Service Oversights, Disrespectful Management, and Zero Goodwill
A few days ago, expecting safety and professionalism, I brought my Chevy Cobalt to this dealer for an alignment and four-wheel balancing after a bad experience with another shop. The Chevy technician noted a bent front rim and rotated it to the rear. I returned 3 days later with a replacement wheel for them to finish the job. Unfortunately, the service shop committed a safety oversight by returning my car with 43 PSI instead of 30 PSI for the tire they mounted onto the front left. The remaining tires were at the correct factory specification of 30 PSI.
After leaving, the car was drifting and pulling to the right. Leaving a front tire overinflated by 13 PSI created a rolling diameter imbalance. I pulled over on the side of the road, confirmed the 43 PSI with my gauge, and bled the pressure back down to 30 PSI to make the car safe. The steering drift instantly disappeared.
Furthermore, upon leaving the shop, the front end developed a loose clunking sound. I had recently installed a new stabilizer link and knew it was very snug before arriving. When the dealership placed the car on the hoist, the dead weight of the suspension hanging free likely jarred the link out of its initial seat. While the dealership isn't technically responsible for my DIY installation, the manager flatly refused to provide a 5-minute courtesy torque check of a nut to ensure I could drive away safely, simply because I had installed the part.
When I returned to report these safety issues, the Service Manager refused to take accountability. Instead, he questioned my motives and falsely insinuated that I was just trying to get free services from his shop and the prior tire shop, which was deeply disrespectful to a customer. While walking away, he claimed a 13 PSI tire pressure imbalance "would never cause a car to drift" and blamed the pulling on the link--violating basic automotive physics, as stabilizer links control body roll, not tracking. He then advised me I should be inflating all my tires to 35 PSI instead (violating my GM factory door placard specs) and told me to go wait in the lobby.
After being left stranded in the waiting room for a long time with no update, I left in utter disgust, driving my clunking car home to East Haven. Because of their refusal to act on a courtesy gesture for the inconvenience and oversight with the tire pressure blunder, a senior had to spend over an hour in his garage jacking up the car and crawling underneath to awkwardly pull down with body leverage--despite dealing with a torn rotator cuff--just to get the link torqued properly. I succeeded, and the car is now safe and quiet, but only because I corrected both safety issues myself.
They committed multiple service oversights and chose to insult a new customer's character rather than show basic goodwill. They saved themselves 5 minutes of labor, but wasted over two hours of my time. If you expect professionalism and safety, avoid this service department and dealership. read more
