Hello all. I brought my 2000 9-5 Saab to Jiffy Lube on July 13th. On July 18th, it wouldn’t start. It would turn over and everything, but it would just sit there and do the, “ruh ruh ruh ruh ruh ruh.” I waited half an hour, and tried it again and to my surprise, it started. I drove it home without issue. The next morning, it did the same thing, but this time, it didn’t start. Had it towed to the Saab guy, he says there’s no compression in two of the cylinders and that it’s going to be $1000 to fix the thing. I called someone for a second opinion, and he asked if I had run out of oil because no compression usually means an issue with the oil or something. Could Jiffy Lube have done something to cause an issue, and if so, is there anything that I can do about it? Thanks in advance!
IF
they put the right amount of oil in it…
…it didn’t leak out the drain plug they removed and reinstalled…
then Iffy-lube didn’t harm it.
You’ll have a hard time proving it was them
IF
you didn’t check your oil level after oil change and if there was no visible and documented leak after.
We’ll need more facts AND evidence of a mere oil change causing that.
Could also have been an oil change or two prior…
OR
your not topping off correctly between…
OR
internal sludge accumulation from too long between or heavy viscosity.
OR
just a chance malfunction that occured at the same time as the oil change…yes that happens and customers cry foul all the time.
always check your oil and fluids after the car has been serviced to be on the safe side. just in case somebody left something loss . so is the car out of oil??
Well I can say that the car didn’t indicate to me that there was low oil. I certainly understand that there would be no way to prove it…
did you check your oil.
Before you take up driving again, have someone show you how to check ALL the fluids cars need to run properly and get into the habit of checking those fluids once a week…
I called someone for a second opinion
Anyone who would venture up GUESSES over the phone is not a valid second opinion and certainly not someone you would want working on the car.
The engine ran for a few days after the oil change and it still cranks, it’s unlikely to be related to the oil change. Then again, see above for remote GUESSES 
Just a few questions that will help us help you.
How often was the oil changed (by miles or time)?
Was the oil level checked between oil changes by opening the hood and checking the dipstick?
Was the oil level checked after the Jiffy Lube oil by the Saab mechanic?
Ed B.
If the two cylinders with no compression are adjacent to each other, it could be a blown head gasket. Has it overheated recently? Also if the compression is actually zero, then burned valves would be suspect, but they don’t usually burn all at once. Now if something in the throttle body, intake manifold or air filter ductwork broke loose and lodged in one or more valves, that would bring on the sudden onset of zero compression. Did they sell you a new air filter by any chance?
For future reference, quick-lube places are often staffed by undertrained workers on a tight schedule who are pressured to sell unnecessary work, which is why it’s frequently suggested here to avoid such places in favor of an independent mechanic.
As others have said, always double-check your oil level after an oil change, no matter who does it.
Aside from the reality that the OP did not check her oil, the question remains whether her “Saab guy” checked the oil. Before putting any stock in that questionable over-the-phone diagnosis from a second mechanic, I would strongly suggest that the OP ask her regular mechanic whether he checked her oil level, and if so, what his findings were.
It would also be helpful if the OP told us about her typical daily driving patterns (both distance and time factor), as well as her oil change schedule (in terms of both odometer mileage and elapsed time).
Without further information, our guesses have the same probability of being accurate as does the over-the-phone diagnosis, i.e.–not very accurate.
We don’t even know how many miles the engine has on it. Anything is possible.
@katherineoday, you did not tell us if anyone checked the oil level to see if it was low. Was the oil level checked since the problems started?
12 year old saab , good luck pinning to jiffy lube.
Have you verified that two cylinders have no compression with a second mechanic? If your car wouldn’t start, then later started and ran fine, this was NOT caused by no compression in two cylinders. A no compression issue does not suddenly get better, or come and go. The no start condition was caused by something else, such as an electrical issue or failing fuel pump.
A lot of details need to be provided on this.
No compression means zero or very low?
What compression on the other cylinders?
Surely the SAAB mechanic should have had no problem pointing out the cause of this compression problem; assuming a compression problem actually exists.
Lack of oil is not going to cause a zero compression problem on 2 cylinders only and the entire story is way too sketchy to even make a wild guess.
if it was not out of oil when the saab guy got it, then coincidence
if it was out of oil when the saab guy got it, then jiffy lube is suspect and you probably made it worse yourself by driving it when low