Noisy Car

We have a 2003 Subaru Legacy that we just took to a cheapo oil change place. They supposedly only changed the oil, but when we drove the car on the highway it sounded like it was winding out of 3rd gear and feels a bit sluggish. Any idea what they could have done to cause this?

The oil drain plug and the transmission drain plug on the Legacy engine are, literally, only inches away from each other, and they look identical. Among the ways that Jiffy Lube and their clones have ruined Subarus is by mistakenly draining the transmission, rather than the engine, and then adding oil to the already filled engine.

The result is a transmission that quickly fails, due to a lack of an adequate amount of fluid, and an engine that has reduced power (and eventually, damage to bearings) from being grossly overfilled. I would strongly suggest that you check the level of both the motor oil and the transmission fluid before driving it again. And, DO NOT patronize quick oil change places as their poorly trained staff and their desire to move vehicles in and out very quickly combine to create the perfect formula for engine/transmission/differential/brake hydraulic system damage.

While the scenario that I described may not be the cause of your problem, the fact remains that Jiffy Lube and their clones destroy several engines/transmission each week, nationwide, and they rarely admit to their mistakes.

As one of the veterans of this board aptly says, “Don’t go to a quick oil change place–not even for directions!”.

Thanks for the input. We don’t usually patronize these places, but our Subaru dealership closed recently.