Canadian Tire — Local services in Sault Ste. Marie

My son, a student attending college in Sault Ste Marie, had our 2017 Kia Soul serviced at Canadian Tire. Just under 6 months later the oil drain plug fell out while he was driving on the highway. He pulled over immediately. The car was towed to the Kia dealer in Sault Ste. Marie, where we were told that the engine was damaged and must be replaced.

Initially I was told that it was our fault as the car should have had an oil change sooner. I took their word for it, but my son pointed out that the car’s maintenance schedule for normal wear is 12,000 km/6 months. Maintenance schedules can be debated but I think it is fair to expect the oil drain plug to stay on for 6 months.

I then contacted Canadian Tire customer service who explained to me that they had determined that it was not their fault and that it must have been a catastrophic failure. The customer service representative explained that if the drain plug had been loosening off, the bottom of the car would have been covered in oil and that since it wasn’t it, they were not responsible. However, the car underside of the car was covered in oil; it was only visible when the car was up on the lift.

At the request of the customer service representative I sent pictures of the car. An hour later I received an email stating that they feel that the oil change was performed properly. In a follow up email, they stated sorry that we are not able to come to a satisfactory resolution and that there is no further recourse with our office at this time.

I have tried to escalate this within Canadian Tire, but they will not respond. Kia will not warranty the engine as Canadian Tire did the oil change. I am left with a two year old vehicle that requires a new engine and although it was maintained as per the vehicle’s maintenance schedule no one will warranty it.

My son grew up going to Canadian Tire with me on a regular basis. I completely understand why he decided to go there to have the car serviced. Unfortunately we have learned the hard way that you put yourself at risk having your car serviced there.

Update:

Today Canadian Tire informed me that “After further review of your file, I’m very sorry to inform you that we have determined that Canadian Tire cannot be held responsible for the problems that you have experienced with your Kia Soul”. Interestingly I have no idea what methodology they used to determine that as they have not even looked at the vehicle; it just feels like an exercise in Canadian Tire saying no.

As a consumer I have a vehicle that was maintained as per the manual, but I am left with an expensive unwarranted repair because I had the oil changed at Canadian Tire. If my dealer had completed the oil change, and this had happened it would have been warrantied. Consumers need to be made aware that having a vehicle serviced at the Canadian Tire represents a potentially...

Absolutely love going to Canadian Tire, especially with all the customer improvement updates they've been doing recently. Here's a few points of note;

Isle Width - This is half of the reason why I took a star off the rating. While the main isles are wide and vary spacious, the actual product isles (where you'll spend most of your time) are very narrow and cramped. You almost get a feeling of claustrophobia while passing another individual in the isle, as there's just no room to maneuver. Due to the height of the isles, some of them also seem a little darker than others because the overhead lighting was setup for a more spacious (older) isle design.

Older Carts - This is the other half of why I'm giving the store a 4 star rating instead of 5. While the carts are functional and the wheels seem to be in decent condition, they're a very old and outdated style with a very deep basket. Newer multi-level carts, like those at Romes on the other end of the mall, would be a vast improvement.

Free Wifi - The first part of the tech update I wanna mention, at this location, is the addition of free Wifi. This was a necessary addition, for the other tech improvements, but it's actually nice to be able to check your bank account and whatnot from your smart phone in a store that has always worked like a Faraday Cage (blocking cell signals).

App Integration - This seems to be a corporate change that's happened in every Canadian Tire, but it makes shopping so much easier. I can look at my phone app, search for a product, and it'll tell me what isle to go to. It also tells me how many are in stock, so if I don't see any on the shelf I can ask a staff member and they'll go find it.

Smart Tags - This has to be the best improvement in the store that I've ever seen. Going along with the App, the new Smart Tag system allows you to not only see the price of the product, but it updates in real-time. I can also use the app to find the product because the tags have a little green flashing light on it that you can trigger. This works amazing in isles that have a lot of similar products (like tool bits or cleaning products) which blend together. You just click the button and look for the flashing green smart tag. Absolutely brilliant.

Friendly Staff - Honestly, I've been going to this Canadian Tire for a lot of years. Could easily say, "Since I was born". I don't think I've ever run into a staff member who wasn't helpful. I've met a few who were, obviously, having a bad day. I don't hold that against people, because we've all been there. That said, even though they weren't always wearing a smile, they've always been helpful and offered a smile by the time they were...

I called ahead to book my daughter’s car in for a rear bearing replacement. She dropped the car off and left my number to call me. A couple hours later I was told her rear left bearing was gone and that she has to have both front bearings replaced and possibly cv shafts. I enformed Eric that she just had both controls arms replaced. Only concern was her rear bearing. As from what my mechanic said her front bearings were fine. I asked for a quote which was $1900 for both front and rear. I was also told the car was not safe to drive! I found that very hard to believe. I told him to fix rear and if needed I’ll tow it back to Sutton. The car was examined over to weekend, driving much better with new bearings. She was confident enough to drive it home without issue. Bearing replacement was just under $450, would have been $100 cheaper from my mechanic. From looking at the comments there seems to be an ongoing patter that should be addressed. My daughter felt that once they saw she was from out of town that she could be taken advantage of, they were wrong. A good mechanic shop has a wait list of up to 2 weeks and that’s because he’s good and trusted. When you can call a as hop for an appointment and they have availability all day….. beware

Canadian Tire customer service reached out to me. I called and explained the situation. Although the C/S rep was sympathetic to the situation, and the relevance that a young lady with no mechanical knowledge could have been taken full advantage of with there wording, the severity of her front wheel bearing had she continued to drive and were willing to take the car off the road. On a good note she was able to drive back to Sutton and had front end check and no issue was found. The C/S rep said she was going to email the service manager. It’s been almost 2 weeks and all I’ve heard are crickets. Well played Canadian Tire Sault Ste Marie. It’s a comfort to know you’ll screw anybody...