Automotive

Canadian Tire Repair Shop Nightmare!! Any help is appreciated!

  • Last Updated:
  • Aug 31st, 2020 10:59 am
Newbie
Jul 26, 2014
63 posts
13 upvotes
Alberta Beach, AB

Canadian Tire Repair Shop Nightmare!! Any help is appreciated!

The issue with my car: The car would crank and all the lights would come on but it wouldn’t crank over.

I towed my car in to the Canadian tire shop at Yonge and Steeles on June 25th, 2020. I told the manager there that there may be an issue with the keys as for my car they usually can cause the car to not crank over if I drop the key. I was told that they will have to do their own assessment of the issue which will cost around $150 to which I agreed. I got a call later on from the manager telling me that the cam sensor needs to be replaced to fix the issue to which I agreed. The next day I got a call telling me that the car now starts and cranks over however the fuel has become gel-like and it needs to be replaced. After some hesitation (due to the knowledge that Canadian tire up-sells stuff) I agreed to it. A day later I get a call saying that the starter is damaged and needs to be replaced which will bring the cost up to 1300$. The very first cost was $350, now it’s gone up to $1300. I told them to wait for my call until I had discussed it with someone and checked my finances. The next day I go into the shop to inquire about the issue and they tell me that they have replaced the starter twice already and still working on seeing what the issue is. They offered a rental car for a few days but I told them that I don’t need it at the moment.

A few days later I get a call telling me to go in for a talk and that’s when they tell me the engine has failed. They asked me to pay a discounted amount of around 570$ and asked me to tow the car. The other options they gave me was to pay for a used/new engine which was very expensive and not worth it. But regardless, I denied all the options as I was certain they were being unfair because the engine was fine when I brought it in and there was no mention of any engine issues up until the very last day.

I called the corporate company and after nearly 3 weeks of passing me around, I was connected to my case manager. The case manager concluded that the engine was damaged a a result of misdiagnosis. According to him he had seen some pictures of the sample of the jel-like fluid and believes that that’s caused the engine to fail and that the mechanic misdiagnosed the problem from the beginning. He told me to either tow the car and not pay any repair fees or sue the store. I find this extremely disappointing and unreasonable especially given the COVID-19 situation and the hassles associated with suing in the small claims court.

can anyone here who has had similar experience please give me some advice?

I know I should not have taken my car to a Canadian tire repair shop in the first place and highly regret that decision. I advise everyone to avoid Canadian tire shops overall and in particular the Yonge and Steeles location.
94 replies
Deal Addict
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Feb 10, 2011
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Oh this should be good!
No One Goes to Palmerston Ontario
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Mar 9, 2007
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Think of the Childre…
Don't you people learn?!?!?!? Never bring your car to Canadian Tire for any servicing. All the horror stories yet people still bring their cars there.

WOULD SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!
Member
Nov 10, 2015
386 posts
400 upvotes
Thornhill, ON
Another one bites the dust.....
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May 16, 2017
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I'd almost think this was an actual nightmare trying to get a rise out the RFD gang but at least we should ask to clarify the story a bit, so OP, could you respond:
- year, make, model and engine type/size?
- has the non-start issue only occurred when the keys were dropped or randomly?
- what is the difference between "crank" and "crank over"? Do you mean engine turns over but doesn't actually start and run?
- what is the history of fueling this vehicle that fuel would become gel-like? Are we talking tank sludge from an old car or one rarely used where moisture and corrosion have done a number?
- what exactly is the failure of the now "failed" engine?

Similar experience to Canadian Tire auto repair disaster - as previous post alluded to, will be enormous and valuable for entertainment at a minimum.

I don't think anyone can make a determination of similar engine problems with the lack of specifics.
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Feb 10, 2011
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Gelled fuel does not blow up motor, it can clog up injectors which can be cleaned, sounds like to me they probably somehow in their trouble shooting they unhooked cam sensor and tried staring motor? Would this allow valves to cause damage? I’m out of the loop on newer cars but really sounds like they had a rookie mechanic go at it and caused the engine failure. Don’t like the options they give you, take it back with blown motor or sue them... crappy deal sir
No One Goes to Palmerston Ontario
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Oct 4, 2006
2979 posts
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Burlington
So... the corporate representative tells you to sue the store? Isn't the point of corporate oversight programs to manage and resolve the issues.

Sadly... CT is not ideal for service work... I took my car once for an oil change cause I was way overdue and didn't have much time. Immediately regretted it watching the guy start pulling pieces out of the car unrelated to the oil change... I even said I was in a rush and just hoping for a very fast change no inspections.

Either way! Lesson learned. I'd start making a stink up the ladder at CT. I can't imagine they just pass it down to the store in that way?
Deal Guru
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Mar 13, 2004
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Ontario
You should tell them that since they damaged the engine that you will go get a quote from another mechanic or dealer & Canadian tire should pay for the FULL amount on the bill. None of this BS taking them to court which will take years likely.
If you do have to take them to court be sure to sue them for more then the cost of the engine for wasting your time and causing you stress.
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Sep 7, 2004
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West GTEH!
arashkh wrote: The issue with my car: The car would crank and all the lights would come on but it wouldn’t crank over.

I towed my car in to the Canadian tire shop at Yonge and Steeles on June 25th, 2020. I told the manager there that there may be an issue with the keys as for my car they usually can cause the car to not crank over if I drop the key. I was told that they will have to do their own assessment of the issue which will cost around $150 to which I agreed. I got a call later on from the manager telling me that the cam sensor needs to be replaced to fix the issue to which I agreed. The next day I got a call telling me that the car now starts and cranks over however the fuel has become gel-like and it needs to be replaced. After some hesitation (due to the knowledge that Canadian tire up-sells stuff) I agreed to it. A day later I get a call saying that the starter is damaged and needs to be replaced which will bring the cost up to 1300$. The very first cost was $350, now it’s gone up to $1300. I told them to wait for my call until I had discussed it with someone and checked my finances. The next day I go into the shop to inquire about the issue and they tell me that they have replaced the starter twice already and still working on seeing what the issue is. They offered a rental car for a few days but I told them that I don’t need it at the moment.

A few days later I get a call telling me to go in for a talk and that’s when they tell me the engine has failed. They asked me to pay a discounted amount of around 570$ and asked me to tow the car. The other options they gave me was to pay for a used/new engine which was very expensive and not worth it. But regardless, I denied all the options as I was certain they were being unfair because the engine was fine when I brought it in and there was no mention of any engine issues up until the very last day.

I called the corporate company and after nearly 3 weeks of passing me around, I was connected to my case manager. The case manager concluded that the engine was damaged a a result of misdiagnosis. According to him he had seen some pictures of the sample of the jel-like fluid and believes that that’s caused the engine to fail and that the mechanic misdiagnosed the problem from the beginning. He told me to either tow the car and not pay any repair fees or sue the store. I find this extremely disappointing and unreasonable especially given the COVID-19 situation and the hassles associated with suing in the small claims court.

can anyone here who has had similar experience please give me some advice?

I know I should not have taken my car to a Canadian tire repair shop in the first place and highly regret that decision. I advise everyone to avoid Canadian tire shops overall and in particular the Yonge and Steeles location.
What vehicle do you own?
Sorry to hear about your horror story at this CT location.
I'm a little surprised that you've been a RFD member since 2014 and have not read any of the CT repair threads.
I don't have any advice/suggestions to your situation, sorry.
😎
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Mar 9, 2007
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Think of the Childre…
Judging from his post count, he ain't too active on here.
Webhead wrote: What vehicle do you own?
Sorry to hear about your horror story at this CT location.
I'm a little surprised that you've been a RFD member since 2014 and have not read any of the CT repair threads.
I don't have any advice/suggestions to your situation, sorry.

WOULD SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!
Sr. Member
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Jul 7, 2005
604 posts
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Nothing short of a time machine can help you when taking a vehicle to Crappy Tire.

Best of Luck!
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Apr 26, 2013
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Toronto
sickcars wrote: You should tell them that since they damaged the engine that you will go get a quote from another mechanic or dealer & Canadian tire should pay for the FULL amount on the bill. None of this BS taking them to court which will take years likely.
If you do have to take them to court be sure to sue them for more then the cost of the engine for wasting your time and causing you stress.
And they'll just tell them what they already have, sue us and prove it in court. What are you going to do? He already called head office whose response was the same.
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Sep 22, 2005
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Ottawa
Well, when I saw the thread title "Canadian Tire Repair Shop Nightmare", I thought that seems "Normal" because that's what happens together "Canadian Tire Repair Shop = Nightmare"!

I had my own CT Repair shop story way back in the early 2000's but I did not authorize them to continue with their "repair" of a blown headgasket costing $2500 and took it elsewhere instead, of course there was no blown headgasket that they had diagnosed and my car continued to run for a long time after that.

Without providing specifics to the car problem history, it's hard to understand what happened except CT bungled the repair as usual and it's up to the consumer to seek recourse. There's usually a lesson learned with these stories and the one advice the RFD community has been saying for years is DO NOT take your car to CT for car repairs of any kind, not even for something as simple as an oil change or a tire change/swap because they will likely screw it up too.
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Oct 6, 2010
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Terrible OP, that just sucks but it's also a primary problem when a non-specialised auto center is a revolving door with every car, make, model and year out there. Toss in some fresh faced mechanics and this is what you end up spending your money on.

It isn't that CT is bad, it's the volume of vehicles and unskilled staff. You should only let them perform emission tests.
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Nov 6, 2014
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They barely have the skills to swap out a battery, do an oil change or tires properly....I wouldn't let them touch the engine.
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koffey wrote: Terrible OP, that just sucks but it's also a primary problem when a non-specialised auto center is a revolving door with every car, make, model and year out there. Toss in some fresh faced mechanics and this is what you end up spending your money on.

It isn't that CT is bad, it's the volume of vehicles and unskilled staff. You should only let them perform emission tests.
fordmaple wrote: They barely have the skills to swap out a battery, do an oil change or tires properly....I wouldn't let them touch the engine.
And I am guessing these "young, fresh-face kids" are apprentices using every make/model vehicle to learn on/from.
Unfortunately, Owners pay the price when something goes wrong.
😎
Sr. Member
Oct 4, 2010
923 posts
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Surrey
despite these warnings, how come the CT auto bays seem to always be busy with cars being worked on? i don't use CT but noticed this everytime i shop at CT
Deal Fanatic
Jul 26, 2007
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matrixfwd wrote: despite these warnings, how come the CT auto bays seem to always be busy with cars being worked on? i don't use CT but noticed this everytime i shop at CT
What's the population of GTA and if 1% uses CT regularly compared to few of us in this forum but I would say good 50% users don't check auto forum and come here to complaint about once a month about CT fiasco.
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Webhead wrote: And I am guessing these "young, fresh-face kids" are apprentices using every make/model vehicle to learn on/from.
Unfortunately, Owners pay the price when something goes wrong.
Exactly. Change the oil on my truck, crawl under and remove drain bolt, oil filter, new filter, top up oil. Now, I cringed every time I needed to change the oil on my previous STI. I assume the WRX is the same but doing it is a chore, just getting access to the filter is a PITA. Now, that said and getting every car year, make/model in the book and not actually looking at the book to learn (aka read) how to do a simple oil change can turn into a disaster. Time is money and if you can't change oil, well, you're looking for a new job. Can you image doing oil job on a corolla and the next car into your bay is a TTRS or some XJS. :|

Extreme examples but I believe it makes the point.
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