Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Tri-Cities Battery Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Tri-Cities Battery Inc.

  5900 W Clearwater Ave Kennewick, WA 99336-1846

  
• 

  Tri-Cities Battery Inc.

  2170 Jericho Rd Richland, WA 99352-7668

  
• 

  Tri-Cities Battery Inc.

  2104 N 4th Ave Pasco, WA 99301-3730

  

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/04/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Ok so my car was blowing cold air on the driver side only and warm on the passenger side. I took it to tri city battery and had a diagnostic done for 179$, at the end they told me my freon was filled to spec, but my compressor wasn't engaging and would need to be replaced along with the condensor, which was about 3500$, so after i took the car home i opened the hood and with the ac off the compressor didn't spin, but when i pushed the ac button on the compressor would engage just fine and spin, so after that i decided it was time for a second opinion because something was fishy here. So i took my car to another reputable shop and they performed a diagnostic of their own and told me not only was my ac compressor engaging correctly and working fine, but the real problem was that my freon was really low, it was at 140 nanograms out of 710 nanograms, so in conclusion tri city battery tried to upsell me on a 3500$ ac compressor job and didn't even check the freon level. I was able to have my car back the same day for 640$ with ice cold air running throughout the car. Shame on you tri city battery for lying or just doing a terrible diagnosis. I should be refunded the full diagnostic fee due to it being incorrect.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/15/2025

  To whom this may concern,
     I have received the review and yes **** ****** was in our shop on March ******* with an Air Conditioning concern. When he dropped the vehicle off, he stated that the vehicle's A/C was not cooling. He also stated he had the vehicle at another local shop (Hi-Land Garage), and they inspected the system and ruled out faulty actuators for the problem. We performed the A/C Diagnostic check which includes a pressurized leak test, A/C system recover, evacuate, and recharge. These items are all listed on our invoice # ****** and the results of the test. When we diagnosed the vehicle, we found the system was not cooling and the compressor was not engaging but the A/C system refrigerant was at manufacturer specifications. We checked for power and grounds in the system, and they tested good. The technician also applied direct 12v power to compressor and it still would not engage or work. The technician finished all required tests, and the results showed proper freon specs and good power/grounds for the system, but the compressor would not activate, and the Technician recommended replacing the A/C compressor due to no engagement. The customer stated that the system was low on freon, but our A/C machine measures and removes the freon to pressurize the system to find leaks and then if the system shows no leaks, it will recharge the system back to manufacturer specifications. When I spoke to the technician that worked on the vehicle, he stated what he did for the diagnostics and why he recommended the repairs that the Service Advisor presented to the customer. We are including a signed invoice which shows everything we did and explained to the customer. We dont feel we should owe a refund for this when we spent multiple hours diagnosing the customers vehicle and he declined our recommended repairs. Also, the customer had already taken this vehicle with the same A/C problem to another repair shop before us which did not get a complete diagnosis and repair estimate. This information is on the signed invoice that we included.
  Sincerely,
  ****** ****
  Store Manager
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/16/2025

   
  Complaint: 23163166
  
  I am rejecting this response because: i took my car into anther shop for a second option given the high dollar value to replace the ac compressor, and not only does the compressor work just fine, the freon was low (not filled to spec like they claimed) and that was the only issue, after freon was added my car blows ice cold air. i feel this shop either misdiagnosed my car or we're not being truthful, if they were telling the truth then how does my compressor magically work after i had my freon filled to spec. They claimed it was full but it was at 140 nanograms or 750, i feel they made a mistake weather it was on purpose or accidental. But they should own up to it, why should i pay for a bad diagnosis or an untruthful one? I shouldn't. No customer should.  I'm giving the shop a chance to refund the money and do the right thing.  if they choose not to then they are saying they don't care about their customers and can't own up to their own mistakes. I'll make sure every one knows how they treat their customers, and I'll be leaving reviews on every platform available. It's simple bad business. 

  Attached is my bill from ********* auto for $641.02 for ac diagnostic, ac evacuate and recharge w/ r-1234yf. And ZERO mention of a bad ac compressor. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** ******