They start off great, bring you a bottle water and everything. It's all down hill from there...
On August 26, 2025 I took my new truck in for an oil change at Take 5 on Broadway in Mesa, AZ. While getting the oil change a mechanic asked if I'd also like the fuel filters changed. I had over 20,000 miles on the truck and agreed it was time for my truck's first fuel filter replacement. The oil change was completed quickly but the manager Jaelynn Gerres was having a hard time with the fuel filter. She seemed confused as my truck would not start after repeated attempts. After about an hour of various attempts my truck finally started, I paid $373, and was on my way.
On my way home, the engine started spraying diesel from under the hood and the engine died. I was going 70 mph at the time and rolled to a stop on the side of the freeway. Hazards turned on, I exited the vehicle and watched as a pool of diesel formed under my truck. It was equivalent to a running garden hose, spraying diesel from under the hood. It almost drained the entire tank of gas before my fuel pump shut off. I made 5 or six attempts to call Take 5 at the phone number on the invoice but every time the phone would just ring and disconnect my phone call. I called my roadside assistance and had my vehicle towed to the Ford dealership a few miles away. I waited on the side of the freeway in 100 degree heat until my wife could pick me up. I met with the service manager at Ford and they pointed out that the fuel line for the upper fuel filter wasn't connected properly and had popped off while driving. We securely reconnected the fuel line and I was on my way again (no charge from Ford).
At this point, I was only out time and a tank of gas. I was just going to move on and not complain. Unfortunately, this was just the start of my problems. The next day when walking to my parked truck, I could see a small puddle of gas under my vehicle. I climbed under my truck and could see it was dripping from the lower fuel filter housing that Take 5 had replaced. Unlike the upper fuel filter, this was a slow drip. I drove my truck back to Take 5 and told my story to the manager Jaelynn Gerres. Jaelynn apologized and said she would fix the leak right away. I pulled into the service bay and waited as they replaced the o-ring on the lower fuel filter. The o-ring was replaced and Jaelynn gave me a handwritten note for a free oil change in the future, and once again I was on my way. Unfortunately over the next week I continued to see drips of fuel coming from my lower fuel filter. I returned to Take 5 for a third time. This time Jaelynn informed me that they were not going to be able to fix the leak. I was instructed by Jaelynn to take it to Ford, have them repair the leak, then bring the receipt in for reimbursement.
I followed the instructions and brought my truck to the Ford dealership. They fixed the fuel filter housing which was apparently cracked when Jaelynn replaced the fuel filter. The charge from Ford was around $650, which is pretty reasonable being it was from a Ford factory dealership. I brought the receipt back to Jaelynn at take 5. When I gave Jaelynn the receipt she said she would run it up the ladder and see if it's possible to get me reimbursed. It was at that time I knew I wasn't dealing with an ethical business. I could see in Jaelynn's eyes, it was time for them to pony up and now she was getting defensive and dishonest. "This ford invoice doesn't say we caused the damage" Jaelynn said. Her empathy for her mistake(s) was now nonexistent. I could not believe what I was hearing. Keep in mind my truck is new and under warranty. Take 5 was the only place to ever touch the fuel filters since rolling off the factory assembly line. If the leak were a preexisting problem as they propose, I would have had Ford replace it under warranty for free.
I asked Jaelynn for the owners contact information so I could share my experience with them. Jaelynn refused to give me the owners information stating it was illegal to do so.
It has now been a month since giving the invoice to Jaelynn at Take 5 and no one from the organization has reached out to me for any details of this experience. Today I received a letter from Fleet Response, which I'm assuming is Take 5 legal/insurance team. The letter says Take 5 is not responsible and no payment will be made for my loss. Again they never even contacted me for details, so I figure I'll post them online.... read more