ComplaintsforCTMID, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  03/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I went to Midas (13709 Richmond Hwy Woodbridge, VA 22191) on 2/6/23. I needed an oil change, and I told them I wanted to do full synthetic oil and that I needed my battery to be tested because my battery light would come on when I was driving my car. They did the battery test, and it failed, so I asked them if they could replace the battery for me. They did my oil change and replaced my battery that day; I paid $489.22 for the oil change and battery replacement. A couple of days later, as I was driving, my check engine light came on, so I went back on 2/10/23 to let them check it out; she called me to tell me that it was my "gas cap," and that's why my check engine light came on. He changed my gas cap, which has NOTHING to do with my check engine light, but I just let them fix it because they know more than I do. I paid $35.55 that day for them to change my gas cap, and they reset my check engine light and then told me at the end of my transaction to come back if it came back on; now, why would I come back if that's what I came to you for you to fix it. 2/24/23 I went back AGAIN because now my car is shuttering and jerking badly at red lights or when my car is stopped. I asked if they could do my spark plugs because ***** told me it was the spark plugs the last time I came, and around that time, it was minor. They said all my spark plugs were burnt, and they had to replace all four. I told them I wanted them to keep the car overnight and test it in the morning to ensure it didn't misfire. They did a cold start and let it run for 45 min. I paid $400.31 to get all that fixed. The next day, my car started shuttering and jerking again; I was on the highway, then my battery light came on again, and today (3/3/2023), I went to the dealership to appraise it; the check engine light came on, and they said it was my gasket and they hooked it up to the machine and told me my transmission was going bad. I spent $889.53 on things I didn't need, except for my oil change.

  Business response

  03/20/2023

  Good morning, 

  To begin. The battery was replaced due to it failing the battery test (please see in attachments) ************** was made aware of this via a digital inspection we sent her. She approved the replacement. Spark plugs were replaced due to mileage and spark plug were fouled. We recommended that the coil packs be replaced also. The vehicle had a detectible misfire. At the time when ************** left with the vehicle it was not misfiring and driving as intended/expected. The gas cap was replaced because a small evap leak was detected. I am in an agreement that a gas cap replacement would not have fixed the stuttering and jerking. I am willing to refund $35.55 for the cap. **. ****** statement that the dealership is quoted as saying that there is a "gasket" and or "transmission" problem doesn't Aline with what we were seeing. Is there documentation of this from the OEM dealership? 

  I may be reached at ************ or *********************************** I am Operations manager that oversees the Woodbridge Midas. 

• Initial Complaint

  11/23/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On Friday Nov 11, I went into Midas auto repair in Marumsco, VA to see what was wrong with my serpentine belt. Upon being told that there was a scratch on my serpentine belt and there was also something wrong with my alternator in which I received a new one and I also received a inspection that I passed. A week later (Friday Nov, 18) I had to go on the side of the rode because my check engine light was on, a light was flashing saying "vsc off", and my car was smoking. I was then towed and my car was taken to the ****** ****** in Stafford, VA (close to my home), once my car was inspected I was told that my coolent nipple broke off, my coolent hoses were then glued together (suspected to have been broken when alternator was put in), there was no coolent, the compression in my engine was low which is what caused it to overheat and it would not start. After informed of the damages the receptionist at Midas denied the allegations, even after talking with the repairman at ****** where the damages were evident and no one else had seen my car from Friday Nov 11- Fri Nov 18 when my car was inspected. A claim was made to my insurance *** but there is no resolve because my insurance stated that "I was not in an accident". Images below show receipts from Midas with my inspection and the repairs done, description of the damages from Toyota, text messages detailing my car getting towed on Thursday night, and images of inside of my engine with fluid all over it (possibly coolent).

  Business response

  12/12/2022

  We have turned this issue over to our Insurance Carrier for investigation.  We do not believe we broke the coolant hose as it is unrelated to the work we did.  Customer provided pictures that seem to show the hose fitting was glued sometime in the past, but it it not obvious if it was recent or old.  Does not appear new to us in the pictures.  The insurance company will investigate and decide who is at fault.

• Initial Complaint

  03/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 2/12/22, I brought my vehicle to have brakes and oil changed. Fast forward to 2/26/22, I noticed my vehicle was leaking oil. I brought my vehicle back in two times and technician **** swore up and down it was fixed. He couldnt figure out what was wrong. First time, he tightened it up and cleaned it up. Come Monday, it was still leaking. He looked at it again and said the gasket in the oil filter housing was smashed. He wrote it down as defective and replaced it, again. Bring it home and it is still leaking after the fact. Oil was sprayed all underneath my vehicle as a result. We decided to get a second opinion with our local dealer. Come to find out the housing used was not correct and it wasnt holding pressure. Also, our water pump was leaking coolant as per pictures I took underneath my vehicle (see pink crystallization next to the oil filter housing). Not only did the technician not know what they were doing, they almost caused severe and unrepairable damage to my vehicle. We were never made aware of our water pump leaking under the vehicle and it wasnt included in the write-up of their inspection. Im requesting a refund on the work and parts installed due to faulty installation and negligence.

  Business response

  03/08/2022

  It appears the oil filter housing we installed was defective.  Since the customer already had the part replaced we will refund the cost of the part and labor for the oil filter housing we installed.  Check will be issued once we confirm the customer's address.

  Thank You Craig T*******

  Customer response

  03/10/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  12/24/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Purchased tires at Midas (***********, Springfield, VA). Returned vehicle for steering wheel shake (oscillation) at highway speeds Midas Springfield rebalanced (second time)Same problem, but moved to NJ Brought to Midas Westfield (**************************, Westfield, NJ). Midas Westfield rebalanced Same problem Brought to *******************  (Jersey City, NJ) ******************* says axles are cause ******************* (Springfield, VA) says not so ****** of ******* gets involved ****** ****** replaces axles Same problem ******************* diagnoses all 4 tires have flat spots Notify Midas Westfield Check in with Midas Westfield 1 week later Check in with Midas Westfield  2 weeks later Contact Midas Corporate to reconcile Summary and follow-up with Regional Manager from VA Midas Westfield confirms 4 tires have flat spots Midas  Westfield claims car drifts (****** disagrees, and so do I)Midas Westfield claims evidence of castering and feathering (****** notes this may be caused by the defective tires)Midas Regional Manager says he's waiting on permission to file a warranty claim with manufacturer. Waiting to hear back. No information after several days.

  Business response

  01/12/2022

  Dear BBB,

   ******************* did buy tires at my Springfield Midas shop on June 29, 2021.  At that point in time ******************** declined road hazard coverage on all 4 tires.  He brought is back complaining of a vibration.  We rebalanced the tires even though we could not duplicate the problem.  ******************** moved to NJ and still thought he the same problem and took the car to a NJ Midas shop.  They rebalanced the tires and did not see any issue.  ******************** then took it to the ******************* dealership on August 17, 2021.  There invoice #****** states "upon inspection technician was unable to find any concerns at the moment"!  ******************* says in his complaint that the ****** dealer then stated that the issue was being caused by the two front drive shafts to the tune of $1,482!  Not sure how they say "no concerns at the moment" and issue is caused by the front axles?  Then after axle replacement that they said was going to fix the issue ******************** took it back to ****** yet again invoice #****** where the say "Technician was unable to duplicate concern".  Mysteriously later they say the tires have flat spots after previously saying "unable to find any concerns"?  Also they say they can duplicate concern, meaning they could not find any issue.

   If the tires in fact have flat spots ****************** would need to file a claim with the tire manufacturer.  We have provided this information to ********************.  We can try and assist ******************** with a claim to the tire manufacturer!  We have left ******************** voice and email messages but he has failed to respond in any way!  If a tire manufacturer claim is declined we may be willing to partially help *** ******** since he is a member of the US Armed Services but can help if he will not contact us! Please have ******************** return our phone calls.

  Thank You

  ********************* Midas Franchisee Springfield Va

  ************  ***********************************

  Customer response

  01/16/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]

  
  

   Complaint: ********

  
  

  I am rejecting this response because:

  
  

  Midas, again, is being misleading. 

  
  

  MIDAS states that I returned the vehicle to the garage from which I purchased the tires, and that Midas "rebalanced the tires even though we could not duplicate the problem." That is not entirely true. Midas rebalanced the tires, but told me that they did NOT attempt to duplicate the problem. They did NOT check whether the rebalance fixed the problem, because, per their shop manager, they claimed to have no reasonable way to test drive the vehicle at highway speeds near their location. They simply told me to return if the problem persisted. I did.

  
  

  If MIDAS would have read ****** invoice #****** correctly, they would notice that their statement of "upon inspection technician was unable to find any concerns at the moment,"  was regarding checking the ***** SUSPENSION.  This is NOT to say that they could not duplicate concern of the vibration coming from the TIRES, but that there were no problems with the SUSPENSION. This is important to note, because I asked ****** to check ANYTHING that could be causing the vibration problem. 

  
  

  Furthermore, ****** invoice #****** ****** their technician was unable to duplicate concern, and as the service manager at ****** explained, that's because they did NOT road test the car at highway speed. They had previously observed the vibration and new it existed.  They saw defects in the tires (flat spots) as soon as they put the vehicle on the lift, and rotated them. Note also that same invoice #****** states "NO PROBLEMS FOUND WITH SUSPENSION NO FREE PLAY FOUND. FOUND ALL TIRES HAS FLAT SPOTS. The TIRES is what caused the vibration. The TIRES were this issue, a cause they had not previously considered as likely because I had explained that the tires were new when I brought the car to them to diagnose.

  
  

  Upon informing MIDAS of the flat spots, they refused to submit a warranty claim. Instead, they insisted another MIDAS evaluate the car. I brought the vehicle to the MIDAS in Westfield, NJ where MIDAS CONCURRED that the tires had flat spots. In fact, MIDAS stated, "tires ave flat spots - rear tires feathering and in worse shape than front. Tech finds front tires cupping. All tires wearing unevenly. Tech finds suspension OE. Tech finds caster off, car wandered on test drive. Tech finds front rotors have heat warp. Tech finds wipers streaking."

  
  

  I asked the manager at MIDAS of Westfield why his technician saw problems with the tires that others had not, and why he found the vehicle wandered, when others had not.  He stated, I can only tell you what we observed. I asked him which direction the vehicle wandered, and was told that it wandered both left and right.  That's suspicious, at best.

  
  

  Again, I asked MIDAS to swap the tires because they had flat spots. Again, they refused. I was told that the MIDAS regional Vice President from VA did not have enough authority to authorize a warranty claim. Much like their claims of cupping, feathering and wandering, that makes no sense. 

  
  

  Logically, the tires hadn't even been on the car long enough for anything on the car to have reasonably caused a problem with the tires. Furthermore, MIDAS in Springfield actually recommended I NOT buy new tires when I originally asked for them, because (as their technician noted) the previous set of tires that were on this very car had enough of tread left and HAD WORN EVENLY. How could anything on the car cause problems with the tires? Reasonably, it could not.

  
  

  This was a simple problem, with a simple fix: tires were changed, vibration began, tires needed to be changed to stop the vibration.

  
  

  Despite working with MIDAS for weeks and at my own expense requesting independent professionals troubleshoot the problem, MIDAS still refused to submit a warranty claim to the manufacturer on my behalf.  They stalled and delayed. Possibly to attempt to run out the clock in the warranty claim process. 

  
  

  I called the tire manufacturer myself after MIDAS had claimed their own regional Vice President lacked the authority to submit the claim on my behalf, and that they would not submit the claim on my behalf because of the writeup their shop in Westfield had provided. The tire manufacturer expressed their disappointment with the way MIDAS had treated me. They also informed me that I could not submit the warranty claim myself, something MIDAS SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. Instead, they recommended another third party tire dealer, *************, confirm the flat spots in the tires and that the tires were within the warranty claim period. I brought the vehicle to *************, per the manufacturers recommendation. **** confirmed there were flat spots, and that they did NOT observe cupping or feathering. They also did NOT observe any mechanical issues with the car that would have caused the flat spots in the tires. Instead, they concurred with ****** that the tires were the problem, and submitted a warranty claim on my behalf to the manufacturer. Within one business day of that submitted claim, **** replaced the defective tires MIDAS had sold me with new tires. Guess what happened? - The vibration disappeared. 

  
  

  Again, this was a simple problem: tires were changed, vibration began, tires need to be changed to stop vibration. MIDAS refused to do this. 

  
  

  I am grateful that ******, **** and the tire manufacturer were honest and solved my problem. I am not grateful that MIDAS delayed and acted as though submitting a warranty claim was a monumental effort.  When removing MIDAS from the process by working with other professionals in the industry, resolving the issue took less than 2 business days. It is for these reasons I will never again do business with MIDAS.

  
  

  Regards,

  
  

  *************************************

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