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ATLANTA — Customers of a major oil change chain told Channel 2 Action News a quick and inexpensive oil change caused thousands of dollars in damage to their vehicles.

Robin Porterfield told Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray she went to Take 5 in Athens because it was close to the hospital where her wife is being treated for cancer.

“When I left, everything seemed to be fine,” Porterfield said.

Not long after, she told Gray her car started making a loud knocking sound.

“It was like, bam, bam, bam, really bad,” Porterfield said she was able to make it to a friend’s house and inspect the noise.

“We pulled the dipstick out. The only thing on it was a little black piece on the end,” she said.

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Ben Brown described the same situation when the low oil pressure light kicked on in his 2021 Jeep after he stopped at a Take 5 in Charlotte.

“Opened up the oil reservoir, and smoke was coming out of it. Not a good sign,” Brown said when he pulled the dipstick and wiped it off, there was no oil.

Porterfield’s car has been out of commission for more than six months and with little public transportation in rural Clarke County, getting anywhere has been difficult.

“It was like a domino effect. I mean, I lost my job. I couldn’t get to work,” she said.

Porterfield told Gray her wife has also missed multiple oncology appointments.

Porterfield says she called nearly everyday for 3 months before a district manager finally spoke with her,

“She said, you put oil in the car, so that null and voids, the warranty, and we can’t do anything for you,” Porterfield said.

She told Gray it was the manager of the take 5 who told her to put that oil in the car to get it back to the business to be checked out.

“He goes, well, you can put a quart in to get back over here. So, I did,” she said.

Take 5 towed Ben Brown’s Jeep.

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“They assessed that the oil filter had failed. There’s a gasket apparently that holds the oil filter on it. It cracked,” Brown said.

After an independent mechanic found the fix was a new motor that would cost $13,000 Brown says Take 5 went quiet.

“Blew me off. Never wrote back. I feel abused. I mean, I have been put through it,” he said.

Multiple lawsuits against Take 5 allege similar oil change nightmares.

A Texas lawsuit claims Take 5 destroyed the engine of a 2013 Dodge Charger by draining the oil and not replacing it.

A report from the Office of Inspector General of the city of Jacksonville, Florida states between July 2021 and August 2023, there were “45 complaints from officers with the Sheriff’s Department attributing issues with their vehicles to be related to substandard work provided by Take 5″.

Clay Brooks is a mechanic at Cooper Lake Automotive. The Marietta business has been servicing cars for 4 decades. Brooks told Gray a basic oil change is a lot more complicated than it used to be.

Opening an oil cap used to require a universal tool. Now, if a mechanic uses the wrong device the oil cap could crack.

“If your priority is speed. That’s I think that’s the case in any profession, the faster you’re trying to go, even if you’re an absolute expert, you are more likely to make mistakes if you are focusing on volume,” Brooks said.

Porterfield’s car still sits untouched at a mechanic. She told Gray she’s afraid to let anyone make repairs because of the fine print of the Take 5 warranty

That means relying on expensive Uber rides for everything.

“These people will not take responsibility. They’ll find any way they can to not take responsibility,” Porterfield said.

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Take 5 would not address either case or the lawsuit or Inspector General report specifically on the record but tells us in a statement: “Customer satisfaction and quality service are of the utmost importance to Take 5. Our oil changes conform to vehicle manufacturers’ warranties and help ensure long engine life. Our services are backed by a 30-day or 1,000 mile warranty, subject to customers adhering to warranty conditions. Even in instances where warranties have expired or are voided by a customer, we make every effort to achieve a satisfactory outcome, as our goal is to provide all of our customers with an enjoyable and convenient experience.”

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