My name is Patrick and that's my Les Schwab story.

[gamefreakgc]

Typical les schwab
Your lucky he even attempted to adjust your camber/caster
I worked at les schwab in Napa ca for 8 years and as far as alignment techs go its always hit or miss if you even get there actual tech
It could have just been the kid who does tires and floats back and forth
Les schwab is a massive Corp you will never get the owner les cause he's dead and his 3 kids who now own the company could care less about anything else but there money
If the manager of the store was no help sorry to say but that's as far as your complaint is gonna go
Just make sure you talked to the manager and not the assistant manager
Managers are usually never in the store they are always out at "meetings" aka golfing with other managers
This is terrible to see but besides maybe a refund and like they already offered to "fix" the bends then that's all they will do
It's rare to find a schwab employee with experience cause they pay shit
So usually techs are just kids like I was who started doing tires at 18 and then slowly moved to doing alignments then being a road service tech.
And I say most cause some stores have guys who actually have stuck with the company for more than a couple years and like being there underneath an alignment rack all day
I used to have to go to other stores in our area and help guys learn to read an alignment printout cause they would just see green and assume it was good or just do toe and go's
Again sorry to see this but typical les schwab

I would say the same of any big chain automotive shop. I had a terrible experience with a MIDAS store that cranked a spark plug in there so tight the next shop I brought it to said it was almost impossible to remove without stripping the threads and possibly needing a new engine due to lost compression. Thankfully after some time and a very, very patient mechanic heat cycling the penetrant it came out. Never went again.

 

[shootmymime]

im going to at least work with Visa and not pay for the services. then take it to toyota. those guys are dope Af and know me well too.

 

[kolelt]

they admitted they bent it, "sometimes its easier than risking trying to remove and break bolts"

A good mechanic would fix a broken bolt. And a rusty or broken bolt wouldn't scare a good mechanic away. So basically bending and messing a customers car is easier then breaking bolts lol. I swear these guys are just comedians I tell you.

Sorry for the headache bud.

 

[thegipper]

I would demand to speak to the manager and person who worked on it. I would make them crawl under the truck and point to the damage and explain on what planet they think that is acceptable. I would embarrass them as much as humanly possible.

I wouldn't pay a dime for the service and have the dealer ship quote removing and installing a new skid plate.

I would then fix the skid plate myself (hammer it straight and weld it) and pocket the money for my trouble...

Yet another story why I refuse to let some random shop touch any of my vehicles. I have a couple shops that I know of that do good work but I would never take any vehicle to any chain shop. Shit, I don't even trust my local Toyota dealership based on them not even being able to change the tranny fluid on my wifes highlander without screwing it up....

 

[nevada]

they admitted they bent it, "sometimes its easier than risking trying to remove and break bolts"

this is a valid explanation. it just didn't work out this time. though I expect I has many times in the past.

im not sure if ive ever done an alignment on a 3rd gen, but I have never had to remove a skid to access the bolts. ive also never had to bend one out of the way. not sure whats going on there...

A good mechanic would fix a broken bolt. And a rusty or broken bolt wouldn't scare a good mechanic away. So basically bending and messing a customers car is easier then breaking bolts lol. I swear these guys are just comedians I tell you.

Sorry for the headache bud.

who would be responsible for fixing it? the customer? if a bolt breaks during removing, that cannot be the techs fault, he didn't put that bolt in, but I expect most people will want them to fix it for free.

Toyotas are known for having shit bolts on their skid plates. sometimes the work to tap them out, and do a repair can end up being a fairly big job. what if more than one breaks off? its not quite as simple as " a good mechanic would do it"


as far as what was actually done to the OP, yeah, that was uncalled for. there was a clearly an access problem, and the skid plate was damaged. he needs to be made whole again by the company.

 

[A.Wilson013]

Bum deal, Patrick. I've had fairly decent luck with my local Firestone, but this is why I always remove my skids before taking it to Toyota for an oil change, or Firestone for an alignment. Also gives me better access to confirm their torque when I get home...

 

[kolelt]

this is a valid explanation. it just didn't work out this time. though I expect I has many times in the past.

im not sure if ive ever done an alignment on a 3rd gen, but I have never had to remove a skid to access the bolts. ive also never had to bend one out of the way. not sure whats going on there...

who would be responsible for fixing it? the customer? if a bolt breaks during removing, that cannot be the techs fault, he didn't put that bolt in, but I expect most people will want them to fix it for free.

Toyotas are known for having shit bolts on their skid plates. sometimes the work to tap them out, and do a repair can end up being a fairly big job. what if more than one breaks off? its not quite as simple as " a good mechanic would do it"


as far as what was actually done to the OP, yeah, that was uncalled for. there was a clearly an access problem, and the skid plate was damaged. he needs to be made whole again by the company.

My friend is a mechanic. If a bolt breaks. A bolt breaks. And they fix it. That's how it goes. It doesn't matter if it's pain in the ass or not. He's a mechanic. And a good mechanic has tools to fix it. Your in a industry where there is responsibility. A bolt breaks and what? You walk away from the job ? You could charge the customer for the new bolts and hour of labor and show him what happened. Point is, a good mechanic or shop will fix the problem. Period.

Or simply bend the shit out the skid plate like it's ok and put on a stupid face

 

[St Runner]

I have never had my skid plate on when i have gone to get an alignment. Just take it off in your driveway before you go, It makes it easier for them to do the actual work of the alignment. If you want to fight them do it with money (as in holding the charge until it is resolved). After you spend hours of your time dealing with this you will find it easier to take the ten minutes to take it off next time

 

[shootmymime]

UPDATE:
I went in that next day (friday i think) and spoke with the manager. none of the staff knew where he could be found, but they knew he was there. I personally thing he was :behindsofa: until one of the younger employees now knowing what was going on said "oh he is right there. :attention: :rockthrow: so now he had to come talk to me.

Well the manager did his best to get my outside away from other customers while i wanted to stay in the lobby. i ended up going outside to my truck with him and looking at the damages, after a nice conversation. I got what i wanted, a refund on my alignment and a check coming in the mail (I already received it) for the price of a new skid plate. BUT.... I am banned from that store. <---- trust me, i wont be going back. :ban:

Its sad that i had to pull so many legs for them to just to do the right thing or even offer to refund me any of the service price.

Oh also i drove the truck Thursday night and on the highway the toe is way out. the truck darts around any which way you slightly move the wheel i was scared going 70+ because the truck would just dart around in a lane. Id be scared towing or going faster on I-15 where the speed limit it 80. Although the numbers on the screen "Matched up and turned GREEN" the truck drive like crap.

Thats my Les Schwab story

 

[stir_fry_boy]

UPDATE:
I went in that next day (friday i think) and spoke with the manager. none of the staff knew where he could be found, but they knew he was there. I personally thing he was :behindsofa: until one of the younger employees now knowing what was going on said "oh he is right there. :attention: :rockthrow: so now he had to come talk to me.

Well the manager did his best to get my outside away from other customers while i wanted to stay in the lobby. i ended up going outside to my truck with him and looking at the damages, after a nice conversation. I got what i wanted, a refund on my alignment and a check coming in the mail (I already received it) for the price of a new skid plate. BUT.... I am banned from that store. <---- trust me, i wont be going back. :ban:

Its sad that i had to pull so many legs for them to just to do the right thing or even offer to refund me any of the service price.

Oh also i drove the truck Thursday night and on the highway the toe is way out. the truck darts around any which way you slightly move the wheel i was scared going 70+ because the truck would just dart around in a lane. Id be scared towing or going faster on I-15 where the speed limit it 80. Although the numbers on the screen "Matched up and turned GREEN" the truck drive like crap.

Thats my Les Schwab story

You are banned from Les Schwab? Not that it matters, but that's messed up. I got banned from Karl Malone Toyota Dealership in Salt Lake, but then the company customer liaison got involved and reversed it. I won't ever be going back there anyway.

 

[Geren8509]

Schwabs destroyed camber bolts

I have a 2007 fj cruiser, it uses the same lower control arms and cv axles as the 4runner. I replaced my lower control arms, upper control arms, and cv axles last week. Then I took it to les schwab in post falls idaho, the steering wheel was off center, but the car was pulling to the left. So i took it to the coeurd a'lene idaho store to fix it. 2 hours later i got a phone call from eric, the alignment tech saying he stripped the nut that goes on the rearward cam bolt on the front lower control arm and wanted me to bring in the nut that i originally took off because he knew that i replaced the cam bolts with new toyota ones cause mine were seized and had to be cut off. I got there with the nut and expressed concern to levi, the manager. He then went to talk to eric and came back and lied and said the nut was only rounded and the threads were good. Then 2 more hours later, eric called and said he replaced the cam bolt and tabs and the nut with a new one on the drivers side. So i got it home and double checked there work and found out the passenger side was stripped too and the nut was just spinning and not tightening. So i called and talked to levi the manager and he said eric would not knowingly let me leave with that part stripped and destroyed. I told him the camber, caster, and toe adjustment hardware was all brand new before i brought it in and eric told me that he used his impact gun to tighten them. So after an argument he agreed to replace the passenger side as well. And finally it is fixed. I have a 3 inch lift so my fj was not within toyotas alignment specs but it drives straight. I had the skid plate off because i just replaced all those parts and i didnt trust them to reinstall it correctly after the alignment. But thats my les schwab story. Will never ever go there again

 

[Boognish_Forever]

4 years ago I had Les Schwab do my brakes because it was only $40 more for them to put on new brakes, calipers and rotors instead of doing the work myself. WELL you get what you paid for! Brakes were garbage and the rotors warped 2 months after. They put on slotted rotors and ceramic brakes to fix that issue and so far it’s been fine. I was checking my CV boots out and notice a zip tie holding the brake line bracket. I knew it was les Schwab that did it and was to lazy to to drill it out and put a new bolt and nut in which I did. And they pinched the abs line wtf...

 

[3bears]

when I lived in Oregon, the Les Schwabb in Lebanon always treated me and my cars well, and removed the skids when alignment. Even when it was lifted, they did a good job, and the tech came out and explained to me that he could not get it 100% right on because of lift.
Up here, there is no Les Schabb, or firestone, but the local alignment shop was a disaster. Quoted 90 for an alignment, but then it turned out to be 160 because it was lifted and said it was difficult to do and they bent the skids. They were not going to do anything about it, had an attitude.Paid cash, wish I had paid by card and then canceled. Luckily I found a better shop in another town.He removed my skids to do the alignment.Did not charge more because I was lifted. Alignement shops are few and far between uphere. He will get my future work.
Anyway, we all have bad stories about alignment shops, if its Les Shwabb or firestone or whomever. But I think if its lifted, I beleive its not going to get into full specs ( well depending on lift used, etc) and if its a shop thats new to you, I guess ask first about if they removing skids.
There is a place on this forum where you can look up your state, and I think even your city, its a "club" site. I guess a person can go there and ask about alignment shops for your town if you dont know anyone personally to ask.



https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4runner-and-hilux-surf-clubs/

 

[repo]

This kind of thing is why I always take the skid plates off myself before I go to alignment place. I spray the tie rods and stuff with liquid wrench too.

There is only one place I trust with my skid plates, Toyo Techs in Omaha. They even put anti-seize on them when they put it back. The owner said mine was the only 3rd gen he's seen that still has all the original skid bolts haha :trophy:

 

[T4R2014]

4 years ago I had Les Schwab do my brakes because it was only $40 more for them to put on new brakes, calipers and rotors instead of doing the work myself. WELL you get what you paid for! Brakes were garbage and the rotors warped 2 months after. They put on slotted rotors and ceramic brakes to fix that issue and so far it’s been fine. I was checking my CV boots out and notice a zip tie holding the brake line bracket. I knew it was les Schwab that did it and was to lazy to to drill it out and put a new bolt and nut in which I did. And they pinched the abs line wtf...

Come on now, what did you expect out of the parts when they only charged $40 more? It's money not magic. They definitely could've informed that that the bolts snapped. That said, in these smaller shops the customers will almost never pay the extra hour in labor to drill and tap those bolts and will raise hell and never return if you bill them for it, so if they can get away with a zip tie then it's easier on everyone. Sad but true when you are dealing with consumer level auto repair.

This story is pretty goofy. Forum enthusiasts expecting more than a "set the toe and let it go" alignment from a $50 franchise are delusional. I don't think they will ever attempt adjusting the camber since 9/10 of the adjustments cams are seized on these trucks. These places are aimed at Chevy Equinox drivers. Plus instead of flipping out and making a scene you could've just asked for the damages to be paid for right there. An OEM skid probably costs as much as a Budbuilt. Just take the opportunity lmao.

 

[Boognish_Forever]

Come on now, what did you expect out of the parts when they only charged $40 more? It's money not magic. They definitely could've informed that that the bolts snapped. That said, in these smaller shops the customers will almost never pay the extra hour in labor to drill and tap those bolts and will raise hell and never return if you bill them for it, so if they can get away with a zip tie then it's easier on everyone. Sad but true when you are dealing with consumer level auto repair.

This story is pretty goofy. Forum enthusiasts expecting more than a "set the toe and let it go" alignment from a $50 franchise are delusional. I don't think they will ever attempt adjusting the camber since 9/10 of the adjustments cams are seized on these trucks. These places are aimed at Chevy Equinox drivers. Plus instead of flipping out and making a scene you could've just asked for the damages to be paid for right there. An OEM skid probably costs as much as a Budbuilt. Just take the opportunity lmao.

Honestly it wasn’t a surprise what happen getting cheap service and parts, but I just didn’t feel like dealing with the rusty rotors and calipers. Les Schwab stands behind the quotes and doesn’t up charge when running into crap like this. Now that it’s been done, next time will be a easy being I don’t live in the salt belt since this was changed.

I was going to do my balljoints last month and gave up when my tie rods were kicking my ass because of the rust. There was hardly enough castle nut left to get a bite and broke two drill bits trying to get the cotter pin out that broke and just didn’t want to deal with trying to change the outer tie rods being they were so rusted to. I brought it to a well know shop for great service in Portland and they only charged me $60 extra for the rust. PB blasting everything else before I brought it in probably helped as well.