Firestone Complete Auto Care

I am pregnant and have 2 very young children and we ultimately waited 4+ hrs for horrible service. Over the phone I was quoted an 1 – 1.5 hr wait. In person they said 2 hrs. We walked around the area and my car had not even gone into the bay by the time the 2 hrs were up. I understand these are estimates but given the fact that I told them I planned to wait with my little ones, I would have preferred they directed me to come another day rather than misquote the time by over 2hrs.
I have been to this Firestone a few times and have never had a positive experience. The only reason I went this last time was because my tires were under warranty. Of course the problem wasn’t covered under the plan so they attempted a «fix» for $ 30 (as far as I know just putting a new plastic cap on it). When that didn’t work, I took the car home. I cannot spend another penny at this place. I never write negative reviews but I feel that other customers should be aware.

I called and spoke with Brian and right off the bat I noticed he had an attitude. I asked a simple question if they repaired tires from a small leak… he paused and was like yeah. I was trying to see if they could squeeze me in today. He answered by saying he was already booking customers in for tomorrow. .I would not consider going there based on his attitude.

I’ve never had service here, but my mom did. She got an oil change and was told that it would take 2 hours to get done, so me being the nice daughter that I am, came all the way from uptown to pick her up. The second I got there (one hour later) her car was pulled out and parked. I asked my mom if her car was done when she came out to the car, she said I don’t know, let me go and ask. When she asked, they said yes it’s all set. She got there right at open, 7:30! They need to be more accurate with their wait times. I offered to pick her up so she didn’t have to wait and we could go directly to my nephews baseball game in Huntersville. I went completely out of my way for absolutely no reason. Be more accurate with your wait times!

Have taken a number of my vehicles there over the past couple of years, as I live close by. Recently took my daughter’s car there for a radiator flush and fill, as the fluid had gotten cloudy and discolored. They changed out the fluid, along with up-​selling us a wheel alignment. About a week later, the car stopped on the road, with severe transmission issues. When I took it to another shop, they indicated that a pump had failed, allowing the transmission fluid and radiator fluid to mix, ruining the transmission, and that this failure had probably been happening for a while. I am certain that is what I was seeing in the discolored fluid in the radiator and reservoir — but this was missed while the folks at Firestone were changing out that fluid. The result was we had to either pay $ 3,500 to fix the transmission of the car, or junk it. We junked the car. I was over at the Firestone store a few days later and mentioned to the person manning the desk what had happened, and that I really felt like their technicians had missed the fluid mixing and potential failing part when they had changed the coolant earlier and if they had seen it, we may have been able to avoid the costly repair. They took notes on the old ticket, and said they would have the manager call me to discuss. So far — nothing…
I don’t plan on going back anytime soon.

This location, which is close to my current residence, has been my go-​to location for brand new tires, tire repair, oil changes, etc. since they opened. Yesterday, when starting the vehicle to leave work, the butt of dread light was lit on my dashboard (TPMS tire pressure light). I got to this location around 5:45 (they close at 7:00), after I had called ahead and said I was on my way and what the problem was. Before checking out my tires, I spoke with the guy working the desk (I bought my tires from this location less than 1 year ago) and after I explained that my tire pressure sensor had come on, his condescending reply was, «well it WAS 30 degrees last night». We were immediately off to a bad start. I have had extremely helpful people at this location, this was the first time I have dealt with this guy, but I am not sure what his damage was. I know that I am not dropping $ 200 there to get the fluid in my headlights changed, but dammit I get all of my work done here and I expect better treatment. He tinkered with it a bit, said he filled all 4 tires and I was on my way.
I left there and the tire pressure light was still on. I only live about 3 miles from this location so I got out the manual when I got home to see if I had to drive a certain amount of miles before the sensor resets or if I needed to go back and jack this guy up for wasting my time. Seeing nothing that would indicate that the light should still be on, I decided to try the Firestone near my office for a double-​check before I did a system reset on the vehicle.
Taking my vehicle today to the Firestone on Arrowood (which is where I will be taking my vehicle from now on), after putting the 4runner on the lift and doing a close inspection, the spare was at 18 pounds instead of the 32 that it should have been (I knew Toyota’s had a sensor in the spare, I am not sure why I didn’t think of that last night — probably the rage). The tech also mentioned that they had to put air in each of the tires (I thought the guy last night had done that?!). The grand total of time spent there *may* have been 15 minutes with some very nice folks and I was no longer concerned I would blow out a tire and take 3 people with me into the concrete barriers on 485.
The guy that helped me at Rea Rd drove my truck back to the front of the store, so he knew the light was still on. Since it could literally be my life that is at stake if a tire goes (from constant 485 and 77 travel), I expect better treatment and service. Firestone will still be getting my money, but this location won’t be.
Note: This was kind of the straw that broke the camel’s back. Previously I waited 2 ½ hours to get a tire patched (I was a walk-​in, as I didn’t plan to get a screw in my tire, but still…) and the next time I got my tires (that I purchased there) rotated and was told no charge, but when I got home and carefully looked at my receipt I had been charged $ 20. I returned to the store and got the amount refunded, and the gentleman was apologetic, but still… c’mon.

We were indeed happy to see this Firestone open, providing a very good local option for auto care. My family does a lot of business with them, and a significant amount of our car repair is handled right here. We have been very satisfied with this Firestone personnel and work. The advice rendered here is generally on the mark.
Yes, I said «generally» and with that, I am getting at the reason for four stars and not five. The up-​sale effort here is WAYYYYY too strong. I don’t know, but I would be willing to bet that sales compensation is heavily influenced by the up-​sale component. In case you don’t know the word «up-​sale», that is when they encourage you to purchase additional services beyond those initially requested. Now, let me be clear… I do not believe that they have given me any advice that is not true. It’s just that their recommendations must be carefully scrutinized and should also be priced from other vendors.
Other than that… I recommend the Blakeney Firestone!