Wal-mart tire and lube wal-mart wal-mart, a great place for families to multi-task right? Get your oil changed, shop for the week in one trip. My husband got our oil changed with them, and they put a double gasket on the filter, rolling meadows, Illinois

Wal-Mart Tire and Lube Express is a department of Wal-Mart, and their employees are 100% Wal-Mart associates that do not deserve that sort of insulting commentary.

As a former mechanic I have seen several instances where the gasket from the old filter remains stuck to the engine block.  If the mechanic fails to notice it he then installs the new filter on top of the old gasket.  The gasket is intended to form a tight seal between the filter and the engine block but if there are two gaskets, the oil can squirt out under pressure between the two and drain the oil pan dry in seconds.  The pump then sucks air and blows all the oil from the bearings.  How much damage is done is determined by how quickly the driver shuts off the engine.

How far a car with two gaskets can go is unpredictable.  Many fail upon starting for the first time and get repaired before leaving the shop.  I saw one vehicle that drove from L.A. to Flagstaff, AZ before the gasket failed.  The car sat overnight in the cool mountain air, so the oil pressure was at its maximum when the engine started, causing the blow-out.  There are probably some double-gasketed vehicles that have made it all the way to the next oil change without failure.

No one "put" a double gasket on our oil filter, apparently (and according to two mechanics) if the technician fails to check the engine "block" for a filter gasket before putting on the new oil filter, then in effect it has two gaskets, and cannot hold the pressure.  This was explained to me by my personal mechanic, and the ASE they had us take our vehicle to, however, because the wal-mart didn't show up for the inspection with the ASE guy, they are refusing to recognize the damage the mechanic confirmed, and will not comment on the fact that the mechanic said basically, it's pretty common when you get guys doing this that aren't careful, or just don't care.  In any case, we've complained to the BBB, and even caught them, (and proved) that they had lied in some of their correspondence with the BBB.  I hope they get kicked off the BBB accreditation list for their dishonest practices.

Not trying to take up for Walmart, but I doubt seriously the oil changer put 2 gaskets on your car. 99% of gaskets are afixed to the filter so they can't come off,not like the old days when they weren't afixed. However, every once in awhile that can happen as it probably did in your case.

I used to own a transmission shop and had to repair tranny work done at these quick change companies. One guy called with a shifting problem in his Ford pick-up. Seems as if the "mechanic" had put stick shift oil in his Ford when it took automatic tranny fluid.

Now these people won't even respond to us, or give us the claim denial in writing for us to take them to court!  NEVER, NEVER GO TO WAL-MART FOR ANYTHING AGAIN!!!  This company just thinks it's untouchable!!!

updating us on your situation with Walmart.

Make sure to 'Google' this- WALMART WANTS YOU DEAD, and watch that video on the web, okay?

Then 'Google' this- WALMARTS DEAD PEASANT SUIT ESCAPES THE GRAVE, and read the related articles on the web.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

*************************************  ALERT  ************************************
*It was reported that one of Walmart's top executives was spotted at the Animal Kingdom. Anyone can 'Google' this- OLD MAN WITH CRAP ON PANTS WALKS THROUGH ANIMAL KINGDOM, and watch that video on the web, right?

I'd hate to say this but you've gotten what you paid for. When you go to a quick-stop oil shop like this don't expect the best in service. Wal-mart as a company sells cheap goods, why would you expect their car service department to be any better? Your best course of action here is getting a rental car and a lawyer. Make sure to keep the receipts of the rental car so you can add that to the growing lists of costs Wal-Mart will be paying for like your husband's missed work, the cost of having it towed, the cost of having other garages look at it, etc. Hope everything works out for you, Wal-Mart is a horrible company and will do whatever it takes to try to drag this out so you give up interest. Once more contact a lawyer.

UPDATED:  
The wal-mart has since taken photos of our vehicle, and gotten the ASE mechanic shops printout saying basically that they put on a new oil filter without having taken the old gasket off.  This caused the leak, and our engine to seize.  They are now telling us we need to have it towed AGAIN to a different shop for more "photos"!?  They specified we could not be present during THEIR evaluation of our damages, and our vehicle needed to be at their disposal for at least THREE DAYS?!  Our vehicle is only worth $6,000 dollars, and the repairs cost $5,000, so from my understanding they are trying to devalue our vehicle to pay less!  I have spoken with several attorney's who told me to give the wal-mart time, but that we do not have to tow our car anywhere else.  That they have all the information they should need.  Apparently in our state I cannot file a lawsuit until they send me a letter denying liability.  As far as getting it fixed by our insurance...we have owned our vehicle outright for almost five years...It is a 1997 Honda.  To pay the amounts of insurance your suggesting, we would be spending more than is reasonable for premiums every year!!!  Not to mention the fact that neither of us have had any accidents-EVER.  We should not HAVE to even go through that even if we did have full coverage.  
On top of everything, we called the insurance commission in Arkansas (where the company's located) in order to file a complaint about their conduct.  The commissioners office told me that wal-mart is "self-funded".  Meaning the "nameless insurance company" that is trying to screw us is actually Wal-Mart itself!!!  In any case, I will continue updating everyone.  

on the web, okay?

You can also make a picket sign and stand outside of the Walmart (off of their property) and direct everyone to your Ripoff Report. Heck, you can even make copies of your Ripoff Report and pass them out to everyone going by.

If you type in 354721 at this site you can read Jerry's Ripoff Report. He didn't get any satisfaction from the Toyota dealership or Toyota corporation, so he put vinyl lemons all over his 2007 Toyota Camry and parked it outside the Toyota dealership and passed out flyers to everyone going by.

It worked!

Make sure to read his Ripofff Report and his Update. ('Update By Author #3')

Good luck to you and your family, and keep us posted.

Talk about a double standard!

That manager had the nerve to tell you that you had to have an ASE certified mechanic do the evaluation, but MOST of the idiots working at the Wal-Mart/TLE are NOT ASE certified.

I wouldn't let the TLE crew put air in my bicycle tire! They are totally incompetent!

I have regular conversations with a buddy of mine who runs a medium sizedfranchise shop with a high customer volume. He has customers on a daily basis bring thier cars in on a tow truck from the Wal-Mart / TLE idiots who have done them wrong through incompetence and laziness. My favorite is the installation of the oil drain plug with the impact wrench!

ALWAYS take your car to a shop that hires ONLY ASE certified mechanics. With todays complex vehicles, even a basic simple service done wrong can cause big problems.

You need to get a lawyer right away. Keep good records of all of your losses and expenses.

Do not just wait on Wal-Mart to step up and take care of this, because they won't! They WILL screw you. GET THAT LAWYER TODAY!!

Wal Mart won't do anything and will stall trying to wait you out,(Stall until you Cave in)this is standard for them.

YOU will have to fix i yourself (Call whoever is your Insurance) and sue them for the entire cost of the repairs, be aware that the tire and lube is NOT WalMart but Contracted out (Another name and entity) Waiting to hear is exactlythe stallthey want, so don't do it.

They will wait you out unless YOU sue, so don't let them stall.

Be sure to take pictures and Hire a good mechanic that will testify (I recommend a dealership, Wally World WILL end up paying, so spare No expense to get it done RIGHT) don't forget a rent-a-car, they'll have to pay for that too.