While visiting Houston on a day trip, we noticed the rear drivers tire was nearly flat while at a…read moreshop on our agenda. Upon airing it up, we found a screw puncturing it. The tires were installed at one of our Walmarts back home (which on a side note, the techs at the time claimed they had difficulty on the install that a part was stuck on the wheel they didn't want to try replace for fear of breaking other components; a couple weeks after their job my TPMS started malfunctioning and has been flashing on my dashboard for the last 7 months, not able to prove they damaged it given the lag to onset; can't afford the eval and fix at the dealership right now), so they were under the warranty I got with them. We were wary on long distance + high speed + spare tire to get back home. I called the nearby Walmart at the 9235 N San Houston Pkwy, Humble location to find out how to bring it for tire repair. I was told to just pull up to the bay doors and someone would do the intake. After airing up the tire, made it to the store, pulled up the doors where there were about 5 cars also parked outside other bay doors. No one came out after 10 mins, so I went in to the counter. After a wait in a slow register line, I was told the techs come out to us at the bay door to check us in. The woman at the register went out to see what was going on and tell them to catch up on check ins.
After finally getting on the list and handing over my key at 1:11pm, I asked the tech how long she estimated it would take with the others ahead of us. She said about an hour, we'd get a text when it was ready. So my son and I went in to putz around Walmart for an hour. It was too cold and windy to go anywhere else. After an hour, we conceded to having lunch in the store McD instead of where we were intended to be in another part of Houston. Afterward, returned to wandering aimlessly around the store. At the 2 hour mark, we were so bored, and I was starting to get badly affected by the fluorescent lighting (physiological issue).
I returned to the auto care counter for an update because the app kept returning an error. I was told my car hadn't been touched yet because of the people ahead of me in the queue, and it would be better if I made an appointment for tomorrow.
I explained we don't live here, we're only down for a day trip and just need an emergency tire patch because we were facing highway driving back home with no slower frontage road for a good bit of it.
My son and I stepped outside to vent and determine what we were going to do. Spending an overnight in Houston so Walmart could patch a tire was not an option, we still had time left to finish what we came down for if we got moving soon. So I went back in to cancel the patch and ask for my key back, we'd rather put the spare on and take our chances with the spare than wait until closing time for a patch. The woman at the register said the key is kept with the techs. So I went back out again to wait in the frigid wind by the bay doors. Instead of coming over to me, one of the techs went to go get our car and brought it to a tire bay, so the woman from the register must have gone out and said something to him as I was heading out there.
We sat in the waiting area since it was no longer full up with families and there were 2 seats now available. I had an awful headache from the lights, so sat with my hat over my eyes until they finished the patch. They finally rang me out at 4:11pm, three hours after checking in.
When we got in the car, the dashboard menu was on the average mpg screen, not how we left it. Seemed odd, but maybe the button on the steering wheel was bumped. After my son got us out on the highway, he said, 'does it look like the hood is shaking?' I told him to get off the highway at the next exit. Turned out the hood was rattling crazily in the wind on the safety catch, it was not securely closed! Why the tech even had to open the hood of the car for a tire patch job makes no sense to us! I looked over the receipt - no mention of checking oil or fluid levels, and the fine print stated that any service performed would be listed on the receipt, and nothing about complementary checks. I looked over the engine, but didn't see anything blatantly missing or out of place. We checked the lug nuts were secure, and not just visually present as done when leaving. At closer inspection, the valve stem cover was missing. I keep a box of spares in my car though since where we live they tend to sprout legs and wander off every so often...
So, in a nutshell, unless your local Walmart auto care center has a stellar reputation, you know the people there personally and trust them with the tech on your car and you don't ever leave your town, DO NOT get your tires and their installation done at Walmart. Any savings by paying their lower price is not worth the risk of them damaging the TPMS system, or potentially losing a weekend (or worse) for a road hazard tire repair through their warranty.
