ComplaintsforExpress Oil Change & Service Center

• Initial Complaint

  06/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I took my car to Express Oil H34****39313830383731H and Tire Engineers on **** **************** *******, ** in May to have my brake pads serviced. I paid $465 to have the rear brake pads and rotors replaced. I drove home immediately to my house which is 1.5 miles away. While driving the next morning, I immediately was met with a screeching noise when I reversed, and my steering wheel was shaking when I was driving on the highway. I called the office and spoke with ********. I let her know my concern and she said it was probably the front brake pads and to make another appointment. I informed her I was leaving the country for a few weeks and will book another appointment when I get back. Yesterday (06/22/2023) I dropped my car off and I told her what was going on and how to replace the front brake pads. When she called me after the inspection, she said it was the rear brakes that were causing the issue. The front brakes were fine. The calipers in the rear were malfunctioning, and it was causing hot spots in my brake pads. The suggested fix was to replace the calipers, brake pads, and rotors all at my own expense.I reminded ******** about our conversation weeks ago and she informed me that she could cover the brake pads and rotors. In addition, I paid to get it fixed only because we are driving to **** next week and I am going to have my 8-year-old with me. I cannot find another mechanic before I leave either. All in all, I received a $200 discount and still did not even get the courtesy to have my military discount applied.I feel completely taken advantage of. I strongly feel the mechanic caused this issue and proper attention to detail would have avoided an extra trip to their shop and an extra $1200 out of my pocket.

  Business response

  06/30/2023

  ********************* came in initially for service and had a tire patch and rear brakes (pads and rotors completed). The rear brake pads were extremely low and rotors were heavily worn. 755 miles later she returns and the rear brake calipers were malfunctioning and causing premature wear on the pads and rotors. When pads are run extremely low, the brake calipers ARE overextended. It doesn't mean that you will have caliper issues, but it does increase chances for that issue dramatically. She brought the vehicle back to us.
  
  We warrantied the pads and rotors. We did not have to do that. The pads and rotors didn't fail because they had issues, they failed because the calipers were beginning to fail. It was 100% within our rights to charge for those items again and we did not. We warrantied those. We only charged half hour labor to install BOTH calipers and reinstall brake parts. That is a 3 hour job at least. If we had charged her this service on her initial visit, she would have paid at least $400 more to have the calipers replaced. We serviced the calipers (greased) on the initial repair and made sure the slides were operational. If we would have thought they weren't operational, we would have called and informed the customer. Our stance though is to not replace and item if it's still functioning and presumed safe and operational.
  
  All in all we saved the customer LITERALLY hundreds of dollars by going the extra mile here.She had a military discount on her first ticket. We figured going the extra mile and saving her $500-$600 on her return due the failure of her parts was better than a military discount. Even if the calipers did immediately start acting up after she left, she STILL SAVED a substantial amount of money compared to what the cost would have been if we had replaced them on the first service. The customer states she drove the vehicle home a few miles, heard a noise and then went out of the country. She brought the car back to use when she returned to ***************** and after an additional 755 miles had been driven. 
  

  Customer response

  06/30/2023

   
  Complaint: 20226372
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  It is their fault the calipers started malfunctioning due to their negligence while replacing the rotors and pads.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

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