Midas - Service Complaints

I took my car to Midas for a diagnostic test for them to tell me what was wrong and for it to be fixed. I also told them what I thought was wrong but I wanted them to run the necessary test to make sure before any work was done if I could afford the repairs. They called me after the supposedly ran the test and told me what was wrong and I agreed to the repairs after being assured my car would be in tip top condition by Jody in Hattiesburg Ms on Broadway Drive. I left a payment of $1329.83 in the form of a check that was to be held for 30 days. Four days after the car being home it stopped working completely with only 15 miles added from the mileage before it was taken to Midas.

Before it was taken to Midas it was running but once they completed the work it stopped all together. I called several times about the car before they agreed to come get the car. Once the car was back at Midas they found several other things that should have been addressed in the initial diagnostic test. The final results of the second visit to Midas I was informed that the motor had been damaged which is going to cost much more than I was prepared to pay for. I have called the Corporate President several times and he is not responding. I advised them not to run the check due to my car being in worse condition than before.

I went to Midas for a simple oil change, and the technician left the coolant cap off. The engine is ruined, and overheated constantly. Midas's only defense is that, I already had that problem, which is not true.

I took my car into Midas for a routine brake check. The brakes had been making a sound which suggested to me that the pads needed replacement and since I had received an inviting coupon from Midas, I decided to give the business a shot. That was, to say the least, a serious error of judgment. Upon receiving an assessment from Mark *** which was difficult to understand over the phone, in so far as he gave me quote for $226 (for what I am still not sure), which I asked him to itemize. After struggling for a bit to get him to itemize it, he broke it down into two prices of $79 and $158; what these were for I, again, could not get him to state clearly. It seemed, however, that this was the price for the changing of the pads, plus some accessorial work to brake area, such as flushing the system. I told him that I would call him back to consult the price with someone who knows how much these things should cost and, after they agreed that that was a fair price, I called him back intending to approve the job.

Before I approved the job (which he prompted me to do several times eliciting as it would in anybody a certain amount of suspicion), I asked him for a total of the cost (I had to ask twice) and suddenly it had been raised to $507. I became frustrated with what seemed to me a willful act of miscommunication and told him to stop working on the car, even though he had suggested that I would not be able to drive it off. Following the earlier confusion, I of course did not believe this and promptly went to pick up my car. But when billed I saw that, on top of the brake check, I had been charged for the removal of wheel locks from three wheels, totaling at $99.35. Not only had this price not been explained to me, he then suggested that I had a problem understanding, comparing me to his children.

Now, when I came in, he oddly asked me if I was a student, perhaps believing that a student would be more susceptible to bullying from a supposed specialist, and indeed although I am a student, I am a graduate student and teacher at Yale University in English Language and Literature. In other words, I feel that my skills for expressing myself and understanding others are quite strong. Furthermore, I have never had this sort of problem with my regular mechanic (whom in retrospect I should have gone to in the first place but, like I said, I was giving Midas a chance).

When basically telling him that his assessment of my ability to understand was bullshit, he told me to go *** myself, and gave me a complaint number along with what seemed to be a threat if I contacted them, see what happens. Obviously, Midas has my address and personal information on file so I have particular cause to be nervous in filing this complaint (even though, I should add, my name was misspelled even though I had spelled it aloud begging the question of who was having the problem understanding) but it is necessary that I do so because, when calling the customer hotline, I hit another brick wall. Rob, whom I spoke with there, acted surprised to hear a complaint from the Hamden location, even though after looking online I see every consumer awareness site (City Search, Yelp, Google Reviews, Yahoo Reviews, Consumer Affairs) has complaints for this particular Midas shop.

But, since I was not only complaining about the willful miscommunication and the caustic and threatening environment of service, my car was also now making a strange squeak on the front right tire which was not there before, plus was swerving to that right side as if the alignment had been messed up, I was offered to take it for another brake inspection to a nearby Midas shop. Not, I should emphasize, to fix the problem which Midas service had created, but simply to do what I had already done all over again. Reading the reviews for other Midas shops in the area, there is no way that I am going to take my car to another shop (as the kinds of problems that I am complaining about here are evidently systemic to the entire company). I asked Rob if I could have my money back and he flatly refused, saying I had work done on my car and that was that. The notion of a (dis) satisfied customer was not at all at play in our conversation.

Moreover, I was not even given the discount from the coupon which brought me to try Midas out in the first place. That coupon was kept by the store and I was left with a $99.35 bill for leaving my car with more problems than when I brought it in. The least Midas could do would be to refund what money I paid to be poorly serviced. Trying Midas out was, I reiterate, a serious error of judgment. I will be taking the car to its regular (reliable) mechanic this week and will recommend them to anybody that asks. Their garage is quite full (I will happily wait the few days to bring the car in) while Midas looked pretty empty. Can Midas really afford to be losing customers like this?

I own a 1995 Jeep Cherokee that I have truly kept in great shape and had serviced regularly.

Compliant #1:

I have been a Midas customer for approximately 12 years and have used Midas for most of my auto repairs. However, I have had some bad results recently with the rear brake replacement by Midas. They have tried many (4) times to stop the squeak in both wheels. They can't seem to find the problem. I have asked them to replace the pads, but they keep telling me that is not the problem. However, after they mess with it, the problem goes away for a very short period then returns.

Compliant #2:

The brake problem is very annoying, but isn't as serious as the lack grease that has not been applied over a 12,000 mile period. Since then I have been checking to make sure they do, but they have had to take it back every time I have it serviced to get them to grease it. I assume this is a wear problem that I will be paying for in the near future.

Okay, here's the deal. I took my car in for a simple front-end alignment to the Midas shop at 3263 West Broad Street here in Columbus, OH on Saturday, 10/22/2011. The "tech" didn't do a safety inspection or properly do the alignment with a machine. He just eyeballed it. When he was backing it off the ramp, the tie rod end fell off, causing the car to bottom out on the concrete floor and resulted in all the power steering fluid leaking out. Note, there was nothing wrong or broken on my car when I took it in! Well, after five hours, the car still wasn't fixed and I had to leave it there.

I called them on Monday, 10/24/2011, and the car still wasn't ready because they said that it wouldn't turn left. My husband stopped by there after work to see what was going on and he said that they were hitting the strut with a sledgehammer. On Tuesday, 10/25/2011, I received a call from them saying that a spring had broken. Well, duh, hit something hard enough and it's going to break. Like I said, nothing was broken or leaking when I took it to them. Well, my husband brought it home today, 10/27/2011. It has no steering! The rack and pinion is messed up, it's leaking from the power steering rack and the general manager won't do anything about it. I'm going to file complaints with everyone I can think of about this. Plus, I'm going to file a lawsuit against them in Small Claims Court.

I took my car thinking it was the rotor which was bad. Once inspected, the results were the left rear rotor just needed to be resurfaced. When asking if they were sure that's what the issue is, they quickly responded yes that's all. The car is in great shape.

Not even a month later, the same issue has come up. After going a second time, the guy said it might be the bearing. However, when this was inspected after taking the rotors apart, this would have been clearly noticeable. Being the bearing was not prior problem, but it is now.

Went to Midas because I had a rattle that seemed to be coming from the exhaust system. I wanted them to see if they could find it. After putting it up they said that it could be the exhaust pipe or something in the front end ... even mentioned the brackets on the license plate. I told them to go ahead and change what they thought was rattling.

When I was ready to leave I said it will be nice to drive a quiet car ... and the response was, "Oh no the car is still rattling!" Feeling rather discourged I paid a LARGE bill of $100.93 and left. The car was shaking terribly. My heart was in my throat as I tried to turn around to get back to Midas. I cannot describe the shaking of my car and how bad it was. I had brought in a driveable car and now I could not drive it at all!

I said "What did you do to my car?" To which he said, "Nothing." They put the car back in the parking lot, the doors closed behind me and there I was STUCK. I had to phone a tow truck to get me to the dealership.

The next day the dealership discovered that the vacuum line to the transmission had been disconnected. At another cost of $89.70 it was replaced. I brought in a car for a vibration which was running great and ended up with an undriveable car needing a tow and another repair due to poor workmanship and an uncaring staff that closed the doors and left me there with no way of transportation.

I went in for an oil change in preparation for a road trip that same day. I travelled from Hyannis to Boston, and a warning light came on to indicate that there was no oil pressure. I pulled off the road and had the car towed the 65 miles back to Cape Cod. The tow truck driver told me that oil was all over the bottom of my car, that Midas either didn't replace the oil filter or didn't put the cap back on, but most likely "blew a line," as the car had gone more than 60 miles before losing enought oil to prompt the warning.

I went in to Midas Muffler first thing MOnday morning. I was told that my oil had been very dirty, and that what had come out the bottom of the car had been that residue. The manager told me that he almost didn't change my oil that day because the dip stick had been rusty and it had looked like the oil hadn't been changed for awhile. The dip stick looked fine - he said that the new oil and "additive" had cleaned it. I watched them drain the remaining oil out of the engine and it was dark brown and the service person said it felt sticky. The oil had just been changed, and I commented that the oil looked very dirty.

The manager absolutely refused my request to take the filter with me "just in case" there was a problem. I took the car immediately to Transatlantic Motors where it is being looked at today. I believe Midas did not put new oil in the car, and, if they did, they failed to tighten the oil filter properly.

I took my 1997 Ford Expedition to Midas in March of 2003 to have my spark plugs changed and my spark plug wires changed. The orginal plugs and wires were Motorcraft. I informed them that I had my own spark plugs and wires which was Bosch. In June of 2003 my "check engine" light came on and my car was shaking. I took my car to another mechanic and he said that my #4 spark plug was misfiring. I had him pull the plug and it was a Motorcraft plug.

I had him change the spark plug, then had him check the others. I sat there with him and watched him one by one pull out all Motorcraft spark plugs, although they had changed the wires to Bosch.

I had to pay $80.00 to get the car put on a machine to find out what was wrong with it. I then had to buy eight more spark plugs and I had to pay for labor to get the new ones installed.

Since I was in the area, I stopped in for an oil change and lube. They said that I had to make an appt and could get me in the next day. I asked specifically if the oil change special included a lube. They said yes. (They meaning the man at the counter and a mechanic). I went back in the next day for the service. After about 45 mins, they were done.

On my way to work, I stopped to get gas. I crawled underneath and saw that they did NOT touch ANY grease fittings! I called them back and asked why my truck wasn't greased. They were unapologetic like it happens all the time. Took it back in the next day, dealt with a different guy and got the same attitude. He said the oil change normally didn't include a lube. I showed him my reciept that says "lube, oil, filter". He acted like he was doing me a favor by greasing it. He offered nothing for my time or miles that I drove there. Not even an apology. I wonder how many times they get away with this? Never again, Midas!

My 1999 Chevy Cavalier had been requiring a jump in order to start up. I bought a battery on 05/08/03. And it did the same thing in three days again. So I took the car to Midas Muffler Shops. Before we even left the shop John agreed the alternator he had just installed was bad but he did not have time to replace it before closing and that I should bring it back in Saturday morning.

When I called Saturday morning he said he was backed up and that I should bring my car in about 1:00 and leave it! There was no way I gonna leave my car with the experience I have had thus far! So I called another car shop and they traded the alternator for a new one and installed it. In the meantime John calls and says, "Bring my alternator back in or pay me my money." This after I have called and complained to corporate office, who told me to wait two days and a corporate manager would call me back.

I took my car in for an oil change. The mechanic showed my that I needed to replace a CV joint. I could see that it was a necessary repair. Instead of going to my regular mechanic I opted to let Midas do the repair (about $240.) I was leaving for a long road trip and needed the car in good condition immediately.

Over the next 2 days I kept hearing a small sound in the left front (where the repair was done). Fortunately for me and for my life I decided to go back and let them look at it. I got about as far as Midas' fron door when I heard a huge grinding and tearing sound. I stopped in their parking lot and their mechanic looked at it. He said that the bolt that holds the transmission to the wheel was not there and that, quote, either their mechanic had failed to put it in or that it was put in so loose that it fell out or that it was put in so tight that it broke. They put a bolt in and the manager test drove it.

I thought I was just going to let this go, but the whole story has just haunted me. I went on my trip (in the Rocky Mountains) and I was terrified the whole time. I have never been fearful of driving but that trip gave me anxiety attacks. I have reconsidered contacting Midas because I may be doing in injustice to any other of their customers who may have either a fatal accident or very serious injuries stemming from (a similar occurrence).

This store told me I needed $1500.00 worth of repairs on my vehicle -- 4 new struts, rear wheel bearings and two new tires. In addition to this, they informed me that they could not do an alignment of my vehicle after putting the struts and bearings on, because their machine was broken. What kind of quality repair is this? I took my vehicle to a dealership, who just informed me that my struts were good for another 30-40 thousand miles. The wheel bearings do need to be replaced. I will buy tires at an NTB.

This caused me emotional damage, since I am a woman, and feel they were trying to rob me because of that fact. In addition, how can someone not do a quality strut/bearing replacement without an alignment? They told me it was standard, but they couldn't do it. So they do things that aren't necessary, and don't do things that are required to test and validate the repair.

Wrong-sized tires were installed on my Jeep Grand Cherokee. That destroyed my transmission. They paid for the damages and replaced the tires with "correct" size tires (this is what they told me). I had no way to tell otherwise. I just had a flat tire and when I went to put in my spare tire, it looked bigger than the rest of the tires. Also the flat tire happens to be a defective tire. Now the General Manager of Midas at Peabody MA refuses to look at my Jeep.

I brought my vehicle to Midas for new catalytic converters. Midas changed those out correctly. I asked if they did transmission service and they told me yes they could. They can flush out the old fluid and replace it with new and change the filter. I gave Greg permission to do the trans sinse the vehicle was already there.

When I returned to pick up my vehicle the manager, Greg, asked me how was the truck was shifting when I brought it in. I stated the vehicle was shifting excellent and the truck was brought there for exhaust work not transmission problems, the trans work was preventive mantanice.

Greg stated that after they did the transmission work the truck was not shifting right so I drove it and it was slipping very badly. When I returned to Midas Greg stated he would like to keep the vehicle another day, he wanted to make sure the service tech did not put the wrong filter in. Greg stated he would not want to put a new transmission in my truck.

I went ahead and left it overnight so they could correct the problem. I called Greg the next day and he told me the service tech placed the gasket on wrong and the vehicle was working fine. I returned to pick up my truck. I took it for a test drive and found the shifting problem was not corrected. When I spoke to John in Greg's absence he informed me the could not figure out what the problem was he also stated that nobody test-drove the vehicle before the transmission work was done.

He told me that they would need the vehicle one more day the problem needed to be resolved. So I left it for another day. I called Greg the next day he told me the problem was fixed and the truck was shifting good. I returned to pick up my vehicle. Greg told me it slipped a little but the last time they drove it, it was fine.

After three days of no answers I paid the bill and asked for a discount he gave me $45.00 off. The vehicle started slipping two days later. I have had two transmission houses look at my vehicle and have been quoted between $1800.00 to $2300.00 dollers to fix the problem. Both places stated the procedure that Midas uses is detrimental to transmissions.

Robert should sue Midas in Small Claims Court, assuming he can get a couple of mechanics from the other garages to testify as expert witnesses on his behalf.

I brought my car in to Midas for service and was told that I needed a major tune-up. I okayed Midas to work on the car. However weeks later the car broke down on me. I then had the car towed home and then to a mechanic who showed us the old parts that were listed as new on our invoice.

Fortunately the tech at Midas put the old part back on incorrectly which caused the car to break down and that led to the discovery of several old parts that were listed as new on the bill.

This is a matter that will require more than myself going to Midas and asking to be refunded for the total cost of the Major Tune-up, the total cost of all of my towing fees, as well as the total cost for the repair to the vehicle. There was also another mechanic who also determined the same problem.

The consequences were that one day of work was missed. I then used public transportation for a week until I could afford to have the car retowed to a mechanic. Then waited 3 days until I could actually pay the mechanic for the repair job. All along I thought it was the car only because I trusted Midas because they have worked on my first car and my present car for over 4 years. So, I never pointed the finger at them because I did not think a loyal customer would be treated (this) way.