Monro Auto Service and Tire Centers, 789 Foxon Road

01/05/26 by Matthew Iannantuoni

TLDR: Came in for brake pads and they knowingly let me drive off with bad brakes in the CT winter. Full story- I came in around Thanksgiving to get my brake pads replaced and an oil change. If I wasn?t busy with exams and work I probably would have just done it myself on the pavement. After it was on the lift, they called saying it needed a new front caliper hose and a new rear caliper; I agreed. At the end of the day, they said it was braking fine (but would feel off due to the new caliper and pads) and sent it home. They couldn?t get the dashboard brake warning light to turn off and said that doing so would require removing the master cylinder the next day, but if I could ignore the light, the brakes worked fine. For the next three weeks the brakes felt soft but the car stopped. Then, on December 23, the brakes totally failed on an icy drive home from work. I limped it back in using the emergency brake the next morning. I told the guy it was probably the master cylinder because: (1) the brake fluid reservoir was less than halfway from min; (2) the brakes could be partially pumped back up; and (3) a similar issue had happened to a previous car after compressing the calipers for new brake pads- the pressure on a worn out seal can cause it to fail. He ignored me and kept cutting me off, I found out why. A few days later, he let it slip over the phone that they knew the rear brakes weren?t bleeding correctly back in November. They thought the rear caliper hoses were clogged but replacement hoses were ?hard to find,? so they sent me on my way without so much as a heads up. They also did not connect the trouble bleeding with the persistent brake warning light. Five days later (to be fair, that includes Christmas) they called me to say they replaced both ?clogged? rear caliper hoses but the brakes were still squishy and it was probably the master cylinder. I told them I just wanted the car back. They made me wait another day just to put the tires on and take it off the lift. At that point I left work to pay and get the car towed to another mechanic. That mechanic replaced the master cylinder the next morning. The light is gone and the car stops like normal. Monro never even asked why I was going through the trouble of getting it towed to another shop. I have no problem with them starting with the hoses before doing the master cylinder- they?re the professionals and replacing the master cylinder is not a small job. I do have a problem with them not telling me about the rear brakes in November, even if they couldn?t (or didn?t want to) fix it. Not knowing, I put myself and everyone I drove around at a big risk every day for three weeks. What if they had failed on the highway? Brakes are an important part of a car; don?t trust them with yours.....Read More

01/05/26 by Meagan Johnson

Very helpful, fast and friendly!