SK
Sebastian Kot
Jul 27, 2026
I brought my mother-in-law (Teresa K) car to Tire Choice to have all four tires replaced. The tires were installed in one day, so initially everything seemed fine.
The very next day, she discovered that the engine oil filler cap had been removed during the service and left sitting on the windshield. Because the cap was never reinstalled, engine oil sprayed all over the engine compartment while she was driving. This is not a minor mistake—it is a serious act of negligence that could have resulted in catastrophic engine damage or even engine failure.
Thankfully, she noticed the problem quickly and called me immediately. I had to purchase new oil and perform an emergency oil change myself to minimize the risk of damage. Fortunately, the engine appears to have survived, but that was due to luck—not because Tire Choice caught their mistake.
On Monday, we returned to the store to report what happened. The manager, Mark, seemed shocked that one of his technicians would remove the oil cap during a tire installation. His solution was to offer a $50 store credit toward a future repair. Frankly, offering $50 after an error that could have destroyed an engine is disappointing and does not reflect the seriousness of what happened.
Only after I specifically asked whether they would clean the engine compartment, which was completely covered in oil, did they agree to arrange a third-party cleaning service. We were told this would require leaving the vehicle there for most of another day, creating even more inconvenience because of a mistake that should never have happened.
In the end, we decided not to leave the vehicle for the cleaning because we no longer have confidence in the quality of work performed at this location. That decision was not easy—we have been bringing our family's vehicles to this Tire Choice for many years. Unfortunately, this experience completely changed our level of trust.
Everyone can make mistakes, but professional shops are expected to have quality-control procedures in place before releasing a customer's vehicle. A simple final inspection would have immediately revealed that the oil cap was missing.
We hope Tire Choice uses this incident as a learning opportunity and improves its inspection process before another customer experiences the same situation. If this had gone unnoticed for a longer period, the outcome could have been far more expensive than an oil cleanup. Sadly, after many years as loyal customers, this experience has left us with no confidence in returning to this shop.