Walmart Tire and Lube center sucks!

[showcase 66]

Okay,

My wife went to Walmart to get some stuff. I asked her to get the oil change since I have not had a chance to do it myself. Usually always change it myself.

Anyway, she got back about 2 hours ago and said the gauges all went all the way to the left and then back to normal. She said it did it twice on the way home. We are about 1/2 mile from our walmart.

Just went to check on it. Open the hood and I can smell burning oil. Check the dipstick and it is way below the full mark. Look underneath the durango and to my surprise, the shroud under the front is gone. Not just the plug you remove to change the oil filter. I then realize there is oil on the ground. Look at the oil filter and it is the one I used about 2 months ago the last time I changed the oil. I date every oil filter when I put them in.

Oil is all over this filter so I am wiping the filter off and I can turn the filter about 2 full turns before it is finger tight. WTF.

Called them up and was told over the phone by the car center manager that I was lying and even if they did do something wrong, my wife signed saying everything was okay.

So I went down there with the durango (added some oil first). Manager wouldn't come out to talk to me at first until I said I was calling the police for the theft of part of my car while with them. (the shroud)

He came out along with an assistant store director. Had the idiot look under my vehicle while on the ground not on a lift and asked him to read the date on the filter. He still said they did nothing wrong and since it was signed off they are not going to do anything about it.

You know the digital thing that they make you sign before they will do any work on it. That is the signature they are talking about as signing off that everything was okay after the work was done. You have to sign off on the final work before they even start it.

Needless to say. I will never have walmart do anything on any of my vehicles again.

Hopefully nothing happened to the engine with only about 2 qt of oil in it.

 

[CanuckSigns]

that sucks but not really surprising, I expect the same level of service from Wal-Mart as I do from McDonalds

 

[Moze]

I've had similar results from actual oil change facilities. I decided long ago that oil changes are too important to entrust to someone that likely couldn't care less about my vehicle. I buy Mobil1 at Costco and do everything myself.

 

[royster13]

Kinda sucks the same way as going to a "cheaper than dirt" sign shop......lol.....

 

[briankb]

I've never had a problem with Wal-Mart Oil changes but in my area the problems have always been at the 30m lube/oil places. After my Aztek went out of warranty I stopped taking it to the dealer and started using walmart. It's been going their for at least 5 years now every 6 months. I use High Mileage Synthetic so it lasts longer than normal.

With that said, I ALWAYS check under the car after I pull out of the parking spot to look for drips. If I ever have an issue like yours they will either pay for repairs and make things right, or we can go to court.

I think you should have called the police anyway and had them make a report of the missing part and possibly "theft by deception" because they took your money and did not provide the services as per the condition of sale. You can still take them to small claims court and I would suspect if you have solid evidence, you will win.

Good luck.

 

[Guerilla Signs]

My wife has two aunts that work for Walmart and one of them had the same type of thing happen to her. They had to push to get things taken care of since it did damage to the engine.

You need to call the store manager and go over his head if you do not get anywhere with them. They are just trying to keep it off their bottom line.

 

[briankb]

You need to call the store manager and go over his head if you do not get anywhere with them. They are just trying to keep it off their bottom line.

TRUE! If you want to see how high a Wal-Mart manager will jump just go to the website http://www.walmart.com/cservice/cu_comments_online.gsp?cu_heading=8 and leave feedback and your story.

About 5 years ago I did this to complain about the terrible shopping carts. 98% of the carts were either partially broken or worse had stuck wheels. The store manager called me the following week to give some BS explanations and tell me they were replacing them in a few months. About a YEAR later they actually did replace them. I try to avoid Walmart as much as possible since then, Publix prices aren't as high as you think and it's a much better grocery shopping experience.

 

[Tony McD]

If it still showed oil on the dipstick, you are probably ok since she only went 1/2 mile home. It's a good thing she didn't have a bunch of errands to make.

 

[hydo1]

I used to use Walmart religiously for oil changes until they left the oil cap off one time.

I had drove 30 miles and started to smell something burning and see smoke coming out of the hood. I pulled over and imagine my surprise to see the oil cap sitting in the engine compartment, not where it should be. Oil all over the engine and sizzling. When I called to complain the manager was never there, wouldn't return my calls. That was the last time I ever used their "auto department".

 

[fixtureman]

I went to a Lube Stop one time when I was getting ready for a trip out if town and they changed the oil and replaced the air filter. As I pulled the truck out of the bay I didn't have any oil pressure so I stopped and popped the hood and checked the dip stick and there was no oil showing. I also noticed the the air filter cover was rtill covered with a thin layer of dust so I popped the cover and they never changed the filter. I called the manager out and confronted him with what I found and he said they must have forgot. I said just put my old oil in and refund me my money. They added the new oil and refunded me everything.

 

[Pat Whatley]

Bought a set of tires for my truck from them. Drove them until they wore out a few years later. Went back to buy a new set.....SIX of the lug nuts had been cross-threaded. Manager was really cool about it. I had my receipt, he said he'd have to do a little paperwork and they'd pay to have them fixed.

Looked it up in the computer and my sale years earlier showed up but it showed that it had been refunded. Before I could start arguing that I never got it refunded he said he thought he knew what the problem was, made a phone call, came back and told me it was all good. He said they'd had a department manager years before who would do refunds on sets of tires when people paid in cash and he'd pocket the money. He'd gotten caught and gotten fired.

Fast forward a couple of years. I'm sitting in the district attorney's office going over the case against my former business partner. The DA pulls up my former partner's criminal record......yep, he had been the manager who'd been refunding the tire sales.

 

[TheSnowman]

I've heard of people that had the oil plug fall out, never replace the filter, cross threaded lug nuts, the whole deal. Walmart is get what you pay for. Ever bought groceries there? You'll see why the prices are so low.

Take it to someone who has a reputation to not suck...walmart is not that place.

Oh, and Pat...sounds like you have a pretty good soap opera starting there!

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

I would hire an attorney

 

[GAC05]

Sounds like the kind of service CheapVehicleWraps should offer

Free oil change with every wrap - 100% recycled oil & filter.

wayne k
guam usa

 

[TammieH]

Frankly, I stay away from Walmart for ethical reasons. I have not stepped into a Walmart for 6 years. Think about if someone started a Super Sign store in your area, paid employees unlivable wages and low-balled everyone,s prices. OMG hope I did not give anyone an idea! Cripes!

 

[crewchief97]

I try to trade with local mom & pop businesses, like myself. It's good for the community and they might buy a sign or two!!

 

[ddarlak]

you get what you pay for

 

[slappy]

I worked at walmart before.... when they built the bigger building with the grocery's and tire and lube.... it was just other associates from other departments that went to work those. If you had hands, basically you were qualified to work in the tire and lube. Yup... you're probably a victim of having someone that stocked shelves in the paper towel dept changing your oil


You should call the BBB and report it and then maybe the home office. http://corporate.walmart.com/

 

[James Burke]

That's why I had my wife get our oil changed today at a private, local shop.

I was in WM one time waiting for an estimate when I got the chance to observe first hand what goes on in there. I want to be careful here and not paint with such a wide brush, but what I saw was downright insane.

An associate was in need of a pair of tires located on a rack that was up about 8 feet from the floor. Instead of getting a ladder, the associate grabs onto the front of the shelf and curls his body, kicking his legs upward and literally kicked the bottom of the tire from underneath the rack...hurling it off the tire rack...right on top of an expensive diagnostic computer...sending parts and pieces in about six directions...right in front of the customer. I can pretty well imagine his customer had second thoughts about him working on their vehicle.

As for me...I've never set foot in their door again.


JB

 

[tsgstl]

Why would you change your oil every 2 months?
Why would you trust someone at the bottom of the mechanic chain with your car?
Don't get me wrong I feel bad for you and nobody should be treated like that.