ComplaintsforChristian Brothers Automotive - Peoria Thunderbird

• Initial Complaint

  11/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Christian Brothers is an absolute fraud of a company. Originally took the vehicle on 11/9 regarding an oil leak. They completed a full inspection. Provided report & quote. Completed their repairs & a few days later I had smoke coming out of the air vents, I called them immediately, they took the vehicle did yet again another inspection; came back with we messed up we need to order a gasket cover & didnt need to change the gasket valve like we originally thought but none in the state so will take a week. Get my vehicle back evening of 11/21 and 11/22 the same smoke is coming out of my vents. Now theyre coming back with the vehicle needs something completely different that was missed not once but twice after having my car for a week. They refuse to own their mistake. Ive been without a vehicle most of the month due to their lack of responsibility in ensuring my vehicle is in working order. *** missed work multiple times and theyre denying to fix the new issue & asking for more money when they missed it on both car inspections they completed. Their lack of service has caused me so much missed work this past month. I would like them to refund me the cost of the repairs; obviously they didnt even fix the correct things or I would have a working vehicle. Now i have to pay another mechanic to fix the actual problem & again miss work due to their poor service.

  Business response

  11/27/2023

  *************************** brought her vehicle (2015 Kia ******* in for an oil service and inspection. During the inspection, the technician discovered that the front cover was leaking engine oil. To repair this concern the valve cover gasket also needed to be replaced as the valve cover needed to be removed to repair the front engine oil leak. A year later, ******* brought her vehicle in on 11/10/2023 for a suspected engine oil leak. During the inspection, the technician discovered that there was engine oil leaking from the valve cover. We had replaced this gasket before so it was covered under warranty and the job was completed. On 11/15/2023, ******* brought her vehicle back because she was starting to smell a burning smell in the vehicle. Upon inspection, the technician discovered that the valve cover was still leaking engine oil on the back side of the engine. The leak was causing engine oil to drop onto the exhaust system which would cause a burning smell. At this time the technician inspected the valve cover and was able to discover that the valve cover was warped. He determined that the initial leak was more likely the warped engine valve cover all along but this is not likely to happen and that is why he faulted the gasket and not the cover itself. Now this part was not under warranty as it was the original cover and had never been changed but because of the misdiagnosis from 11/10/2023, the manager decided to do the repair with no cost to *******. This part unfortunately had to be purchased from the manufacturer and had a 3-day wait for it. When the part arrived the technician was able to seal the engine leak and cleaned the area as best as he could. At this time the engine oil leak was repaired and no other engine oil leaks were discovered but a coolant leak was discovered on the inside of the vehicle. The technician discovered that the heater core was leaking engine coolant. She was informed about the coolant leak and she declined the repair at this time.

  Customer response

  11/27/2023

  The inconvenience, misinformation & lies from this company has now led me to take my car yet another mechanic. They gave me a car that was never inspected when they were made aware of the issue after their initial inspection. Im now stuck with yet another **** repair & not only that but the repair they notified me of incorrect, the mechanic shop is replacing the correct part. The misleading information this company has given me is ridiculous. How are they allowed to continue ripping people off. Ive been without a vehicle since 11/9, they messed up not only once not twice but three times. They gave me a vehicle they never inspected after I brought it back to them with the smoke & they had it in their possession for a week. I had to take time off of work on multiple occasions because of their neglectful ways & then to find out the part they were trying to replace with the wrong part yet again. Theres multiple issues with their misleading information they are giving customers and they should be held responsible for their negligence. 

  you replaced the gasket valve and when it didnt need to be replaced, you neglected to inspect my car when I took it back with the smoke issue & you were trying to replace a heater cord when its the radiator and while being under the base all of the sudden my brake lights are out. How can so many issues arise from this company having my vehicle for weeks.  what kind of fraud business are you running??? Something needs to be done; Im going to keep fighting because I cant imagine how many people they have ripped off over the years including myself. 

  Business response

  11/27/2023

  Customer is more than welcome to come back for any warranty repairs needed for the work we performed or choose any facility of their choice longest is an ASE certified center. For more information customer can call the ***** number on the invoice or visit the warranty website. At this point we disagree with the customer and have chosen to refrain from further communicating on this platform. Thank you 

• Initial Complaint

  09/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  July 24th 2023 - I drove the car to the shop no check engine light on board. A/C wasn't working and had some other concerns (see the attached report). July 28th 2023 - paid $2,546.35 inspection + repairs and drove the car home. On my way home check engine light turn on on the board. The shop was closed so I got the car back into the shop first thing in the morning on the next business day July 31st 2023.Aug. 2nd 2023 - auto-shop said they fixed the problem (there was a loose tube they fixed) they didn't charge us anything. No check engine light on.Aug. 7th 2023 - when we tried to turn the car on, the gear wouldn't shift. ***NO WARNING LIGHTS WERE ON*** We paid $350.00 towing and got the car back into the shop.Aug. 8th 2023 the second inspection report (where we paid another $168.03) shows transmission issues (as seen in the report attached) that would cost us about $6,000.At this point, we couldn't afford to pay for it. We had no choice but to sell it to a junk car company.We asked the manager the following questions but didn't get any satisfactory answers, or apologies or any money back:1. Why haven't they noticed the transmission problem on the first inspection? We paid $2,546.36 in minor issues instead? 2. Why no warning lights were on board showing us there's a problem? Have they been disabled when we returned the car with the check engine on?3. How can they explain that we DROVE the car into their shop and it needed to be towed away after they worked on it?We are hoping they'll at least give us some (if not all) money back. Thank you for taking the time to read our letter and to help us with this issue.Kind regards,******************************* ************

  Business response

  09/08/2023

  To whom it may concern,
  According to our operating system *********************************** has never been a customer of ours. Also the reports and the employees attached to those reports have never been employed by us.

  Christian Brothers Automotive has over ************************************************************************** business.

  Thank You 

  ****

  Business response

  10/23/2023

  please see the attachment for our response due to size limitation on this text window. 

  Thank you 

  Customer response

  10/23/2023

  We cannot see any attachments or communication from you. Can you please re-send/re-submit your message?

  Thanks,

  ********

  Customer response

  01/24/2024

  There is no response from the business that we can see. What we received is our complaint with none of the questions answered by Christian Brothers Automotive Peoria, no apology or partial refund. As a result, we cannot accept something that was not even reviewed/answered by the business.  

  Customer response

  02/05/2024

  July 24th, 2023 - I drove the car to the shop with no check engine light on board. A/C wasn't working and had some other concerns (see the attached report). July 28th, 2023 - paid $2,546.35 for inspection + repairs and drove the car home. On my way home checked the engine light turned on on the board. The shop was closed so I got the car back into the shop first thing in the morning on the next business day July 31st, 2023. Aug. 2nd, 2023 - auto-shop said they fixed the problem (there was a loose tube they fixed) they didn't charge us anything. No check engine light on. Aug. 7th, 2023 - when we tried to turn the car on, the gear wouldn't shift. ***NO WARNING LIGHTS WERE ON*** We paid $350.00 towing and got the car back into the shop. Aug. 8th, 2023 the second inspection report (where we paid another $168.03) shows transmission issues (as seen in the report attached) that would cost us about $6,000. At this point, we couldn't afford to pay for it. We had no choice but to sell it to a junk car company. We asked the manager the following questions but didn't get any satisfactory answers, or apologies or any money back: 1. Why didn't they notice the transmission problem on the first inspection? We paid $2,546.36 in minor issues instead. 2. Why no warning lights were on board showing us there's a problem? Have they been disabled when we returned the car with the check engine on? 3. How can they explain that we DROVE the car into their shop and it needed to be towed away after they worked on it? We are hoping they'll at least give us some (if not all) money back. Thank you for taking the time to read our letter and to help us with this issue. Kind regards, ******************************* ************

  Business response

  02/05/2024

  We stand by our first response and no longer will communicate in regards to this matter. Customer has a 3 years ***** miles warranty and any issues with the work performed can be addressed at any ASE certified repair facility. 

  Thank you 

• Initial Complaint

  01/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I came in for a leak on my ** and paid $150-160 for a diagnostic that wasn't done. Instead they filled it and told me to wait a couple weeks and come back to diagnose the problem even though I left the car there all day from 9AM to at least 5PM or later. At that time they SAID they replaced the ports around the ** unit and that usually fixes leaks. Important to note they would later tell me the ** port needs replaced even though the guy at the desk said they replaced it.When I had time I came back in and they diagnosed the problem. They tried to sell me an entire kit for like $1800 and I knew I didn't need this. I somehow gave in and got the compressor replaced as well as a couple other items. Originally I only wanted the ports replaced as they said they needed replaced even though they were already supposed to be replaced. They talked me into doing the compressor and this is where the problem really gets bad. I get my car back and suddenly I have a horribly rough loud noise coming from the front of my car. I come back and I leave the car there from 8 to passed 5pm again and they didn't diagnose it properly. They tried to up sell me on stuff and I lost it. They said come back tomorrow again and we'll try to diagnose it better. I said how do I leave my car there that long and still not have a diagnosis? I came back in and dropped my car off again and they said a belt was not tightened down all the way everything should be fixed now. I get my car back and the idle isn't as bad but now I have this random noise that sounds like a bad windshield wiper wiping randomly while I sit with my car in idle after there ' fix ' . I have talked to corporate and reported this. Corporate said they would call back and they have not. Corporate does not return my calls. I am going to take my car now somewhere to get the problem that Christian Brothers caused diagnosed. I don't think I should have to pay for the diagnosis or the repair costs and I want some money back

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩