I had my gear oil changed on my 01 corolla 5 speed manual transmission at jiffy lube. I was surprised to see them fill it up on the top of the engine instead of underneath on the side of the transaxle near the drain plug. I can’t really get under the car to see the location of these plugs. I drove the car home and it seemed fine. Is the filler plug on top and how would you check the fluid level. Rick
You said the magic words: Jiffy Lube.
Please take your car somewhere else. PLEASE.
Manual transmissions have two plugs, a drain plug and a fill plug. The drain plug is self-explanatory. Whatever manual transmission lubricant your owner’s manual specifies should be pumped into the transmission until it reaches the bottom of the fill plug opening.
Here’s how you check the level: remove the fill plug (the one that’s highest), stick your finger in the hole, and feel if there’s gear lube up to the bottom of the hole.
No one, not even Jiffy Lube, can fill a transmission through the engine.
Here are the possibilities;
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They charged you for transmission oil, which they neither drained nor refilled.
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You are now driving a car with NO gear oil in its transmission.
Neither of these possibilities is good. STAY AWAY FROM JIFFY LUBE, AND ALL OTHER SUCH PLACES.
You’ve been warned!
There are a few other possibilities, including putting gear oil in the engine, maybe they did it right and the OP did not notice them filling it, and only noticed them topping off the engine oil. (OK I know this is not likely at QL, but it is possible.) etc.
I would have all the fluids checked and I would not want to drive it until I was sure of the engine oil and gear lube levels.
Those lube places typically have what they call a grease pit where techs work beneath a vehicle. They probably did change your trans oil. You would not have seen any of the process unless you could see what the guy under the floor was doing.
I was right there watching them work on my car and asked the mechanic if he was sure he had the right plug. This was a metal plug locted in a difficult spot on the top of the engine. I was unfamiliar with the location of the plug on the car but the location didn’t seem right to me. The car seemed to drive fine but I only went a few miles.
Nothing wrong. The filler plug is right where it can be seen from the top. The plug may not be at the absolute top of the trans but it is close enough to it. If they added the measured amount of oil, they wouldn’t have to check the level. No, I never looked for the filler on your model transmission. There must be an auto parts place where you can look in the manual.
“I was right there watching them work on my car and asked the mechanic”
Trust me–there is nobody at a Jiffy Lube who could legitimately be called a mechanic. If someone was a trained mechanic, he/she would be working at an establishment where vehicles are actually repaired.
The young folks at Jiffy Lube are what used to be called “Grease Monkeys”, until that term fell out of fashion. But, whatever term is used for the people who work on your car at JL, their training is scant and the business model requires that they work very fast. This combination of factors leads to MANY costly mistakes, as we see recounted on this forum very often.
I strongly suggest that you avoid JL and its clones for your auto service in the future. They may not have screwed up in this instance with your car, but you may not be that lucky in the future.
I checked a Toyota manual and it shows the filler plug on the side of the transaxle above the filler plug. It does not mention a plug on top of the transaxle. I checked my oil and it is fine so where else could the gear oil have gone but the transaxle?