I took my car (2019 Lexus RX 350 with 87k miles) to valvoline for an oil change and once I was there they offered a transmission fluid change. About an hour after the service was done, I received a call from them telling me I needed to bring my car back immediately or else my car "could be destroyed." I brought it to a different valvoline location where they flushed the transmission fluid and told me I should be good to go. My car was feeling jerky and wasn't accelerating properly so I ended up taking it to the Lexus dealership and they noted the transmission fluid was a milky pink and should NOT be that color at all. Lexus did a transmission flush but said they wouldn't be able to determine if damage was done to the transmission until it was driven more. Valvoline agreed to pay for the services I got done at Lexus.
Fast forward to 2-3 months later, my car starts feeling jerky again and I take it to the dealership. They told me I need to replace my transmission, radiator, and flush some lines for a total of $13.5k because there was coolant found in the transmission fluid. I reached out to Valvoline and found out that they put waste coolant fluid into my transmission instead of the proper fluid when I went their initially services. They admitted to having this on video. Valvoline agreed to replace my transmission but with one of equal or lesser miles but not my radiator. I also have to go to a repair shop they pick where the warranty of the used transmission they put in my car would only be 3 months. I asked for documentation of their mistake and my claims but they denied my request and said documents are only provided with a subpoena.
I ultimately would have been okay if they let me repair the car at the dealership with the recommended repairs but they're giving me a hard time about this. I didn't realize how serious their mistake was until calling around to a few transmission shops to discuss the issue.
Would I be able to take legal action against Valvoline? My car prior to the transmission issues was worth about $22k. This has honestly been so stressful, I've been without a car, spent multiple days at the dealership so I feel like they should be compensating me more.
Location: Los Angeles, CA