Oil Change At Walmart Now Car Is Undriveable

I arrived at Walmart and checked in at the Auto Care Center tent for an oil change. I spoke with a male employee with gray hair who was wearing a gray outfit. I told him I wanted an oil change. He asked whether I wanted any additional services, such as windshield wipers, and I declined.

The employee instructed me to park my vehicle in front of Bay 4 and leave the keys inside the vehicle. I parked the vehicle, turned it off, exited the vehicle, and went inside the Walmart store.

Approximately 12:03 PM:
I heard my first and last name announced over the store intercom and was asked to report to the Auto Care Center. I was in the electronics department at the time and went directly to the Auto Care Center.

The same employee who had checked me in told me that he needed to speak with me. He explained that they had noticed my radiator was leaking. He then told me that, because they noticed the leak, they removed the cap. According to his explanation, antifreeze then shot upward, and a piece of the cap broke off and fell inside the radiator. He told me that, as a result, I could not drive my vehicle.

Several people were present and may have witnessed this conversation, including a female Auto Care Center employee with black hair and approximately three male customers.

After this conversation, I stepped away to call someone to pick me up. I asked the same employee if I could retrieve my keys. He told me that the vehicle first needed to be pushed out of the service bay because they could not drive it. The woman with black hair working was present for this as well. I briefly returned to the electronics department before going back to the Auto Care Center.

One of the people I had called for assistance had arrived. We went outside and opened the hood of my vehicle to look at the engine area. While we were looking at the vehicle, the same male employee with gray hair approached us and gave a different explanation of what had occurred.

During this conversation, he stated that when they opened the hood to perform the oil change, antifreeze instantly shot up and had gotten everywhere. He said they then saw a piece of the cap fall into the radiator and decided it was not safe to perform the oil change.

The explanations I received about what happened to my vehicle differed during the course of the interaction. The first explanation indicated that employees noticed a leak, removed a cap, and that antifreeze sprayed upward and a piece of the cap broke off during that process. The later explanation indicated that antifreeze had already sprayed out and that the damaged cap was observed when the hood was opened.

I filed a report with Walmart corporate who said they'd have the store manager reach out to me. I did have a female reach out to me but I missed her call so I called her back on 11/10/2026. She said she watched the cameras and they didn't touch anything near the radiator and that in fact it had actually burned the technician. I let her know that I was told by the service manager that they noticed a leak so they touched it and then he let me know the car was undriveable. The manager then countered with the fact they saw the car being driven out of the parking lot. I let her know that THEIR service manager said the car was undriveable and that the only way we got it out of their parking lot was with duct tape.

If that hose was loose antifreeze would have shot out way before then so I don't understand how they'd just be seeing it and then able to see a piece break off into the radiator

I also have a picture of the car from 3 days prior where you can clearly see the hose attached

Any advice? I don't believe their story because for one it's changed, and for two Walmart apparently has a bad reputation for this kind of stuff. Do I need a lawyer or do I have to file a police report?

Location: Scotland County, North Carolina