Meineke Car Care Center #4113

Review: Took my vehicle to this shop for an oil change on 8/25/14. Car started leaking oil immediately after oil change. Returned vehicle to them to inspect for cause of oil leak on 8/29/14. Was informed that the oil plug was spinning freely in oil pan, causing oil to leak. When they removed the plug, it was discovered that the threads on the oil pan had been stripped during the oil change; [redacted]rought oil plug to me and peeled off the stripped aluminum shards from the plug right in front of me. Oil plug showed no damage to its threads, but did show stress on head from over torquing. He claimed that there was no excessive wear on plug and that the stripped threads were caused by metal fatigue; vehicles can only go through so many oil changes before that happens. My vehicle is newer and has only had 2 oil changes in its lifetime, the last one included, both of which were done by [redacted]. They repaired the leak by replacing undamaged plug with a longer plug, but did not repair or replace the damaged oil pan. On 9/3/14, returned to have vehicle inspected and inquire when they will replace oil pan. Was told by [redacted] they would check at next oil change and replace only if necessary as the leak has been fixed. Things did not go amicably at this point.Desired Settlement: Replacement of the part damaged during the oil change.

Business

Response:

First and foremost,[redacted] has nothing to do with this business. He has been gone for about

3 years. Second, the complaint that you have received from Susan Tine! is invalid in its entirety. The

customer came to the business complaining of an oil leak. Upon inspection,the oil drain plug was

leaking. The drain plug was replaced and now there is no oil leak currently. Therefore, there is

no problem.

Also,allow me to point out the blatant contradiction from the customer in her own words. If the

original oil drain plug was "undamaged", as claimed by the customer,then why does she state that

the same plug had signs of "...stress on head from over torqueing..."? Which statement is true?

Was her plug undamaged or did it have stress from over torqueing?

At the time of the oil change on 8/25/14, the car only had 31,000 miles approximately. Yet, there

was a Significant engine oil leak from the rear main seal between the transmission and the engine, which we

informed her that day. This is highly unusual considering the low mileage.

As explained to the customer,the drain plug is hard steel versus the engine oil pan,which is soft

aluminum and would explain the metal shavings. So I don't' know how she would conclude that the

oil drain plug suffered stress from over torqueing because we never stated that. Since the rear

main seal is leaking,it appears that the poor build quality of the vehicle was a contributing

factor for the drain plug/oil pan leak.

Furthermore,the customer was informed that we would evaluate the necessity of changing the oil pan

upon the next oil change. However,the customer demanded that the oil pan be replaced at no cost to

her,during the next oil change,despite the fact that there is no oil leak from the oil pan. We

are not in the business of making unnecessary repairs. I simply refused to replace the oil pan now

when there was no leak. And if the oil pan and drain plug was not leaking after the subsequent

oil change, then there would be no need for any repair. The customer responded by throwing a temper

tantrum on the parking lot and that's when things did not go amicably.

In short, the new drain plug fixed her problem of an oil leak. Her complaint is a moot point at

this time.

Thanks,

Review: My father brought my car in for an oil change in August 2013, and left with new brake pads and new axles. The same day my brakes were making loud thumping noises. We were told that the brake pads were defective, and they were replaced without charge. I took it back in Sept. 2013 because I still noticed squeaking and liquid leaking from somewhere. My complaint about the leak was disregarded as air conditioning and the owner told me the squeaking was probably brake dust. I paid $50 to have them cleaned. There was still squeaking. I took my car to a different location Jan. 5, 2014, for an oil change. They said when Meineke replaced my axles, they did not replace the axle seals and they were now leaking massive amounts of transmission fluid. Precision Tune Auto Care and Toyota dealership told me that normal procedure entails replacing the axle seal each time the axle is replaced or else they will leak. I called Meineke and told them what happened, they asked me to bring it in. I brought my car in Tues. Jan. 6, 2014, the owner provided me a very uncomfortable experience. I asked [redacted] for a refund for the labor I paid him back in August for replacing the axles. It would have costed about the same to have the problem fixed because of their mistake. He refused and only offered to re-do it, which I did not want because I felt I gave him to opportunity to correct back in Sept. I showed him documentation from Precision Tune Auto Care noting the damage Meineke caused. I have since had my axle seals replaced by Toyota Dealership Escondido to correct the leaking. I still have squeaking from my front brakes and Precision Tune Auto Care said the front brakes and the actual axles have to be replaced. This means that everything that Meineke did to my car in August 2013 must be re-done just 5 months later. I contacted Meineke the corporation a few months ago. They sent my request to [redacted], which was denied, and they told me they were only the middleman and could not make [redacted] refund me.Desired Settlement: Front axle replacement: $476.48, Front brake replacement: $369.99, Total: $846.47

Business

Response:

Hello [redacted],

There are multiple things you and I need to discuss.

First, [redacted] wanted a refund for the service we provided based on accusations from another shop. That's not how it works. We already provided the service and she was entitled to have us warranty the work (i.e., fix it at no charge to her). But she REFUSED to allow us to touch the car AND she voided her warranty by having work done by another shop. We would have warrantied the labor as well even though she was out of warranty (90 days). She made the mistake of having work done at another shop and paying for that. So now she wants a refund INSTEAD of utilizing the warranty, which is how the process is supposed to work.

Second, we did not replace the axle seals because they were not leaking at the time of the repair. And it is not necessary if they are not leaking. Now, if they started to leak subsequent to our repair, we would take care of the customer, BUT that is not what she paid for or the repair would have been more expensive. We replaced the axles because the CV boots were leaking. At the time [redacted] brought her car back to us, the axles and brakes did not need to be replaced. This is an example of how other shops will create additional work for themselves.

Third, if [redacted] keeps up this form of harassment, I will take legal action against her. In fact, I think I will do it anyway. And now that I know Precision Tune Auto Car was involved, I will go against them as well.

Fourth, the San Diego Revdex.com is irresponsible because you have been listing a business at my location that is no longer in business. You are providing a bad rating for a shop that no longer exists. Econo Lube N' Tune #4113. And the complaint handler you have listed was 2 owners ago. How do you explain that? Has the SDRevdex.com ever tried to clarify what business is at my location with me? No. So you need to give immediate attention to that.

I find it interesting that the SDRevdex.com will be ambitious enough to pursue a complaint against a business at my location, but not ambitious enough to know what business is located at my address prior to a complaint. So I don't really understand why it is necessary for me to even respond to your request other than I wanted to set the record straight.

After asking meineke to check my battery they informed me that I needed a new one. The cost, $180. I told them to go ahead. But then checked with Honda, that is the make of my car, they quoted me a price of $140 out the door. I approached [redacted] the mamager, and told him what I had found out. My battery work had not been started, he sais he would do it for $149. I decided the difference was not enough to take it to Honda. When my car was done I was given a bill for$167.21 when I questioned it he said $6.50 for other fees and $10.72 for sales tax. That is not what he said when I questioned the price. It was stated that $149 was the complete price. I had no choice but to pay at that point. The original price was outrageous, his attitude was uncaring when I called later in the week to discuss it with him,and I definitely feel I was taken advantage of.