I had been a loyal customer of Firestone since moving to AZ in 2018. Brakes, alignments, rotations,…read moreoil changes, AC replacement; my wife and I would take our cars to Firestone and up until recently we always had good experiences. They're usually quick and affordable, however, this instance took 12 days to replace a coolant housing.
--On 04/23 I brought my car in at 5:13PM when the temp coolant housing cracked and leaked coolant, overheating the engine. Firestone let me know that they would get to it in the morning, Saturday. Service writer was Jordan. He called an hour later letting me know it would be $50 to even look at it.
--On 04/24 they called me letting me know they will order the parts and will receive them Saturday morning to complete by Saturday. Technician was Marcus. Quote was $749 for the housing and then $129 to flush the coolant fluid.
--On 04/25 they called me letting me know they received the housing, but was missing a part. They'll order from Kia Monday, receive Tuesday to complete the job.
--On 04/28/26 they called letting me know they were still waiting on a part, it'll be in tomorrow.
--On 04/29/26 I called, they were still waiting on the part, should be in tomorrow.
--On 04/30/26 I called, still waiting on the part, should be in tomorrow.
--On 05/01/26 I called, they said they were still waiting on the part. I went up to Firestone to get some things in my car I needed. They again said now they were waiting on a gasket. A manager would call me in the morning.
--On 05/02/26 I went up to Firestone around 10am, spoke with Scott (store manager) who told me the engine cover was put on a workbench and "grew legs and walked away", the assumption being another tech threw it away. Scott offered 10% off the bill to cover "a day or two of a rental" and a complimentary service check should I return, stating the part would be in Monday and I could get my car back and he would call me.
--On 05/04/26 I called in the evening, service told me "looks like we are still waiting on a part"... I reiterated that Scott said it would be in and the service tech said "yes, we will get the part tomorrow, Scott said if you called to let you know you'll have your car tomorrow"
At this point, due to the mistake on Firestone's part, I don't feel like I should be responsible to eat the cost of finding other transportation.
--On 05/05/26 I received the call that my car was ready. I picked up my car at 4:40pm. The bill shows nothing about the part they thew away, but it does show having received the gasket Thursday. Reflected in the bill is simply a 10% military service discount (amounting to $106).
--On 05/05 and 05/06 I attempted to call Scott. Since picking up my car, the EPB sensor has been tripped and my parking brake, auto hold, and cruise control functions do not work.
--On 05/07 I spoke with Scott, who felt the $106 to cover the cost of a day of rental and Uber up to Firestone and complimentary LOF (Lube, Oil, Filter) service was sufficient. He offered to fix the EPB sensor but my trust is non-existent at this point. My total bill came to $1,098, after the "military discount". Which was still higher than the original quoted amount, even factoring in the tax.
Take from this experience what you will. I try to be thorough when it comes to negative reviews. I understand things happen. Having a part come in without all the components once is understandable for a single day delay, but an additional component is unlikely. The clean photo attached shows the engine cover they replaced, which is probably as big as my torso. Throwing out the cover to my engine is just negligence, causing a several day delay in returning my car to me with very little compensation (if any, based on the "discount" versus original quote). There are plenty of other places in Surprise to take your car, and unfortunately, I won't be using Firestone again.
Photos attached: coolant leak, completed job (with replaced engine cover), and new warning lights my car currently has, along with line items on the bill and the total amount.