Canadian Tire
Reviews and Complaints

Yes, I am pissed about Canadian Tire's Preston Crossing Auto Service Centre. Wouldn't you if you had to undertake an excrutiating 13.5 hour ordeal with 2 young children?

I will make this as short as I can: We brought in our vehicle to have something installed. We brought it in at 8AM. The night before, we called in to confirm with the parts department the price of what we wanted, in stock availability, and then was transferred to the service department to confirm price of installation. Then reconfirmed the next morning when we brought in our vehicle. Job including all parts/labour/etc should have cost around $500. Good! We told the service department while checking in exactly what we wanted, gave our key and headed off. Did not receive a call until 2:30 when it was finished. Got off work at 6PM and headed straightaway there with my family (including 2 young children). Determined that they installed the incorrect product as well as charged us $220 more than what we were quoted as they had to "courier it over from another automotive place". As well as charged us more labour because it "took more time".

Ok, maybe if you have no budget, pay what you have to and go, right? NO! We have a budget (hence us going to Canadian Tire in the first place). As well, can you see the problems in the above situation? We asked for a certain product that was supposedly in stock, they chose to put in another product that cost more and took more time and did not call us first to confirm? Big problem! When confronting the service manager (big ### by the way), he said that the product we asked for what not written on the service order, therefore it is our word against his service tech's word. Of course, the service tech said that we didn't ask for a specific product. My question, is how did they know what to install on our vehicle if it was not written on the service order? Why didn't they change our oil instead? How did they know what to do with our vehicle? Another BIG problem. So, we now feel railroaded as they are holding our keys hostage becuase we have to pay this nearly $800 invoice when we were quoted about $500.
The manager was not willing to budge, ended up walking away from us and leaving us there for about 15 minutes. Then he decided to come back and ask us if anyone has helped us! We had to pay if we were going to get our vehicle back (hence the railroading!). We left. When we opened up our vehicle, we noticed that we did not get anything close to what we asked for. Therefore, had to go back into the store and go through hell all over again. They promised us that they would re-install the correct product and would be done by 8:30, gauranteed. At 8:30 we arrived back after already having to entertain our children for the past 2 hours. It was not done and we were told another 15 minutes. After 25 minutes, we were told another half an hour. Anyways, we were finally done by 9:30. There was wiring involved with what we had installed, and it shorted out our tail lights by the time we got home (we live out of town). Therefore, we were driving on the highway in the dark with no taillights!
So, major problems involved here. If someone who works at the Canadian Tire store reads this, please let your manager know that I am coming on strong, hot and pissed! I already have the head office number and the Better Business Bureau's numbers here and waiting. I am calling the store's manager to get at the very least an apology. Personally, it needs to be told to all people that Canadian Tire service at the Preston Crossing store is corrupt! Not only were we visibly angry and trying to be as civil as we could (in between keeping our children entertained and being completely IGNORED), but the 2 other staff members and the service manager were all rude to us. I have in my past career experience been a general manager of a store and I know how to treat customers. I did not get even a smile during or after this process. We were ignored by all 3 men in the service department as well as being treated like ###. As if it was our mistake?! No! I think not. We asked for a SPECIFIC product and got one that cost more (and was not asked about it). Then we were charged the extra amount. Now my vehicle has no tail lights and who knows what else went wrong with the wiring.
I am coming Canadian Tire management...expect me today!

My Car is currently being held hostage at the South Canadian Tire in Lethbridge, AB. I took it in to get a new tire, I should have just brought the rim I guess. They refused to give me a new tire and told me that my steering knuckles were worn down (possible because my tie rods had to be replaced) my ball bearings on the rear wheels were loose, that I had to replace all 4 shock absorbers, that my breaks need new pads and rotors, that my catalytic converter had been removed, that I need a new muffler, and a couple other things i don't remember. They quoted me $2000 to have their long list of problems fixed. The funny thing is it drives fine and to replace the things they say"are required for the car to be released" would cost me about $100. They won't release it to me because I am not a licensed mechanic, and they will only let it leave the building if it is towed or fixed. They say its a legal liability that if I drive the car, and something breaks, it could come back to them.

I am going to have it towed to my normal mechanic and see what he has to say.

I went to store #425 to have my tire repaired, the mechanic did not put the hub cap on properly, it fell off on my way home. I contacted the store and spoke with Kevin he said he would have a new hub cap for my car on Tuesday.

Called Tuesday and got yelled at by another employee telling me the car showed up at their garage without the hub cap. He was extremely rude he actually said the mechanic reported the hub cap missing when the car arrived, they reviewed their surveillance tape and actually did see the hub cap on my car, caught themselves in their Own lie. They still continued to say it was my fault for not verifying their work, so im supposed to check the oil pan plug after an oil change? this does not make sense.

It is unbelievable how in this economy CTC treats customers this way, the auto employees at this store are rude, obnoxious and totally unwilling to make a situation right.

Regrettably my business will go elsewhere and not to store #425 or any canadian tire.

I am still trembling. Just off the phone with canadian tire financial fraud or abuse department I can't believe how rude that representative was! My card has been abused by bell, which is another company I would like to complain later, since I don't know when, I can trace down all the way to december 2007. There has been an mytery every single month. From december 2007 to may 2009, there are more than $700 change from bell which has nothing to do with me. Called bell and they said they didn't change to my account I have to speak with the credit card company. Here are my story with canadian tire financial customer service:

Despair I had to wait for more than 15 minutes before the first call was picked up, I got hung up right after it was transferred,. Dial the number again, another 15 minutes waiting, then the first representative wasn’t talking very nicely, but at least tolerable. Then the phone again had to be transferred to another representative of fraud or abuse department. Here the story really began. First she told me change the card number or even cancel the account won't help. Then, she blamed me not after bell but canadian tire finical. "it's bell change you and not us, why you're calling us. You should be after bell." "when did you talk to them?" "you should call them tomorrow" when I asked her why the transaction can't be stopped if I cancel my card. "no, if you cancel it today a new account will automatically create and all pre-authorized payment will still go through" "but I didn't pre-authorized them!" what a joke! You cannot stop the card once you are with them.
I applied their card to save gas bill. Guess what, I have about $700 non - mine transaction, from bell canada since december, 2007. I don't think I have save even half that much on gas at all. From now on I will stay with the big names. Bad customer service is canadian tire's tradition. It is everywhere within their cooperation, the store, the auto service, and now the credit card. I will never have anything to do with them ever again!

I hope I can still sleep without nightmares.

Last night l took a Generator back to the store l bought it at with receipt and packaging because it didn't work and l wanted to be refunded my money. The store manger came to deal with my complaint. He first of all questioned why l was returning this product when it was purchased in Feb. Why if it didn't work l didn't return it sooner. l purchased the unit when it was on sell. l put it in my basement till racing season started. My husband took it to the race track last weekend. He started it and it ran for a second. That was it we couldn't get it started again. The next day he tried again. It would not start. He emptied all the gas out of it so it could safely be returned to the store. This store manager had his mind made up he was not going to refund my money. He told me l voided my warrenty by putting gas in it. l asked him how he expected we find out if it worked or not. This manager was arrogant. He persisted in stating l was not getting my money back. He told me he would have it repaired. l told him l wasn't interested in repairing a brand new product that l just wanted my money back. He had me so upset. l regret to say l will never step foot in that store to buy another product again. We are in the construction business and racing circuit, my husband goes almost weekly to the store to buy products, We will purchase elsewhere, and l will be sure to share my story with everyone l can.

I will never ever shop at canadian tire again. They are absolutely horrible. I purchased a bike there on april 8 (Before the easter long weekend). I rode it once around my block and discovered that it shifted very badly. This was not really a huge surprise considering that it's a $100 bike (Supercycle 1800). So today (April 13), I went back to the store with the intention of exchanging the bike for a better one (I was willing to upgrade to a more expensive brand). I was told there are no refunds or exchanges on bikes! The cashier and the supervisor were absolutely rude and unsympathetic so I asked to speak to the general manager. The supervisor called him saying, "the customer wants to go over my head. Can you come deal with her?". Lovely. Anyway, so the manager came out and like the supervisor before him, told me, "you should've ridden the bike around the store if you wanted to get a feel for it." I asked him if he thought it was reasonable to ride a bike up and down store aisles and if he thought that would really give me a good idea of what a bike was like. He just shrugged and started to walk away. So I said, "this is how you stand behind your products?" to which he responded, "we have warranty service". As if any kind of service will turn a crappy gear system into a good one. So i'm stuck with a $100 piece of junk. I will never shop at canadian tire again - I wouldn't care if it were a life or death situation, that store will never receive another dime from me.

Last summer, I bought a Simoniz 1750 pressure washer on sale. The very frist time I went to use it, the gun leaked at the trigger and there was no pressure. I went back to CT and the clerk told me that they had a lot of complaints about this pressure washer and that Simoniz would send me a new gun handle if I called them. So, off I went and called Simoniz, and a week later, they send me a new handle for the pressure washer. I went to use it again, and this time, it worked... for 5 minutes! The handle started to leak again, so off I went to CT with my pressure washer, original packaging, and receipt. At this time, I was told that they did not accept any returns on Simoniz pressure washers. Sure enough, every unit they had on the floor now had a disclaimer stating that if I bought this pressure washer, I would not be able to return it. I asked to speak to the manager, I asked him... So, if I were to buy this pressure washer and walked out the door, and came back 2 minutes later to return it, I couldn't? He said No, no returns what so ever. Isn't there a law against this? They obviously know they are selling a defective product...

With no assistance at the store, I was told I would have to deal with Simoniz. Long story short... after repeated phone calls and 5 gun handles later... it was the end of summer. Time to pack the pressure washer away. I told the agent at Simoniz, I wouldn't get to use the pressure washer to ensure it would work, since it is almost winter, and I would be packing it away for the year. He said that he would document my situation in my file.

Fast forward to this year, it's spring, I'm taking my pressure washer out to use for the first time (really, I haven't really used it at all yet). I stored it in my heated basement to ensure there would be no issues. But sure enough, I plug everything in, water spews out from the base of the unit. I call Simoniz, they give me the number to the repair center where they can do local repairs under the warranty. I call the repair center, and they tell me that Simoniz is no longer supplying them with the parts for this model of pressure washer. Nice.

I call CT again at their "Corporate Customer Service" center and expained my situation and my displeasure that this store was knowingly selling a defective item. The woman at corporate then told me that all the stores were individually owned and that they could set their own return policies. So, I asked her why Canadian Tire, the corporation, didn't care what their frachisees were donig to tarnish the CT name? She then repeated that the store was individually owned... she obviously didn't care herself!

I truly hope CT goes bankrupt. I will not shop there again. And I will tell everyone I know, not to shop there either!

Well i got 4 new tires on mar21/09 $475.00 had a flat on mar 29/09 took the tire to clayton park store the service guy said it shouldbe replaced there was a slice between the tread .he also said quinpool rd store had the tire as clayton park store had no stock . but the quinpool rd store would not send a tire over so i took the tire to them . well come to find out since i had the tire installed on the rim at a service station by my house then ballanced at canadian tire after .there was no road hazzard on that tire i cant belive that . well im going to remove the tire go elsewheres buy a new tire and canadian tire on quinpool road will never get a cent from me again and ill keep telling anyone i can of how they are with so called customer service lol what a joke that store is .

We all know many Credit Cards charge abhorrant interest rates.

But Canadian Tire is the worst of the lot, the most ghastly, Usurous Interest rates in the Industry.

What they do is get unsuspecting customers to sign up in the store. What they don't tell you is that they can randomly change the interest rates whenever they feel like it.

Suddenly, one day, I discovered they had raised my interest rate to over 25% (!)

They claim to provide notice on the Statement, but this is in find print and useless if your statement is online... you don't see any of the notices, of course.

Their business practices are reprehensible and they are a stain on the industry. I will never spend a dime in a Canadian Tire store ever again.

I stopped in Salmon Arm because my SUV stopped running. The closest thing was Canadian Tire. The checked the vehicle and told me it was the fuel pump. $570 later I drove out of there. Within a block I noticed that my fuel gauge was not working. Went back. They had to take the whole gas-tank apart again as the gauge and the pump is inside the tank.
2 hours later I was off again and wasted the whole day in there. Drove home to Vancouver. When I got to North Vancouver the car would not run again. I took it to Ford this time literally 48 hours after the Canadian tire repair. VOILA, it was a $9 relay that would quit working when hot. So there you go, a perfectly good 10 year old fuel pump replaced for no good reason. The problem was solved and the SUV ran for a year and half. Salmon Arm is 500 kms away so I was not going to go and complain. Because they are all “independently owned” (fancy name for franchise), the local store here would not do anything about it.
Well I thought, at least I have a new fuel pump and the old one would probably not have lasted more than a couple of years.
Well guess what, the Canadian Tire pump 18 months old quit working. I had the vehicle towed to the dealer and now it is another $600 to replace a part that did not need replacing in the first place and that it did not last 2 years.
Called to complain, it is out of warranty, it is out of area, they are independently owned so there is no Regional Manager, there is no0 way to complain there is nothing. This has been the most frustrating thing of my car life.
If I had known this, I would have gone to any dealer in the first place. WHY DID I DO THIS? I had my BMW repaired at Canadian Tire a few years ago and they screwed up the repair completely. Why did I expect my SUV to have a different fate?
I am an idiot for having gone there again. But I WILL NEVER SET FOOT IN ANY OF THEIR STORES AGAIN, NOR WILL ANYONE I CAN CONVINCE NOT TO.

We brought my Dad's van in to Canadian Tire at Rylander in Scarborough 4 weeks ago...

Problem: No heat from the heater.

Immediate Problems after it was "repaired" and we paid $300 for a replacement thermostat and a flush n' fill of the radiator:
No radiator fluid (van overheating!)
No heat.

We brought it back twice, the first time they just topped up the fluid. The second time, they said the heater core was plugged and that they had fixed it.
Still, no heat, now the engine is still overheating and possibly leaking fluid, because its all pooling in the van under the floor mats.

We brought it back again today.
"Foreman" said that repairs will cost upwards of $2500 and it would be easier to replace the engine entirely.

I complained further, we've been told we will get a refund of what we paid originally.

"Foreman" says that they aren't responsible for the engine block damage and that it likely had already happened before we brought the van in.
I disagree- I asked point blank, "don't you think it is reasonable to assume that a licenced mechanic would be able to spot that sort of damage easily?" He said "yes, they should have".

Of course the damage is recent... my Dad was driving around for nearly two weeks without radiator fluid.
They obviously drained it and didn't replace it when we went for the initial "flush n' fill" and this caused the engine problems.

I called their Complaints number and was given a Ref # and a promise of a callback with 2 days. We'll see what happens.

I'm furious, because this van was bought used less than a year ago, fully certified and we had it inspected.

I bought winter tires from Canadian Tire and had them install them. When I got the bill there was a charge of $7.95 per tire for a new valve stems. My vehicle is a 2008 Grand Caravan with about 10 000 km on it. I asked about the valve stems and they said on the tire course they took, some guy said vehicles with tire pressure monitoring systems should have the valve stems replaced every time the tires are mounted on the rims.

I called the service manager at my local dodge dealership and he told me that is absolutely false.

Another reason why no Canadian Tire mechanic should ever touch your vehicle!

We were in need of new tires so we got our two back tires changed at Canadian Tire. First issue was I had to wait from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. to get the job done which I felt was too long of a wait when I was told it'd only be an hour. Then a few days later, my husband drove the car down a main street over a bridge when the rear tire completely fell off. Luckily he ended up in the other lane with no on coming traffic. Sad to say, we were not thinking (we were getting married the following day and had a ton of errands to run for the big wedding) and called Canadian Tire instead of Manitoba Public Insurance. Canadian Tire offered to have the truck towed to their shop where they 'diagnosed' the problem that someone tried to steal our tire and thus a bolt was missing and that was the reason why it fell off. I don't believe that for a minute given that our truck was an older 1997 rusty truck. The rims on the tire were scratched and rusty. Also, it was the older tire that was switched to the back as it still had some 'life' in it.

I say if you want to get your car done right, take it to the right people/mechanics!

i had goten a work order for a tire repair on a 2008 Volkswagen suv in the shop we have too tire Manichean one of steel rims and another for expensive rims i was using the plastic tire machine 1st too remove the tire but the machine had got stuck in the rim. i asked the managers son "David" to help me his words quote" why are u using that machine its a piece of crap use this one" as he takes it off the other one too put on the steel one the same thing happens it gets stuck. He had grabbed 2 pry bars too get it unstuck but for him pressing the rotation button he had scratched the rim. customer had asked if i wore a seat cover in his car and i told costumer i had put a floor mat sir but no a seat cove for i haven't worked on a car all day so my uniform was clean i had been upstairs the whole day with no work. my other manager branice had told me im so mad at u for not waring a seat cover i cant look at you get out of here so i too her words and went home for it was 20 min form home time.as i come in the next morning my boss Joe taveras try too tell my im suspend an could be fired for his son scratching the rim i sead that not fair and how come im getting in trubble for something i didn't do as for back in the year another worker Alister had seized a moter by dubble gaskiting it and he got a pat on the back n don't worry. as for me a scratch on a rim and im fried please what kind of people work at Canadian tire. I think this is ridiculousness and if anyone can help me il'd appreciate it.
thanks. Eric Garcia

My 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan was not delivering heat to the interior. Took vehicle to Can. Tire Waterloo for diagnosis. They wasted an hour of my time and told me they would need to flush the heater core with CLR to clean out possible debris to the tune of $170. I did not have time for this, so I took the vehicle and froze the rest of the day (-20C). Later looked up "Grand Caravan no heat" on Google and found many hits related to low coolant levels. I opened the radiator to check level and found that the rad was only half full. I filled it with fresh antifreeze and voila, we have heat.
So, they wasted an hour of my time, charged me 50 bucks, and didn't even open the rad to check it. Then they want to hose me another $170. I will NEVER go to "Crappy Tire" for service again.
A very disappointed ex-customer.

Complaint to canadian tire, hunterhorn drive, calgary

On august 23 – 2008 I dropped a tire for repairing on front-right side. It was only deflated. Next day I came back for picking-up the tire and I went to black diamond, where I stayed one month to work. Next day I installed the tire back on my car and my steering wheel vibrate a lot. I couldn’t come back right away because I was very busy to my job in black diamond.
One month later I came to canadian tire to tell them they forgot to balance my wheel … they check it and they said : “yes it wasn’t balanced”. After that my tire didn’t vibrate any more my steering wheel …
Now I ‘m asking you how is that possible to pay for repairing and balance my tire, and actually to not balance my tire …?
On december 19 – 2008 I came again to canadian tire for a different tire, on rear-back side. I felt a big hopping (Jumping) on my rear side of my car … I dropped my tire and I came back on december 21 to pick it up. I asked that person if it is something bad and he said “ it’s all right now …”
I installed it back on my car and … I felt the same big jumping … nothing changed …!
Next day, on december 22, I came again to canadian tire to ask what is happening …
I met mr. Wane and I asked him why my tire it is not fixed and why they said “your tire it’s very good now? “
He said “it’s not our fault and maybe it’s something wrong with your car …
I said my car is good because I changed that “jumper” wheel with a different one and everything it’s good, no hopping …
I asked him why they didn’t check better my wheel and to tell me cannot be fixed?
In that moment he became irritated and he told me “I have to deal with many people in every day, I am exhausted to explain to everybody …
I said “ i’m computer technician for a big store in calgary and i’m dealing like you with a lot of people in every day, and if they have a complaint I have to explain them why and how ….
He became nervous and said : “ i’m not coming to your job to tell you what you have to do! “
I said : “ if we cannot fix a computer we are not charging any penny and we explain why that computer cannot be fixed …. We never charge for a bad work like you, and then to lie that everything it’s ok … “
And anyway I never been nervous with a customer like you …
He started to talk loudly with me and he asked me if that tire is installed on the car …
I asked him why he is more nervous than me and why he talk louder that me …
In the next moment he said “ get lost “ and he left me slammed the door hardly ….
I was shocked … I never seen something like that in canada …!

If I would be only half rude, nervous and impertinent like this guy I would be fired immediately
I cannot understand how you can have this kind of employees, incompetent and aggressive … this non-educated guy should go work hidden in a warehouse, not to work for you in a customer service position …
I think your standards and requirements regarding hiring people are very low …

Theodor stoica december 23 - 2008

Took my car in for an mvi, swapping of summer tires to winter and an oil change. They said i had to leave my car there all day and they would shuttle me to and from the shop to home. Regardless of all that. They called me 4 or 5 hours into it and told me they changed the tires, the oil and that they found a broken bearing and a broken rear spring...heres the catch. They said they broken spring was connected to the lower arm by a bolt(which was seized) so they would have to replace both the spring and the lower arm. i said "cant you cut the bolt instead of replacing the lower arm" they said no its not that easy"
anyways...end result ...i picked the car up...paid $350.oo for tire swap, oil change and bearing for a wheel. they rejected my mvi and gave me a quote for another $1350.00 for the repair of my broken spring.

Get this...i got another mechanic to look at it...THE SPRING WASNT EVEN BROKE!..

i could not believe it...1 month before christmas. my kids almost did not have a christmas because of this. Regardless...the other mechanic found that all i needed was a set of brake pads, thats it. $135.00 is all it cost..

moral of the story is...dont go to canadian tire for car things...if you do...get a second opinion.