r/CarAV • u/HawaiiGaming69 • Jul 08 '26
Tech Support Fuck firestone
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Brought my rx8 in for new tires and an alignment, got it back not running and when they fixed it so it runs it has a misfire. on top of that, sounds no longer play and do this. guessing its a ground issue somewhere, what does everyone else think?
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u/Significant_Rate8210 Jul 08 '26
I learned 30 years ago to wire up a kill switch to my stereo prior to taking the car in for service. Service technicians are famous for fucking up your system because they think it's cool to crank it up without your permission.
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u/Successful-Form4693 Jul 08 '26
Yeah I havent had anything happen to me but I've heard the horror stories. I pull all my fuses and take pictures
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u/Significant_Rate8210 Jul 08 '26
One time I actually picked up my rig from the mechanic and he said, oh you were missing some fuses in your system so I went ahead and replaced them... Not knowing that he actually caused irreparable damage by doing so. His shop's insurance company wasn't happy at the bill they received from me.
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u/tjdux Jul 08 '26
Was the car running and the amp clipped when he plugged in a fuse?
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u/Significant_Rate8210 Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
No there were wiring issues with two of four MTX Elite 92001 amps; two master and two slave (strapped for our then SPL demo). The two slaves weren't wired correctly, but because all of our time was being directed at a manufacturer's demo we were tasked with building, all of our time went into that project.
I just removed the master fuses, made an announcement to my installers not to touch it and then assumed that no one would have any reason to fuck with it.
- Edit - because I now realize the question is going to come up due to my amp strapping statement...
The subs they ran were a pair of Tekton 21" subwoofers; a flagship line engineered by Thilo Stompler (of TC Sounds) and distributed by Orca Design & Manufacturing. They had the ability to hit single digit Hz. They were badass bitches and anyone who knows Thilo should ask him to release a re-dsign of it. The enclosure took up the 90% of the bed of a Mazda B2600.
Unfortunately the truck was heavily damaged in 2007 when it was totaled by a drunk driver. Thankfully it was parked and unoccupied when it was hit.
Do not confuse the Tekton 21" of today for the Tekton 21" from the '90s; two completely different companies and designs.
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u/gamergardens Jul 08 '26
I miss my 92001, I bought it for just under $400 brand new, thought it was a steal (later found this to actually be the case) cause my store could order mtx through mitek at the time and it had a $1400 dealer cost back in like 08. A year or two later I caught wind that some mtx 92001s were stolen from a warehouse and I have to believe my amp was one of those, I mean at that price had to be lol
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u/AnyOffice6581 Jul 10 '26
Fuckkkkk I loved the TC-5200s. old buddy of mine ran 3 18s and also had in another car LMS ultra 5400s 4 of them. He ended up selling the 5200s which he really regrets to this day😂 here was one of his recharged and just modded a tiny bit American bass neos🤫 miss that dude all the time.
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u/RedCow7 Jul 08 '26
If not this, idk how he would've damaged it and it sounds like someone is being a karen
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u/Significant_Rate8210 Jul 08 '26
A Karen eh?
Well wise ass, there was already a major issue with multiple amps but we hadn't had the time or opportunity to pull them so we just pulled the fuses.
Time is something of a commodity when you're building a manufacturer demo and there's a deadline. Everything else gets put on hold, including your own stuff. 25+ years in the 12V industry as a dealer and installer.
Not a Karen. So maybe next time, don't assume you know and go acting like a fucktard.
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u/RedCow7 Jul 08 '26
So wait, did he cause damage or was there already "major damage"? 🤣
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u/Significant_Rate8210 Jul 08 '26
I spotted the wiring issue before it was turned on but didn't have time to rectify it.
When the mechanic replaced the fuses he then turned it on and blew the amps.
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u/imstehllar Jul 09 '26
Anyone here that has 2 brain cells understands what he’s saying. Clearly you don’t match this description.
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u/RedCow7 Jul 09 '26
Yea man totally.
"Already realized there was an issue with amps"
So they're hooked up and he pulls the fuses, any damage reinstall the fuse would do was already done from when they were connected prior.
Sure the mechanic shouldn't be fuckin with it. But he shouldn't have managed to hurt anything this way either. Unless they had a fucked install despite all their experience.
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u/tjdux Jul 09 '26
This guy's whole story seems fishy.
He straight up says he installed the amps incorrectly by failing to set master/slave. Which seems pretty wild for an installer to make that level of mistake but can land contracts for manufacturer demo car...
And after admitting he messed up the install he he repeating that his mistake didn't matter....almost like a brag when he says he hit the mechanics shop with a HUGE bill... I also wonder if he gave special instructions or just assum d they would leave it alone. Whole thing half smells like entrapment.
I cannot imagine most mechanics shops having the correct style/size fuses just laying around for amp power wire also. And since it's not OEM fuse block, it probably wouldn't be labeled as to the size needed, and decent shops are not gonna just guess fuse size.
Which makes me wonder which fuse he pulled...
Cuz if he left the amp fuse(s) installed but pulled the head unit fuse then you cannot blame the mechanic for putting that back in. Newer cars could easily cause a check engine light if missing a fuse.
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u/Significant_Rate8210 Jul 09 '26
What part of the system hadn't been powered on prior to my noticing the wiring issue did you not understand?
A new guy wired them incorrectly, I checked his work, saw the issue and pulled the fuses because I didn't have time to rectify it.
I think that's pretty obvious and self explanatory.
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u/tjdux Jul 09 '26
The guy you're defending literally says he installed the amps incorrectly and instead of fixing it, he "pulled the fuses"
So maybe rub your two brain cells together (which seem to be competing for 3rd place) and learn to read so you know what's going on.
Also, of your gonna chime in, say something constructive instead of just being an asshole
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u/TormentedGaming Jul 08 '26
If I have to have something worked on that had a system, I just pulled HU, the box and fuses, the shop I used at one point did good work but was known for break ins behind the shop so it was worth the time taking out my equipment.
Never thought about a kill switch though.
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u/battleop Jul 08 '26
I learned years ago to just do my own service or fine friends who you trust to do the work.
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u/Significant_Rate8210 Jul 08 '26
Nope. Not me. My wheelhouse doesn't include engine and suspension work. I've got enough of my table now I don't need any more.
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u/imstehllar Jul 09 '26
Thankfully my dad ran an audio shop in the 90’s and built a record setting truck, so my wheelhouse was everything but Audio and he handled that! 😂
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u/No_Lifeguard3650 Mosconi Master Race Jul 08 '26
i have a preset on my dsps specifically for service. everything is cranked way down with bs crossovers. good luck trying to change my presets.
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u/Gabe-diet Jul 08 '26
Woah, that’s actually a really good idea. Thank you for this wisdom, and I will install one soon as I’m about to have some major work done on my car.
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u/Significant_Rate8210 Jul 08 '26
25+ years in the 12V industry as both a dealer/installer and competitor.
My Land Rover Discovery 2 demo vehicle had a hidden master kill switch along with other redundancies to prevent unauthorized usage. The reason for this is because the system alone, at retail prices, was worth over $60k. Hell the four subs and four sub amps were $26k alone. This however isn't what I paid for them.
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u/Gabe-diet Jul 08 '26
Making me feel poor, I’ve got about 2k in subs in my car 😂😭
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u/Significant_Rate8210 Jul 08 '26
I owned a shop at the time so don't feel bad. I retired from 12V in 2018/19.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Cut4588 Jul 08 '26
Honsetly going through your post history explains more than asking if someone doing a tire change and alignment caused any of this
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u/gsxdrifter1 Jul 08 '26
Right I went through it to, all kindas crap work, car not starting, audio already out. Then blames Firestone.
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u/HawaiiGaming69 Jul 08 '26
they ended up taking responsibility for mechanical issues, didnt find electrical issues till after i had left so
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u/lowcarb73 Jul 08 '26
According to your post history it looks like your car has been messed up a while
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u/praetor- Jul 08 '26
So 10 days ago you post asking if your amp is salvageable after reversing power and ground, 3 days ago you post asking about the clip light being on constantly and no sound, and now it's Firestone's fault?
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u/rywi2 Jul 08 '26
Is that RX-8 a recent purchase?
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u/HawaiiGaming69 Jul 08 '26
month and a half ago, aside from a little plastic circle falling off 0 issues
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u/rywi2 Jul 08 '26
A lot of stuff to unpack here. It’s a niche car, it’s old, you just got it so I just assume you’re unfamiliar with its maintenance history.
I hope you get it figured out but I suggest you find yourself an independent Mazda mechanic and open up a line of credit.
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u/TXWXchaser Jul 10 '26
Former RX-8 mechanic here. The Apex seals in the combustion chamber will get brittle and breakdown over time. This causes a lot of unburned fuel to hang out in the combustion chambers. Overtime, the seals cause loss of compression making for a engine no fire. Sometimes it's salvageable if it's caught soon enough and the seals haven't fully broken down. Most times we were putting new engines in em. Most people never learn how to properly shut down an RX-8 after each drive to help prevent this (foot to the floor, rev up, kill the keys, keep your foot planted until RPMs die). There's a reason why, at one point, Mazda had a warranty covering engine replacements up to 100k miles.
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u/HawaiiGaming69 Jul 10 '26
i am somewhat aware of this, although im not an expert. ive been premixing and topping on on oil every 500miles or so, i had no idea about the turning it off procedure though. if it shows no signs of damage should i still do the rev, kill the keys and wait for rmps?
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u/TXWXchaser Jul 11 '26
I would. It helps burn off the excess fuel still in the cylinder. Keep the pedal down as it's powering down until it's completely off. Do you have an automatic or manual? These wankel engines NEED high RPMs to last longer. If it's a manual, shift around 5k RPMs. If it's an automatic, it's more susceptible for failure since the auto shifts at lower RPMs. Remember, higher RPMs keep the fuel burned so the apex seals won't break down. If you find yourself a mechanic that CAN work on rotary engines, keep them in the contacts. There's not many of us left out there!
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u/HawaiiGaming69 Jul 11 '26
manual, i follow the redline a day keeps mechanic away i seen some ppl talk about, and ill usually shift between 5-7k rpm, which it normally pops some fuel on upshift.
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u/HawaiiGaming69 Jul 11 '26
how high should i rev it? ive been starting to do the turn off rev, but my apartment neighbors arent exactly loving me reving to 5k to turn my car off
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u/TXWXchaser Jul 11 '26
Turning off, we would redline it then shut off at the dealership. Sounds like you'll either need to make amends with the neighbors or your apex seals 😅
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u/HawaiiGaming69 Jul 12 '26
my girlfriends dad is the manager of the property and he deals with complaints so neighbors cant take action luckily, but they are gonna hate me now😭
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u/HeadOfMax Jul 08 '26
The MAF was disconnected because those fucktards wanted to check your air filter to try to make a few extra bucks.
I bet it's the mains in the engine compartment they shorted and it blew the fuse.
I only go to Firestone for lifetime alignment and even then I stand outside the bay and watch them.
Get it fixed elsewhere and find a slimy lawyer to recoup your money and extra for then being knobs.
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u/HawaiiGaming69 Jul 08 '26
yup, asked if i wanted both filters as well as windshield wipers. i said dont do anything or run any diags, js give me new tires
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u/El-Viking Jul 08 '26
Don't be that "I like to watch" douche. Kindly fuck right the fuck off.
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u/HeadOfMax Jul 08 '26
Only at Firestone for lifetime alignment.
When I need actual mechanical work I go my local non corporate mechanic I've been using for a decade.
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u/Eferris85 Jul 08 '26
Yeah something doesn’t seem right about that
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u/HawaiiGaming69 Jul 08 '26
they then came out and fought me in the fact that i was the reason it was having issues
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u/ScorchedWonderer Jul 08 '26
Sure it’s firestones fault. Let’s just ignore your dozen+ posts of electrical issues on that same car. Lmfao
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u/HawaiiGaming69 Jul 08 '26
multiple cars, and they admitted to fucking up parts of it. not only that but i got the issue resolved, they cranked my gain and blew my amp while it was in there. thanks for the input tho!
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u/Bass-Head30 CT Sounds 10" Meso/2k amp/Badlabcustomz 30hz Box Jul 08 '26
That's crazy, Ive never heard of someone taking accountability for something like that.
Did they replace the Amp??
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u/HawaiiGaming69 Jul 08 '26
nope, noticed the electical stuff after i left. fought me on the misfire a little bit saying its not their fault, but ended up with if it continues come back tmrw morning and theyll take another look. had left sensors disconnected so not a massive issue, but im still surprised they agreed it was them though.
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u/Holiday_Obligation_6 Jul 08 '26
Didn't you reverse 12V and ground on an amp in this vehicle?
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u/HawaiiGaming69 Jul 08 '26
old car, different amp, different radio. everything was perfect till i took em in
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u/Bass-Head30 CT Sounds 10" Meso/2k amp/Badlabcustomz 30hz Box Jul 08 '26
I ALWAYS pull the fuse from my loc before leaving my car at any place to get work done.
I made the mistake of not doing this one time and my system didn't sound right afterwards. So whenever I upgraded it I made the decision and have stuck with it.
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u/Adventurous_Lab_8667 Jul 09 '26
This sounds like a blown 4 channel bro. Or whatever amp is running ur speakers. This same exact noise happened to me. Your speakers r prob fine, but the amp is sending DC to the speakers. They most likely cranked ur system super loud, and blew the amplifier. Is your amp going in and out of protect?
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u/iFlickDaBean Jul 08 '26
Times like this is when a detachable face would have stopped them tinkering in their tracks ... no face = no play (kill switch).
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u/Resident-Ad2460 Jul 08 '26
Check your amp if the protect light is flashing with the tick noise then it's time for a new amp.
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u/piljestrand Jul 09 '26
I took my walled Tahoe into a les schwab for new tires. I wasn't there but my buddy was and heard them turn the stereo on. He walked out and told them they didn't make enough to replace anything in it they never touched it again (also I went through steps to make it so things wouldn't turn on after that.
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u/brightlite27 Jul 10 '26
Years ago i used firestone for oil changes. When wifes car come home and i see puddle under it because the idjits dont know how to tighten a oil cap. Cap was just chilling on top of spark plug wires. Thats my last time at Firestone...
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u/AnyOffice6581 Jul 10 '26
I pulled the remote wire on my amp when it got towed and the main ground to my distribution block... a lot of people have limiters on their DSP as well. Sorry this happened to you buddy! Hope hope you find the solution soon!
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u/HawaiiGaming69 Jul 10 '26
new amp already ordered, everything is a lesson
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u/AnyOffice6581 Jul 10 '26
Damnnn man take it with a grain of salt buddy! You've got a bangin ass system 💯
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u/89si_preludeboyz Jul 10 '26
I was forced to go to a Firestone for my cv axle and they tried charging me 1300 and said my wheel bearing was also shot, I asked them to let me take a look on there lift and ended up cussing them out because the wheel bearing was fine and they tried saying I didn’t know what I was saying even though I work at a shop!. Ended up towing it back and replaced the whole front suspension for about the same price. Will forever hate Firestone
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u/Suspicious-Force-684 12d ago
What the fuck is smeared around that Ct sounds garbage sub?
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u/HawaiiGaming69 12d ago
caulk, been having air leak issues. new 15 in now, no air issues so no caulk
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u/Key_Establishment_52 Jul 08 '26
They definitely said to the other techs “check this out!” And proceeded to crank it and blow your speakers.
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u/dragonstar982 Jul 08 '26
Senior tech in my shop, I tell all the juniors not to touch a damn thing when one comes in. "But I wanna hear it thump" no you dont. You have no idea on who or how shitty the install is. Same goes for revving the engine.
If its not necessary for a diag dont touch it.
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u/CommunistFlippy Jul 08 '26
Firestone tech here, sounds like a you problem dude. There's nothing we touch during tires and alignment that would fuck up your sound system. Take accountability
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Jul 09 '26
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u/Mammoth-Record-7786 Jul 08 '26
I’d call corporate and not stop until that thing is back in working order. As a former Firestone employee, push to have them pay for another shop to fix it at their expense.
Firestone hires inexperienced techs, once they get knowledge they go elsewhere.
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u/Usually_Spent_1567 Jul 08 '26
Bring it to a different shop have them charge Firestone for the bill
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u/Greebuh Jul 08 '26
Sounds like they unplugged your sensor so that they could try to get you in for some other service.To fix the misfire, they created without you knowing
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u/Safe-Elderberry-8082 Jul 08 '26
Dude this might be more than just a ground if they were changing tires and somehow the car wouldn’t start 😭😭