INVESTIGATES: Take 5 blamed for ‘substandard work’ on JSO cruisers; damaging vehicles across country

Take 5, a major oil change chain, is being blamed for damaging Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office vehicles as well as numerous other drivers’ cars in numerous states.

An Office of Inspector General report from the City of Jacksonville found that from July 2021 to August 2023, there were 45 complaints from officers attributing issues with their vehicles to be related to substandard work provided by Take 5.

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It often resulted in officers being out of service while waiting for additional repairs, including JSO being billed more than $6,000 for parts and labor and more than $750 in officer downtime.

Action News Jax Investigates, along with our Cox Media Group sister stations across the country, discovered multiple lawsuits against Take 5 that allege similar oil change nightmares.

For example, our investigation found a Texas lawsuit that claims Take 5 destroyed the engine of a 2013 Dodge Charger by draining the oil and not replacing it.

“Opened up the oil reservoir, and smoke was coming out of it. Not a good sign,” said driver Ben Brown, who said his vehicle was damaged by a Take 5 oil change.

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“It was like, ‘bam, bam, bam, really bad,’” said Robin Porterfield, who said she suffered damage to her late model Volvo.

Porterfield’s car was out of commission for more than six months, while Brown’s Jeep needed a new engine, a $13,000 repair.

Clay Brooks is a mechanic who said a basic oil change is a lot more complicated than it used to be.

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For instance, you used to just need a universal tool to open oil caps, but use it now and you risk cracking modern oil caps.

Brooks said shops, like Take 5 that are focused on speed, can do more harm than good.

“You are more likely to make mistakes if you are focusing on volume,” Brooks said.

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As of last check, Take 5 has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau, which lists more than 700 complaints in the past three years.

As part of our investigation, many drivers said Take 5 did offer to pay for repairs, but then gave them the runaround.

JSO did not comment on the Inspector General Report.

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Take 5 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.”

OIG Findings:

• There are valid Officer complaints regarding the vehicle maintenance services provided by vendor Take 5.
• Poor vendor performance by Take 5 resulted in additional costs to the COJ and the JSO.
• JSO Officers either do not know the process for reporting contractor performance or they do not understand the importance of providing this information to Fleet Management.

OIG Recommended Corrective Actions:

Contract compliance personnel should receive training in oversight and documentation.

• Contract compliance personnel should monitor vendors’ performance and periodically communicate with applicable COJ departments during the contract term.
• Contract compliance personnel should be assigned to each contract and be responsible for verifying the receipt of all deliverables promptly and efficiently.
• Fleet Management personnel should notify management when a pattern of repetitive repairs and part replacements attributed to a vendor is recognized.
• Employees who drive COJ vehicles should promptly notify Fleet Management or their chain of command regarding issues resulting from vendor-performed vehicle maintenance.

City of Jacksonville Response:

The OIG provided the COJ Fleet Management Division and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office an opportunity to submit a written explanation or rebuttal to the findings as stated in this investigative report within ten (10) calendar days. The Jacksonville Sheriff Office declined to submit a response. The Fleet Management Division’s verbatim response to each recommended corrective action is listed below.

• Contract compliance personnel should receive training in oversight and documentation. Fleet Management Response: As the contract administrator Fleet Management ensures the vendors comply with the bid specifications. Any reported compliance issues are communicated to our vendors.
• Contract compliance personnel should monitor vendors’ performance and periodically communicate with applicable COJ departments during the contract term. Fleet Management Response: Due to the nature of the service being provided, Fleet Management must rely on the vehicle operator to inform us when there is an issue with service not being performed correctly.
• Contract compliance personnel should be assigned to each contract and be responsible for verifying the receipt of all deliverables promptly and efficiently. Fleet Management Response: The Fleet Management Division has one (1) employee assigned to review all invoices from the outside vendor and verify an invoice, signed by the vehicle operator, is received confirming the deliverables were received. These are drive-up services and deliverables are received immediately prior to the operator signing the invoice.
• Fleet Management personnel should notify management when a pattern of repetitive repairs and part replacements attributed to a vendor is recognized. Fleet Management Response: Fleet Management personnel notify management when a pattern is detected or recognized. These were not recognized as a pattern due to the statistically low number of occurrences. The light vehicle shops see approximately 1,300 work orders a month. The average number of vehicles a month incoming for this issue is 1.6 per month. Given this information, 0.12% of the monthly work orders were related to this issue.
• Employees who drive COJ vehicles should promptly notify Fleet Management or their chain of command regarding issues resulting from vendor-performed vehicle maintenance.

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