I went to Firestone located at N83W15400 Appleton Ave, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 on 6/5 for an oil change, this was the first time I used them for an oil change. They have changed tires and tire rods on my 2007 Mazda CX7 which had always had dealer service until thi day. Upon picking up the vehicle I was given a receipt and the inspection report and the only recommended service was for a coolant flush. Pulled out of their parking lot and we noticed black smoke that just began to engulf the car (so much that people were pulling over and running to us asking if we needed help. We called Firestone and a technician came and looked at the vehicle and advised us to return it to them for inspection. The vehicle was returned to them and about 2 hours later we were told it was a mechanical failure, I requested the car be inspected by our dealer as no mechanical issues were found during the oil change and within a minute of driving off Firestone's lot there was failure. The service manager then become nonchalant and I requested to speak to a district manager, he stated he was the claims rep for the area and would handle the claim. As I was now out of a vehicle I requested a rental car be provided, initially it was refused and I proceeded to advise the manager that I would not leave until transportation was provided to me. He authorized 2 days for a rental, it took 3 days for the claim to be filed and the vehicle was not inspected by their 3rd party inspector until Monday 6/13. At that time they proceeded to blame the turbo charged failure on Mazda citing TSB reports and denied our claim. TBS report states white smoke can be emitted during idle periods and this scenario does not fit our incident, furthermore it was black smoke that was coming out of both tailpipes. The dealer's service manager cited the same and is wiling to testify on our behalf. I contacted Firestone and requested they approve the claim and pay for the $2,000 in damages and again they declined. On 6/14 the dealer advised me that Firestone failed for pay for the diagnostic work they authorized so my vehicle was not being released to me. I called and requested a claims manger resolve this issue. After several phone calls I was contacted by a claims supervisor who stated they would have the dealer return my vehicle. Eventually they authorized my rental for an additional day as the dealer would not relase for non-payment. When I went to pick up my CX7 it was still smoking and on the advise of the service manager driving will cause further damage so I left the vehicle there. I will pursue legal and media to aid me in exposing the unethical behavior of Firestone towards their customers when they damage your vehicle. Consumers should be protected from such companies especially when part of their business statement claims they warranty their work.
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