Firestone FAIL: what would you do?

A few months ago, a buddy of mine was driving his old Toyota Matrix from Tennessee to Massachusetts. His tensioner pulley failed, and he had the Matrix towed to a Firestone in some Pennsylvania town I forget. They installed an aftermarket tensioner and sent him on his way.

Fast forward to last week, and the new tensioner fails. He has the Matrix towed to a Firestone here in town, and they said that not only is the tensioner ruined, but it is ruined because the mounting bolt broke off with most of its threads still in the block.

Firestone denies any wrongdoing (of course) and says they aren’t equipped to extract the bolt. The manager gives him a recommendation, and he takes the Matrix to a new shop while battling with Firestone corporate on who’s at fault.

The new shop sends a very detailed estimate and says the engine needs to come out and be partially disassembled in order to extract these threads. Total bill with parts and labor: $6k.

What it seems to me is that the Firestone mechanic who installed the aftermarket tensioner torqued the mounting bolt down way too hard in the block (might’ve even been the wrong bolt) causing the bolt to fail.

The car has 230k miles and still runs like a top. My buddy doesn’t want to sell it.

Firestone corporate needs to cover the $6k bill. I know it sucks but it’s their fault.

Right?

 

You think Firestone won’t do him right if he’s persistent?

 

I think they will fight to deny responsibility. If your friend is persistent, uses the documentation and facts to support him, and lets them know he is willing to escalate the issue, they will do what needs to be done

 

You dont need experience to work at a firestone store. They probably supply the ugga-dugga's if you dont have tools.

 

Depends on the shop, but I used to use the one they have on Fort Leonard Wood. They....'usually' did decent work but

- they would upsell the living SHIAT out of everything, and
- I would not trust them for anything above tire rotations/balances, and maybe not even that.

I'd fight like hell for this, maybe, but with the expectation that they'll fight back.

 

I get it. I gave up on dealing with shops in general several years ago, Firestone included.

I told him I’d be extremely firm with them that this is obviously Firestone’s fault, and they need to make it right or I will keep escalating. He’s on the same page. He really likes that old Matrix. They're a Toyota family (wife drives a Sienna).

It pained him very much to have to use a shop like that, especially with installing a non-OEM part, but there was nothing else for miles around.

 

I had an issue with Firestone. When JCPenney divested their automotive business, I believe Firestone may have acquired it. They were honoring the JCPenney lifetime warranty on their lifetime batteries. Recently (I think 2023) my battery died, and I went to the local Firestone dealer. The guy said he would not honor the warranty. I called Firestone corporate. They told the dealer that they had to honor the warranty. To my surprise they told Firestone Corporate they refused to honor it. I has Firestone corporate to find me a local dealer that would. They came back with a few sites. To me this is an interesting dynamic that dealers do not have to follow Firestone corporate directives.

$6,000 is a lot of money. Unfortunately, you may have to escalate. Maybe pay a lawyer to just write a letter and threaten more action. Include the lawyers fee in your letter. You can go it alone if your documentation is in order. Small claims court has a $10,000 limit. In that case, your time is all you would lose.