So the heater core broke down on me in the beginning of February, got a "new" one with mounting parts. I removed the old busted one and replaced with the "new" one. Problem fixed...... Then around 22nd of march took the car into jiffy lube for an oil change. (would have done it myself, but I was extremely busy). Oil Change check. Then around the 8th of April the car damn near ran out of oil due to a leak from the oil filter, brought the car back to jiffy lube, to fix because they guarantee their work..... Problem found (oil filter "o" ring broke) due to over-tightening I suspect. The manager gave me a refund for the oil I had to buy to get the car back to jiffy lube..... gave me a warm fuzzy that the problem was solved and I was refunded for the $$ I spent on oil that I shouldn't have spent just having had the damn oil replaced...... OK so here we are again same issue, this time I did the inspection, jacked the car up, pressure washed the oil off and gave the area a good wipe down...... ran the engine....... low and behold the filter is leaking like fresh gunshot wound....... I do the replacement this time and found torque specs for the filter housing..........Problem solved, but now my damn heater core has taken a **** again, Now keep in mind my GF was driving the car when the oil almost went bone dry.... and over heated. MY Question is: Is jiffy Lube responsible for the replacement of the (brand new) heater core that has again busted? would the engine with drastically low oil over-heating would have effected a brand new part to the point of cracking? And Lastly I want to take the car in for full diagnostics on the engine..... If there are more problems than just the filter issue, wuld jiffy lube be responsible for any repairs?
Ok something does not sound right here. When you changed the heater core did you get all the air out of the system through the bleed screw? If it was so low on oil that the cooling system could not keep it from overheating then you probably have damaged the engine. It over heating should not cause the heater core to burst. Where did you get the core, I hope it is not a cheep one. I believe you have two separate problems. One is a defective part. (heater core) the other Jiffy lube!!!!! I would have a shop check the car and send the bill to jiffy lube. I am sure they are going to blame it on you. The oil filter should only be torqued to 18lbs. If they did that to the filter you better have the shop check the oil plug I will place money on it that they striped it. I say take it to a shop so you have an expert opinion. If you engine needs work this will get messy fast. You don't want Jiffy Lube saying you caused the problem. Lastly I don't mean to sound rude so please don't take it wrong. I have seen so mini problems from places like jiffy lube I would run two year old oil in my car before they touched it. Let us know how it goes.
@MCS02 I bled the air out of the system during the install on the heater core. As much as doubt the heater core was defective, it's still a possibility, I'll be taking the car to San Francisco Mini Service center as soon as possible, so far since the last fix on the oil filter, no problems aside from the heater core breaking again. I'm almost sure Jiffy Lube is going to fight me on this, but I'm game so I say bring it on.
@MCS02 also the part was purchased at the mini of san fran dealership. It wasn't cheap considering I could have bought one online for a fraction of the price, is there any better built aftermarket heater cores out there?
Welcome, thanks for joining Motoring Alliance, the FUN and Friendly MINI Community. I'd not go aftermarket with that unit. Check with our sponsors such as eMINIparts, I think even shipped across the country the savings will be substantial. I wonder if the oil filter housing has a crack. If it has been overtightened that is a possibility. Be sure to get all your ducks in a row with timeline and causation before having that unpleasant conversation at Jiffy lube.