Firestone Complete Auto Care

First I'll say there's probably an old positive Google review from me on here. But things have changed. We brought our 2010 Honda Civic EX to this shop for a routine synthetic oil change on 2.28.26. During the service, we were told the drain plug was stripped and that the oil pan would eventually need replacement—an $836 repair. Shortly after, the car began leaking oil. When we contacted the shop, we were told they couldn’t repair the plug, only replace the entire pan, and that we should try to find a small independent shop if we wanted a repair kit instead. We ended up taking the car to another shop, who fixed the drain plug with a repair kit and replaced the valve cover gasket for a fraction of the quoted cost. Even so, we were out $91 on the Firestone oil change and still spent over $250 plus 6–7 man hours of driving around the greater Des Moines to Ames metro to get our son’s car safely back on the road. As a loyal Firestone customer for more than 30 years—with four family vehicles serviced here—I expected more accountability. Nearly every oil change on this Civic has been done at Firestone, and the photos of the plug and pan show signs of over‑torquing. If this is a known issue with aluminum Honda pans, the technicians should be trained to avoid causing this kind of damage. I contacted the Manager on 4.12.26 and he advised they cannot accept responsibility for this issue. He states they torque every Honda to 32 ft-lbs and this is a Honda issue, not something they caused. Claims it's a crush washer. And this isn't the first time we've had issues over the past 6 months. The same Manager did previously refund money on a job for our 2019 Yukon where they re-replaced the same parts on the car they had replaced a month prior. He said it was policy to replace the TPMS sensors every time and the mechanics don't look in the system to see the car's repair history. They've also begun charging $10 for their vehicle inspection fee to every job, which used to be just their 'free' service to inspect the car and try to sell you more services. I consulted the owner of the other shop (family friend, not convenient for us, but has over 30 years of certified mechanic experience) and he's telling us that this is an avoidable issue caused by over-torquing. Could it be that Firestone would rather risk the pan damage and blame Honda by over-tightening because an engine failure from a leak or lost plug would be a bigger liability? Instead of helping resolve a problem created during service, we were left with extra cost, lost time, and the possibility that we could still need a new oil pan in the future. The history of over-charging and not being accountable has eroded trust. Very disappointing experience from a brand & shop I’ve trusted for years. Not sure I can trust to even use them for my pre-paid lifetime alignments and tire rotations now.

Matt consistently proves to be a reliable source of assistance whenever I reach out to him. He goes beyond merely discussing the day's tasks regarding my car; he ensures that everything is completed efficiently and correctly from the start. I will definitely continue to turn to Matt for any car maintenance needs in the future.

Alexus was fabulous, I came to the store early on a Sunday morning and she was able to get me in and out with my service. I couldn't be more pleased. Very courteous and professional, I would promote her to store manager as soon as possible. This location needs someone like her. We miss this kind of customer service at this location.

Great price, great team. Phil the Master Technician definitely knows what he is doing, and although he is always busy, he makes my time matter. The only person in that shop that I respect more than Phil is Finn. Finn is the type of employee that you see and can definitely tell that he will be running the area before too long!

This Firestone is fantastic. Awesome communication and overall experience. Alexis and Finn were particularly great to work with. Would recommend this shop to anyone. Thanks again!