Below is an account detailing how Pep Boys at 5900 Shingle Creek Parkway Brooklyn Center MN destoyed our engine during a timing belt replacement!
Important points:
1) The car was working perfectly before our visit! This was routine Maintenance only!
2) Several Machanics at different business have confirimed that the problem is a bent valve caused by bad timing belt installation. And that the valve showed no signs of wear that would indicate it was burnt out!
3) Someone lied and said our Car was running poorly when it came into the shop!
4) The total amout for damages including what has been payed for the timing belt replacement is 3309.46.
My wife and I took our car in for timing belt maintenance on Feb 28th, a timing belt change, as we had just surpassed 90,000 miles on the car and wanted to keep it running well. There were no problems with the car's engine at all before we took our car to the Pep Boys shop, it was only routine maintenance.
We told them to take their time on the repairs and to call us when they were finished. The store called us several days later and the assistant manager, Tao, said the work was complete and asked why we would want that work done on an engine with a bad cylinder. I was surprised and asked him what he meant, he explained that one of the tecs had noticed a cylinder was missing, then did the timing belt work, and then tried to re-pressurize the cylinder (they did not notify us of the problem before they began work, becasue there was no problem). They had been unsuccessful. I explained that the car had been working perfectly when I brought it in and told them that if the car ran differently than when I left it at the shop they would have to fix it.
When I picked the car up it was shaking, the dashboard lights were on and the car stalled constantly at low idle. The service manager and the assistant manager told me there was nothing they could do because the car was like that when I brought it in and that the valves were burnt. They said that if another shop found the problem to be a result of their work they would reimburse my money and fix the problem (this was recorded on the invoice). The car had been in good working condition prior to this.
Why would anyone in their right mind pay to have a timing belt changed on an engine that had been destoryed? There had been no previous problms with the timing belt prior to their work.
We drove the car directly to Walser Burnsville Honda. They explained that the valves on the first cylinder were bent and that this could only occur if the timing of the engine was incorrect and the piston hit the valve (easily caused by a mistake duringing timing belt replacement). This assessment was confirmed by Head-works who also worked on the engine.
The service manager, Tom, from the Brooklyn Park Pep Boys stated that he believed the problem was preexistent and that it was a burnt valve. Steve from Head-Works contradicted this information stating that the neither the valve guides nor the seals on the cylinder showed any indication of being worn or burnt and that he believes the damage could only be caused by a timing belt installation mistake.
We were not made aware of any problems with the car before pep boys began work on it. When it was returned to us it was seriously damaged. Sadly our claim has been refused by their service department. The repairs from Honda totaled 2524.21 and the work done by Pep Boys cost 785.25 for total costs of 3309.46.
We would like our money refunded and our costs in repairs reimbursed.
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