its "better" oils were nearly identical until the I-TEAM started asking questions. Heartland said the oil manufacturer, ConocoPhillips, never told them. ConocoPhillips denied that claim then, and still does today.
When asked if there was any way the company didn't know the oils were of a common formulation, one former manager said, "No. There is absolutely no way."
That's a statement echoed by other former employees the I-TEAM talked to as well, and who came forward after the first investigation aired.
The former manager said he was actually in a meeting where Heartland executives told employees to sell the same oil for different prices.
"It was made very clear at that meeting," he said.
So what's going on?
The I-TEAM traveled to Omaha, Neb., where the company is headquartered to ask again: Did Heartland know it was misrepresenting its products?
Off camera, but on the record, company representatives stood by their original claim that the manufacturer never told them what they sold as "good" and "better" oil was almost identical.
The company also told the I-TEAM that it's trying to make good by sending out coupons good for $10.00 or $13.00 off an oil change. They're for people who paid more for "better" oil in Minnesota when they didn't have to.
However, people who paid more in other states aren't getting a coupon. Not even in Omaha, where the company is based.
Heartland says that while those customers may also eventually get coupons, the company wanted to reach people affected in the Minneapolis area first and is "still reviewing" expanding the program.
After the I-TEAM's first investigation, Heartland said it was upgrading the oil for its "better" oil service and would no longer carry the blend at that level. They've made changes, but you're paying a price for it -- a higher price.
Even though nothing has changed with the "good" oil package, it now costs $31.99, which is $2.00 more.
The "better" oil change now includes oil that's truly better, a full synthetic versus a synthetic blend, but it costs $49.98, which is $7.00 more.
The "best" oil change package costs more too. It includes the same, full synthetic oil as in the "better" package and an added fuel injection cleaning service, but it will cost you $89.99, which is $35.00 more.
Even with the higher prices, it's what the company is offering for free that raises some new concerns.
Washer fluid typically contains methanol, an ingredient that prevents freezing. In Minnesota, that's important, but as for washer fluid the I-TEAM got from Jiffy Lube in September, it froze solid.
The I-TEAM sent samples to a lab to have them tested.
"It was essentially 100 percent water," said Mike Wierima, a scientist with Minnesota Valley Testing Laboratories in New Ulm, Minn. "That freezes when you're going down the freeway, there's nothing you can do if your windshield washer fluid is frozen."
Auto experts say that fluid could even damage the lines that carry the fluid to your wipers, costing you money in repairs, or at the very least, a headache.
One customer told the I-TEAM, "I just feel like I was misled. I mean, who would have thought that what it says on the receipt, that they added windshield wiper fluid, and the outcome shows that they added water. That's not right."
Not right, and even a bit bizarre.
Another former Heartland manager, along with several other employees told the I-TEAM that some stores would actually "make" their own washer fluid with the oddest of ingredients.
"The district manager would just send you across the street to buy Ty-D-Bowl or whatever toilet bowl cleaner you could get to make the water appear blue," said the former manager.
When asked, Heartland admitted the washer fluid they use as their summer blend contains no methanol. The company says it regularly switches to the winter blend, with 36 percent methanol to prevent freezing, in late August and September.
However, that's not what the I-TEAM found when they collected samples.
"There was no methanol in them," said Wierima.
That will create a little more work for the customer the I-TEAM talked to who said, "I just expected it to be the fluid when they said they were adding it. Now that I know, yeah, I'll replace it."
Heartland told the I-TEAM that they tested all of the washer fluid sold at the 33 stores they operate in Minnesota on Nov. 1, and that they all contain methanol and won't freeze.
The company also said it wants to hear from employees about any misconduct that is going on.
Heartland also acknowledged some stores did use toilet bowl tablets to make washer fluid in the past, at the direction of a supervisor who is no longer with the company. Heartland said it was unaware of any stores continuing the practice.
Jiffy Lube International said it continues to work with Heartland on its quality assurance issues, and any upset customers should contact its headquarters.
To contact Heartland you can visit their Web site at www.heartlandjiffylube.com or to contact Jiffy Lube you can visit their Web site at www.jiffylube.com.
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