ORLANDO,Fla. — A Winter Garden man blames a simple oil change for a dangerous brake failure and accident.
When the oil change shop refused to cover his damages, he turned to Action 9.
Todd Ulrich found a repair expert to figure out what happened, and took the case to corporate managers for answers.
Mike Re claims his Lincoln Navigator turned into a dangerous ride hours after an oil change at a Winter Garden Jiffy Lube.
He says the brakes failed and he had to crash into sone landscaping to stop. “Terror, I had no idea what was going on. I could not stop the vehicle or get it under control,” said Re, whose wife and children were with him inside the vehicle.
“We felt helpless. There was nothing we could do,” said Rebecca Re.
Re said a Jiffy Lube tech talked him into changing a fuel filter which turned into a $99 fuel system decarbonation.
“Did you ask for that service?” asked Ulrich.
“I had no idea what that was,” replied Re.
He believes that caused the brake failure, but franchise owner South Bay Lube refused to pay for his damages. He turned to Action 9.
Ulrich had repair expert Jay Zembower examine the failed brake booster.
“Is this a big blunder?” asked Ulrich.
“Oh this is huge. This could have ended up in death or serious injury.” According to Zembower, a caustic chemical from the fuel treatment was pumped into the brake booster.
He showed Ulrich a rubber part it destroyed.
“Then you lose your power brakes, this was somebody not trained at all in the servicing of this engine,” said Zembower.
It's not just our experts. Mechanics at two location dealerships told Michael Re the fuel system treatment caused the brake failure.
Todd Ulrich went to talk to a manager. “He says after service here his brakes failed.”
“I don't know what you're talking about. We don't do brakes,” replied a manager.
South Bay Lube said it is reviewing the claim, customer safety and satisfaction are top priorities and that Mike Re had delayed providing documents it needed.
“They need to be accountable for their actions,” said Re.
A spokesman also told Action 9 the company wants to have the brake booster evaluated by an independent third party and it wants to resolve the issues.
Many repair and consumer experts suggest caution when adding extra treatment services to routine oil changes.
WFTV
