A Douglas County, Georgia, woman says a routine oil change at a Take 5 location left her 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee undriveable, with major engine damage and parts of the engine sitting in the backseat of the vehicle.
WSB-TV consumer investigator Justin Gray reported that Jihan Johnston-McGlotten contacted Channel 2 Action News after seeing Gray’s earlier report about another customer who had complained of serious engine damage after visiting the same Take 5 oil change location on Thornton Road.
Gray said the issue is not only the damage itself, but what happens when a customer believes a familiar national brand is responsible and then learns the dispute may actually be handled by a local franchise owner.
“We know the national brands, the brands like Take 5,” Gray reported from outside the Douglas County shop, “but if something goes wrong, it’s not that recognizable brand, their corporate office you’re going to be dealing with. It’s the local owner, the local franchise owner who you’ll be fighting with over that money.”
For Johnston-McGlotten, the result has been more than an argument over repair costs. She told Gray that she has no working car, has been paying for rides, and cannot get to work the way she normally would.
An Engine In The Backseat
Gray began his report by asking Johnston-McGlotten what was in her backseat.
“My engine part of my car,” she answered.
The video showed the damaged Jeep and images of engine parts that had been removed during later repair work. Johnston-McGlotten described the damage in plain terms, saying it did not take a mechanic to see that something had gone very wrong.
“What they pulled out of my car looks like something from a sci-fi movie,” she told Gray.
According to Gray’s report, photos showed extensive engine damage, along with what mechanics said was a piece of a towel found inside the engine.
Johnston-McGlotten believes the damage began at the Take 5 location during what should have been a basic oil change. She told Gray that she believes an oil pan was not properly replaced, leading to the mechanical failure that followed.
The image of an engine part sitting inside a customer’s backseat is what makes the complaint so striking, but the larger concern is familiar to many drivers. Most people do not watch every step of an oil change, and when the car leaves the bay, they are trusting that the work was done correctly.
When that trust breaks down, the financial hit can be far larger than the price of the original service.
A Dispute Over Responsibility
Johnston-McGlotten told Gray that when she raised the issue, the response from the business did not resolve the problem.
“The manager told me that I forfeited the warranty that is on the contract of an oil change because I did not bring it back to them,” she said.
That explanation left her in a difficult position because by the time a car is showing major engine trouble, many drivers will naturally take it to a mechanic they trust or to a dealership rather than back to the shop they believe caused the problem.
There is a practical tension here that quick-service businesses and customers often handle very differently. A company may want the vehicle returned so it can inspect the damage before agreeing to pay, while a customer may feel that returning to the same location is risky, especially if the car is already undriveable.
Gray’s report did not present a final repair agreement for Johnston-McGlotten’s Jeep, but it did show that her case had become part of a broader pattern of complaints involving the same location.
A Second Customer Reported Similar Damage
Earlier in June, Gray had introduced viewers to Regina Lee, another customer who said her vehicle was severely damaged after an oil change at the same Take 5 shop.
Lee told WSB-TV that the engine in her 2023 BMW X3 was destroyed after service at the Douglas County location. In that case, Gray reported that the oil drain plugs were not properly reinstalled.
“I just want them to take full accountability for the mistakes,” Lee said.
The two cases are not identical, but they share the same basic concern: customers say they went in for a routine oil change and later faced major engine damage that left their vehicles unusable.
That is what makes the story more serious than a one-time complaint. A single bad experience can happen at almost any business, but when two customers come forward about severe engine damage at the same location in the same month, it raises fair questions about training, quality checks, supervision, and how customer claims are handled after something goes wrong.
For most households, an engine replacement is not a small inconvenience. It can become a multi-thousand-dollar problem that affects work, child care, errands, and basic transportation.
The Franchise Owner’s Response
Gray reported that since his earlier story, the owner of the Thornton Road Take 5 location had emailed Lee about her complaint.
According to Gray, Shehzaan Chunara, vice president of the Chunara Group of Companies, wrote to Lee, “I look forward to settling the mess our mistake has put you in.”
However, Gray said Chunara also refused to increase the amount he would pay toward a new engine, telling Lee he “wasn’t thrilled to do so when you decided it would be a smart move to go to the media and tarnish our business’s reputation.”
In a separate email to Gray, Chunara wrote that “taking care of a guest that has a genuine concern or complaint is absolutely our responsibility,” but added that “there is a line between that and those that want to try and game the system.”
Those statements are important because they show both acknowledgment and resistance. On one hand, the phrase “our mistake” appears to recognize at least some responsibility in Lee’s case. On the other hand, the refusal to increase payment and the suggestion that some people may be trying to “game the system” show how quickly these disputes can become adversarial once repair costs rise.
Gray said Chunara had told him he would do an interview, but when Gray tried to set it up, he did not respond.
The Burden Falls On The Customer
While the business and customers dispute responsibility, Johnston-McGlotten said she is the one dealing with the day-to-day fallout.
“It’s a big burden,” she told Gray. “I’m not able to go to work. I have no car. I’ve been Ubering.”
That is one of the most important parts of the report because it moves the story beyond damaged metal and repair invoices. A disabled vehicle can disrupt nearly every part of a person’s life, especially in areas where public transportation may not be a simple replacement.
The problem can become even more frustrating when the original service was supposed to be quick and affordable. Drivers often choose a fast oil change because it saves time, but if something goes wrong, the savings can disappear almost immediately.
This is also where documentation matters. Receipts, photos, mechanic reports, written communication, and timelines can become essential if a customer has to argue that a service mistake caused later damage.
Still, even with documentation, many drivers do not have the time, money, or legal help to fight a large company or franchise group for weeks or months.
Clark Howard Says A Trusted Mechanic May Be Safer
Channel 2 consumer advisor Clark Howard told Gray that when customers use a national chain, they may assume the brand itself will step in if a problem happens.
Howard said that is not always how it works.
“You’re dependent on that individual store and that store owner to do right by you,” Howard said. “And the big company is like, we wash our hands.”
Howard recommended that drivers consider building a relationship with a local mechanic instead of relying only on quick-service chains. He acknowledged that a local mechanic may cost more for a basic oil change, but said the relationship can matter if a larger issue develops later.
His advice may not be what budget-conscious drivers want to hear, but it is practical. A trusted mechanic who knows a vehicle’s history may be more likely to notice early problems, explain repairs clearly, and handle mistakes directly.
That does not mean every quick-service chain is careless or every local mechanic is perfect. It does mean that the cheapest and fastest option is not always the least expensive option in the long run.
A Routine Service With Expensive Consequences
Gray’s report leaves two customers at the same Douglas County Take 5 location saying they were left with severe engine damage after routine oil changes.
Johnston-McGlotten says her Jeep is now undriveable, with part of the engine in the backseat and transportation costs piling up. Lee says her BMW’s engine was destroyed after oil drain plugs were not properly reinstalled, and she wants the business to accept full responsibility.
The franchise owner’s emails, as reported by Gray, show that the dispute has become about more than the repairs themselves. It is also about accountability, public pressure, and how much a local owner is willing to pay when customers say a service mistake caused major damage.
For drivers, the case is a reminder that even simple maintenance deserves attention. Checking paperwork, watching for oil leaks, paying attention to warning lights, and keeping records may not prevent every problem, but they can help if a routine stop turns into a major repair fight.
Johnston-McGlotten went in for an oil change, not an engine replacement. Now, according to her account to Gray, she is left trying to get to work while the part of her car that should be under the hood sits in the backseat.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
