What clients say about Walmart Auto Care Center in East Ithaca (NY)
I’ve been into this shop several times to have my wheels balanced because the vibrations never go away. Every time I bring my car in, they tell me there’s nothing wrong and just rebalance the wheels. I finally got fed up and took my car down the road to another tire shop, and they immediately told me there were two weights missing from each tire.
I went through this with Walmart for several months, trying to get them to properly balance my tires and fix the issue with my car. They also sold me a defective wheel that had a bent tire belt inside it, and then refused to compensate me or replace the defective tire.
The older woman who works at the front desk is a complete jerk. Every time I come in, she’s rude and nasty toward me. When I was dealing with the tire balancing issue, she looked at me and yelled, asking why I keep coming back to Walmart to fix my tires, saying there’s nothing wrong with my car and that I need to stop.
I honestly don’t think this woman should be working anywhere near customers. She’s rude, unprofessional, and acts like she’s always right about everything.
All in all — don’t go here. Avoid this store altogether.
What a dishonest group of people, even for New Yorkers. I went in for an oil change today, the lady with a cane was rude and crass but I only had to deal with her for a few minutes. The car was taking a long time for all the staff hanging out in the shop repair area. The rude cane lady asked me if I had visited the Waterloo Walmart the day before to get my oil changed. I said I did but they were taking too long and I couldn't wait. Why is she looking up the history of my Walmart oil changes?
Then came the service writer to inform me my oil pan bolt has a leak, maybe even a crack. When I asked to see it he hesitated and was concerned about my safety, that's when I knew they over tightened my oil drain bolt and caused damage. He reluctantly showed me. This is a common thing that happens at Walmart because the staff aren't professionals and use the impact tool to screw the drain plug back in instead of hand tightening with a torque wrench. Had they done the hand tightening they would have discovered the "non stock" drain bolt and not filled it up with oil without showing me. This is how I know Rubin is lying. It's happened to me before with a Hyundai and a Walmart but they paid to fix it.
Rubin claimed my car had the leak prior and the last place must have done it. Well the last place was Watkins Glen Walmart 5/12/2025 and there was zero oil leaking from there. Williams Honda had it on a lift on 7/30/2025 and there was no oil leaking from my oil pan. He claimed he could show me in the parking lot the leaking oil because it was on camera. He should have just said they put the bolt back on and over tightened it but he was too busy CYA-ing. What a jerk.
On the work order they printed out, under "customer comments" they wrote the customer states there was an "oil leak prior to service" and "Oil drain plug does not seem to be the stock drain plug".???I never said any of that, Rubin said it then entered it under "Customer Comments" to make it seem like a preexisting situation. What a dishonest Walmart employee. Not only that, there would be a record of when he entered that and it wasn't prior to the work being done. It was after. Plus, how would I know what a "stock drain plug" looks like. I never said any of this to him. For all I know Rubin and his staff put the wrong one back on. There was no leaking detected or incorrect drain plug from 2 prior Walmart oil changes and a Honda dealer, I have the paperwork. Prior to Rubin and staff changing my oil, according to them, there was no leaking oil. When they checked the car in, THEY DID NOT DETECT ANY LEAKING OIL. The leak showed up after they worked on it and changed the oil. These people are such liars. I plan on being compensated for this.
Here's an update. When Rubin and staff reinstalled the oil drain plug, they forgot to put the washer on. If you don't put the washer on, the oil will leak out when you add it because it leaves a gap. Instead of putting the washer on, they cranked down on the bolt and cracked the oil pan. Sad their staff tried to blame me and the Walmart in Watkins Glen for the $800 dollars in damage they caused. When it was their neglect with something as simple as a $.04 washer. They claim Jason will be in on Friday to "handle it".
Final update. The Walmart Auto staff in Ithaca had zero interest in trying to solve the problem and told me their damage was my problem. I contacted the Walmart Claims Services and they said contact a "coach" at the Walmart where it happened and file an incident report, that report will generate a claims number. Walmart insurance sent the money directly into my bank account a week later.
Bottom line is although the money was received for the damage, the inconvenience and horrible treatment from the Walmart Auto staff will have me looking for oil changes elsewhere in the future. Like Jason the Walmart Auto manager told me "we will no longer have anything to do with you". I accept!
Odd it wasn't "sorry for the damage".
I hate going to corporate auto service, and Walmart in Ithaca was hands down the worst experience ever! The individuals that work in the automotive are the worst at customer service! I have never been so upset with service before. After multiple trips and in the end having to go home with my new tires in the back of my vehicle and not on my car. thanks for nothing! Wish y'all the best. Will never go back!
Terrible experience, avoid this Walmart auto center. They wouldn't honor my lifetime balance/rotor even though I had the original receipt because of a mistake Walmart made. Unbelievable places like this can get away with it.
Unbelievably rude and unprofessional.
I showed up with my young daughter for a scheduled tire change. No one was there. Literally no one in automotive. A store associate finally called someone and told me they were short-staffed and that I should head up to the service desk. So I wait in line there, and eventually they announce something over the store loudspeakers.
My daughter and I go back to automotive, and now they're loudly announcing my car and license plate, telling me to move it—while I’m walking up. I try to explain that I’d been sent around the store because no one was available when I arrived, expecting at least a little understanding or maybe an apology. Nope. Instead, the staff start yelling at me in an aggressive, belligerent tone—interrupting me repeatedly and shouting in front of my daughter, who was visibly upset and confused.
I ask for the manager, and the loudest one barking orders claims he’s the manager. I ask for his manager. No luck. I move my car—which was parked by the bay doors for a quick check-in, like I’ve done before—and head back inside. Still no apology. Just more attitude and a snide, “Don’t park there.” Yeah, I got that now.
I took my pre-paid tires and got the hell out of there.
NEVER again.
Do yourself a favor—spend a few bucks more and go somewhere with actual professionals who treat customers like humans. Peace of mind is worth it.
Went to get new tires on last fall and just got my oil changed for $25.Both times were fine I was there about the same amount of time as the other shops in town . Didn't go with great expectations but has worked out fine. Now I get free tire rotations with a reminder every 6 months.
Yeah I called about maybe getting tires put on that I purchased from Walmart and the lady couldn't tell me of any places around me her name was Karen. That could help me, and she couldn't tell me I go to get off the phone and I say thank you very much for your time and I got a very disingenuous uhhhhunn . Ok miss hope this review helps you ❤️
Very unprofessional staff here, make an appointment from 6-7pm. come but was informed that all the crew already left, they can’t do it for me, and they keep saying they tried to call me to let me come earlier, but I didn’t receive any phone call at all, the reception guy was talking nothing that make sense
came at 730 am they had no cars here &they still told me I have to made an appt to get new tires ! even though I was told to come back staff very lazy and make their own rules
How is it when you make an appointment and arrive early the staff are not available and don’t respond to phone calls? after waiting for them and calling back finally getting someone on the phone. They said it’s past the deadline so my service has been canceled.
They were late I was early and I get my appointment canceled. Nonsensical experience if they valued my time and their time this wouldn’t have happened.
(Update got the oil change the next day. And found out they’re severely understaffed. ( only two people there that day)
Great service changed the rating but until they get this resolved it’s a hit or miss
I have been going here for years. Since the new manager of the auto care center we have had nothing but problems. All other staff have been great but the new manager lf the Car department was super out of line unhelpful rude and incredibly difficultq. I would rather drive 2 hours out of my way to another walmart than deal with the manager of the car dept again.
I brought a tire in that needed to be put on the rim. They brought my car in and had it for 2 hours and did absolutely nothing! They never put the tire on the rim because my jack points were rusted out, which makes zero sense because the rim and tire were in the trunk, not on the car
They don't pay attention to manufacturing guidelines . Lugnut bolts were forced in with a impact wrench (which specifically says NOT TO) and never respected the 100 pound torque spec for the bolts. I have a nail in my tire now. Guess why I can't get the bolts out ? Is it because they rounded every single on or the fact they are over torqued. You guessed it , BOTH.
I had such a great experience here. The staff from the front desk to the mechanics were professional and communicated with me through out my wait time (which was less than hour). Not too bad of a wait since I had to get my new tires on, and there were a bunch of people in front of me. I like how they text you when your car is ready, and they offer snacks and water in the waiting room. I had time to do some grocery shopping too. Overall, a great experience.
I had a bad experience. Had an appointment for some work, while I waited, but upon arriving told it would be 2 hours until they could get me in - there were 2 "big Jobs" that needed to be completed before mine. Either I should not have been able to schedule my appointment or the folks with the "Big Jobs" should have been told they would have to wait....There was no respect for my time
The specially Patrick and Karen. Manager Patrick tell me you can just leave out my store. This is how you treat a customer. The people ignore me like so many time.
Buy your tires from Walmart but DO NOT let them put them on! I had my tires switched out and just managed to get to BJs before the wheels started shaking. I'm insanely lucky that I made it to the tire center for them to torque my bolts. The left tire bolts were hand tight and probably would have came off if I tried to drive home.
The staff was nice enough to warrant a star. Service was quick, but I'd rather they take enough time to make sure their customers won't die on the way home!
This walmart has the worst customer service I was passing through needed a oil change was there before 9am doors never opened until 910am . Walked in asked about a oil change was refused because I did not have a appointment . The lady was ruid never have I ever had a issue with any walmart and walking in for oil change ithaca ny is the worst I was first vehical and still denied . The date is 2/28/2022..
I only wanted switch my tires to the snow tires. The Walmart staff and the Walmart Richard the supervisor for that day were very nice. Unfortunately during the services the TPM was knocked down and sensor broke during service. It was a time consuming going back and for to Toyota x Walmart to buy the part as Walmart didn’t have the part in the store. I bought the part Walmart changed it and paid for the part, and it was told me the dashboard warning light would be on and off after driving 50 to 70 miles. The light didn’t go off and I was back to Walmart two more times trying to solve the issue. Walmart could not reprogram it and I was back to Toyota for reprogram the part.bb
I went back to Walmart two more times and finally I spoke with Eric that made me wait about 20 minutes to start to listen and pay me back for my last expense at Toyota, besides the waiting Eric told me I was not allowed to walk in the store with sensors problems. Hello, they the ones that screwed up not me. How rude and unconsidered!
The website kept selecting the wrong tires. When I went w their option it was the wrong tire when I shoeed up for appt. Service reps are nice but I had to go to returns & order from home again. 2nd try same thing happened. I decided to go elsewhere.
Waited at the register for a good 10 to 15 minutes only to be told I had to go to the garage to set up for an oil change..this is new. Ok. Waited in the garage to talk to the mechanic only to be told they are closed. By this time it was 6:25 PM. Myself and another customer were told to come back tomorrow at 8 am even though they say they're open 7am to 7pm.
They don’t have enough workers here... Not their fault. The manager is nice and does his best. Even though they’re extremely short on staff, they need to still take their time with the vehicles... Customers are usually really irritated, and there’s no point in trying to call. You’re best to just pop in, and hope for the best... Staff seems to be a little disgruntled as well, as they’re kinda stretched thin. Overall though, I’ll keep going here...
I had my tires done here about 1.5 years ago. I ran over a screw at work and tried bringing it close to home. They said they wouldn't repair it or replace it unless I did all 4. I knew still had 20000 tred life on those tires. So I drove here and Dickie made the process smooth as could be. With warranties it can be a nightmare. It was smooth and painless both mentally and financially. If also like to mention that the two woman who originally helped me were also great and informative.
Never take your car here. Because of sloppy work, and not enough care my car had been broken. They had tightened my oil cap to tight and made my car leak oil. I had requested a reimbursement because I don’t think it’s fair to have to pay for something that’s not my own doing. And on top of that when I had showed to ask for my reimbursement the supervisor who said he’d be here to help me, wasn’t there and they gave me the run around between a couple different employees almost waiting an hour. This place is ridiculous and if you want a good job take your car elsewhere!
Awful service. After asking if they had 4 tires in stock they told me they had 14 so I left to go look waste time while it would take them the approximate time of 2 hours, I come back after about an hour to check, and they said sorry we only have 2 of those sized tires. Wow! Thanks for wasting my time!
Horrible customer service! The manager himself ignored his customers would walk away and went about himself. They took forever to change our tire, The moment we told them we were taking our service somewhere else they immediately started it so we had to wait even longer. Then took forever for us to recieve the tire and pay for it as it sits there completed
Unfriendly staff and dont expect them to work on your car if you come at 6. They'd rather slack off one hour before they leave. I went 6 days in a row at 6 for an oil change with 1 car ahead of me and the said they wouldn't get to it the first time I went and then the second time the manager said he'd ask the guys if they wanted to... 2 or 3 mechanics were sitting outside smoking. Walmart needs to fire them all and replace them with people who want to work.
Last year I had a new battery installed at in my car at a Wal-Mart. Fast forward to today the battery had died twice after being recharged and left running for 30 minutes both happened at parking structures. I brought my car with the battery in question to Wal Mart auto service. I don’t know if it was they run short handed on Sundays but there was a queue despite arriving early in the morning. There was only one person operating the service desk with intermittent assistance provided by another cashier from a different department. With 2 people in front of me (one making a purchase and one picking up his car) it took 20 minutes to make it to the desk! During this wait time the the service representative seemed disorganized and the additional person that had arrived to provide assistance (whom was more helpful than the service representative) made a very poor decision to switch between addressing the needs of the queue of actual customers and what sounded like an irate customer inquiring about a product they may/may not come in to purchase. Once I explained the situation with the car battery dying twice after in one week after being jumped and full charged. The service representative tested my battery and found nothing wrong with the battery. She thought that I would be better served by getting a battery charger to fully charge my battery. Two things wrong with her solution: 1) there aren’t any accessible outlets in the shared garage to make use of the battery charger 2) It did not address the frequency at which my battery lost its charge despite being jump started, then left running for 30 minutes before driving it and it still died! At this point I just wanted to exercise the warrranty on my battery (it was purchased 6 months ago). At that point, the service representative told me that I would need the original receipt, despite the battery obviously having a bar-code and prominent Wal-Mart logos. Anyhow, long story short that fact was proven false. Jumping ahead in this story the service manager concluded that another battery could be installed in 15 minutes. So I preceded to do some shopping at Wal-Mart. After a generous half hour in which I completed my shopping, I went to the service counter to see where they were in the process. To my surprise, they had not even started!! At this point from the moment I had first arrived until this point, they had wasted 3 hours of my time trying to sort out my problem and find a satisfactory resolution. At this point, I was pretty irate. What should have taken 1 hour tops had ballooned to 3 hours. At this point I had to stay on top of them to get my car work completed. When they finally completed it I was annoyed that they had not securely closed the hood of my car but whatever I was just glad to get out of there. Upon returning home I had a nagging feeling where I though that I should check the work they did. To my annoyance, I found the top cover of the shell/compartment that housed my battery was casually strewn on top of the engine. I attempted putting the top back onto the compartment, however I found out that the manner in which they connected the battery obstructed the back hinges of the compartment. So after what had been a annoyingly long day of suffering I had to drive back and have them correct that mistake. I like to honk of myself as patient but it took a LOT for me not to snap on them. If my battery was not under warranty from Wal-Mart, then I would have given my business to either advance auto parts, or auto-zone. Unless you HAVE to come here I would STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE for auto service. Poorly ran shop, management appears to be out to lunch in regard to customer service and efficiency.
So you close at 6pm and say at 4:30 your no longer taking customers. Thats absolutely ridiculous. Funny thing is it was something as simple as fixing a tire. I wasn't even asked what I wanted. I had planned to buy tires. Pathetic .horrible customer service skills and lazy .
Like to change oil here, as shopping is possible while waiting. Simple process. Waiting time seems to be the least earliest in the morning. Various types of air filters and windshield wipers are available too. It would have been great if to they did inspections too.
I called several time and no one answered. I wanted to get all 4 tires done. So I just drove to the store when I arrived at the store the girl told me the wait time would be 2hrs so I said ok and left my keys. And walked around with my toddler. After the two hours I returned and asked how long it would be. A new girl told me that 4 of the mechanics were leaving and that it would be another hour and half because the guy who's truck they were working on had called a head of time. I asked for my keys back and left.I called to make an appointment afterwards and the man who answered said its first come first serve no appointments.
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