I do not recommend Christian Brothers Automotive on Rufe Snow. We have been customers for years,…read moretrusted them with multiple vehicles, and spent thousands of dollars here. What has happened with our 2015 Ford Escape has destroyed that trust.
We brought the Escape in shortly after purchasing it because the A/C was blowing hot. On July 31, at 157,258 miles, CBA diagnosed an internal A/C compressor failure. During that same inspection, they specifically marked the drive belts "Good - No action needed," radiator hoses good, and reported no engine-bay leaks requiring action.
We approved the A/C repairs, but the vehicle repeatedly had to return because the A/C still was not working correctly.
During one return, CBA documented an engine-coolant-overtemperature condition, low coolant, and an air pocket after cooling-system work involving bleeding/refilling. They corrected that problem at no charge.
On August 20, the Escape returned again. CBA documented P0217 engine overheating, low coolant, an active leak from the reservoir bleed-hose assembly, and stress cracking throughout the coolant expansion tank. Their report stated "Unable to Test Drive - Safety Issues."
Their report also states that the computer restricted A/C compressor output because of overheating and that clearing the fault temporarily restored A/C pressures while the thermal safeguards were inactive.
After the cooling-system repairs, CBA found internal noise from the A/C compressor and recommended replacing it under warranty. The compressor we had already paid to have repaired therefore had to be replaced again under warranty.
We also have texts from CBA acknowledging issues with their inspection process. One says "we missed his note" regarding the air-filter housing. Another says "there were some concerns missed on the inspection report" and that their foreman wanted to inspect the vehicle again.
Then our Escape shut down while being driven and became completely undrivable.
CBA's latest diagnosis says the belt tensioner pulley seized, generated severe heat, melted the idler pulley, snapped the drive belt, damaged the A/C compressor seal, and caused the belt to disconnect the crankshaft-position-sensor plug, preventing the engine from starting. They recommended replacing the belt, tensioner, idler pulley, harmonic balancer, alternator and A/C compressor.
We were then told the belt should have been replaced because the vehicle was over 150,000 miles. But CBA inspected this vehicle at 157,258 miles and specifically documented "Drive Belts Good - No action needed."
If the belt should have been replaced at 150,000 miles, why did their own technician inspect it at more than 157,000 miles and recommend no action? Their latest written report also connects the 150,000-mile recommendation to the timing belt kit and water pump, not the accessory drive belt that broke.
We are not expecting a mechanic to predict every future failure. Our concern is the overall history: repeated returns, cooling-system problems, overheating, repeated A/C problems, warranty replacement, CBA acknowledging missed inspection concerns, and finally a major failure leaving the vehicle undrivable.
We also have a 2001 Lincoln Navigator that returned because the A/C still wasn't working correctly and it continued shaking at idle. While CBA had it, we were informed that during a test run the starter became stuck engaged and burned out. CBA ultimately replaced the starter at no charge.
At this point, we have lost confidence in this location.
We want accountability, complete documentation, applicable warranties honored, and a technical explanation for how a vehicle repeatedly inspected and repaired by this location ended up undrivable shortly afterward.
If CBA maintains that none of its previous repairs, workmanship, installation/reassembly, or recently replaced components contributed to what happened, we want the technical basis for that conclusion documented--not simply a statement that the current failure is our responsibility.
We trusted this company and continued returning because we believed they would stand behind their work. Unfortunately, that trust is gone.
If this situation is resolved appropriately, I will update this review accordingly.
