A woman claims that what should’ve been a routine trip to Valvoline turned into a nightmare. It allegedly left her with between $10,000 and $12,000 worth of damage to her car.
Madison Lambert (@girlinthegreenapron), a personal chef, warned her TikTok followers to steer clear of Valvoline after the incident. And to the company, she had a direct message: “Better be cutting me a check soon.”
As of now, it’s unclear whether Lambert has been able to get her car repaired—or whether she had to personally shell out thousands to fix the damage she alleges Valvoline caused. But her story is definitely striking a nerve. As of Sunday, her video had racked up more than 161,000 views.
What happened at Valvoline?
Lambert said she took her car to Valvoline for what was supposed to be a “simple” oil change. However, things quickly went south.
Upon arrival, she says the mechanics told her she needed “extra oil,” claiming her car required six quarts instead of the usual amount. For the additional quart, Lambert said she was charged an extra $17.99.
But the real problems started after the oil change. When she tried to leave, Lambert said her car began “revving” and “sputtering,” behavior she hadn’t seen before.
Perplexed, the mechanics decided to drain the oil and start over. A manager even stepped in, telling Lambert he’d personally redo the job “to make sure it’s done properly.” According to Lambert, that didn’t help either.
To make matters worse, the manager then flagged a second issue: her mass air flow sensor was supposedly faulty. Lambert, however, was skeptical. She said her car was “perfectly fine” before the oil change and didn’t buy that two unrelated issues could suddenly pop up during a basic service.
Did Valvoline ultimately fix the woman’s car?
They did not. Ultimately, Lambert said she took matters into her own hands and brought her car to a different mechanic the following day. However, the prognosis wasn’t what she hoped for.
According to Lambert, the mechanic at the new shop took one look under the hood and told her things were “not good.”
The issue? Lambert claimed the Valvoline crew had let excess oil spill “all over the bottom” of her car. To make matters worse, there was “no oil in the place that it’s supposed to be.” In other words, the damage appeared to stem not from her car itself but from the service.
And the fix wouldn’t come cheap. Lambert said she was quoted between $10,000 and $12,000 to repair the damage.
Despite filing a claim with Valvoline, Lambert said the company has yet to offer any meaningful help—not for the damage, not for a rental car, and certainly not for the work she lost due to the ordeal.
Now, Lambert said her personal cheffing business is effectively on pause, all because of what was supposed to be a routine oil change.
“A simple oil change caused severe damage to my car,” she wrote in the caption of her viral TikTok video. “Now I can’t pay my bills.”
What action can you take if this happens to you?
While it’s not clear what Lambert’s next steps will be, aggrieved customers can take legal action over a botched oil change—especially if the shop acted negligently or caused significant financial harm.
According to FindLaw, customers with relatively small losses may be able to resolve disputes on their own, potentially through small claims court. But in Lambert’s case, with damages estimated between $10,000 and $12,000, the scale of the alleged harm might warrant a different approach.
If she hopes to recover the costs of the damage and hold Valvoline accountable, consulting with an attorney may be her best bet.
Some viewers weren’t that sympathetic
In the comments section of Lambert’s video, not everyone was sympathetic. Some self-identified mechanics questioned her decision to go to Valvoline in the first place—especially after she admitted the shop was a 40-mile drive from her home.
“Valvoline is not mechanics,” one person said.
@girlinthegreenapron A simple oil change caused severe damage to my car. Now I can’t pay my bills @Valvoline Instant Oil Change @Valvoline Global Operations #betterbusinessbureau #valvoline #valvolineinstantoilchange #mechanic #mechanicsoftiktok #oilchange #smallbusiness ♬ original sound – Girl in the Green Apron
“They are lube techs, not mechanics,” a second person added of Valvoline workers. “You also agreed to the extra oil. This is why you always say no to anything extra or DO IT YOURSELF.”
“Good car owners don’t go to Valvoline,” a third commenter wrote.
Others, however, who had horror stories of their own involving Valvoline, were far more sympathetic.
“Valvoline is the absolute worst. Went to one in NY and the ‘mechanic’ tied a bandana around the handle for the oil fill and overfilled my wife’s truck and sprayed oil all over the engine,” one man shared.
“I absolutely hate Valvoline,” another echoed. “I have cars come into my job for oil changes and they did the previous oil change and they SUPER GLUE[D] the oil filters into the engine.”
“Used to work for Valvoline,” a third user said. “PLEASE take this as a warning and DO NOT GO THERE.”
And some expressed skepticism that Lambert would have any luck getting Valvoline to cut her a check.
“So why does Valvoline need to pay,” one person questioned.
“They, in fact, are not going to cut you a check,” another quipped.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Lambert via TikTok comment and to Valvoline through email.
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