The best thing you can do is find…
The best thing you can do is find another shop not named Mavis.
3/15/2026-3/16/2026
I brought my car, a 2015 Honda Pilot, to Mavis to have the brakes checked due to vibration in the steering wheel. Mavis confirmed the rotors were worn out and needed to be replaced. The next day, my wife brought my car back to Mavis and all rotors and brake pads were replaced.
3/20/2026
I was driving the car on the interstate and noticed the vibration in the steering wheel was still present.
3/21/2026
I brought the Pilot back to Mavis on to have the brakes checked again. At this time, I also asked if they had the runout measurements from the prior install on 3/16/2006, which they did not have. The Honda spec for runout is 0.0016 inches, which the store manager confirmed. Mavis proceeded put the Pilot on the lift and inspected some components in the rear end and stated they believe the steering wheel vibration is due to a worn rear sway bar and/or rubber bushings around the rear differential. I agreed that at 250,000 miles, there are likely some worn out parts. However, I asked them for the runout measurements on the new rotors after installation as I wanted to verify the rotors were in spec before working on another part of the car. They proceeded to take measurements with a digital caliper at five locations in line with the lug nut studs. Since all 5 measurements were within spec, they called the runout good; however, measuring rotor thickness is not the same as runout. Finally, they admitted they do not have a dial indicator runout gauge to measure actual rotor runout, but if I take the car to a different shop and found an issue, they would take care of the problem. At this point, I agreed that it was best to seek a different shop. I called the Mavis in Clemmons to see if they could do a runout measurement, but they also stated they do not have a runout gauge. Since there were no Mavis options, I took the car to an independent mechanic.
4/2/2026
An independent shop inspected the brakes and measure the runout on the from rotors to by 0.0080 inches and the rear to be 0.0050 inches. Way out of spec on both front and rear. The rotors at Mavis were not installed to spec on 3/16/2026 and were not measured or corrected on 3/21/2026. The independent shop was able to salvage the new rotors and correct Mavis' installation errors. The car now drives with no vibration at all when braking. I then returned to the Mavis shop to see if they would refund the labor charges from 3/16/2026 of $330 under the Mavis labor warranty policy. I did not ask for a refund on the parts since the independent shop was able to machine and reuse the rotors, even though this was an additional $573.21 to correct Mavis' mistakes. The store manager at Mavis refused and said that the labor warranty is not applied in that manner and I had to bring the car back to them for the repairs. The store manager said once the independent shop found the runout issue, I should have brought the car back to Mavis and they would have put new rotors on under warranty. To that end, I have several issues:
1. If replacing the new rotors installed on 3/16/2026 with another new set of rotors is the fix, why was that not done on 3/21/2026?
2. The Mavis shop had two chances to install and/or correct the issue and failed. How many chances do I need to give the shop in order to get it correct?
3. Why is the burden on me to find an independent shop to diagnose Mavis' mistakes since they did not have the tools available to measure the rotor installation to verify it met Honda's runout spec? Additionally, beyond my time and loss of my car for another day, there was a financial cost of a $110 diagnosis fee at the independent shop to find Mavis' errors.
4. Even if I did bring the car back for a third time to have the rotors replaced under warranty, I asked the store manager about how he would verify that new rotors would meet the runout spec since they do not have a runout gauge. To this, he replied that one of the floor technicians purchased a runout gauge, and they can now do runout measurements. If a runout gauge is needed now, why wasn't it needed on 3/16/2026 when the new rotors were installed? And knowing I had an issue, why wasn't I asked to bring the car back after the gauge was purchased so that a runout measurement could be taken?
I have all the invoices from these visits and the thickness measurement from 3/21/2026. The total bill for the services on 3/16/2026 was $788.20. It cost me an additional $573.21 at the independent shop to have Mavis' botched install diagnosed and corrected. Save yourself the time and trouble and take your vehicle to another shop.