“My faith in their service is kind of low.”
A woman bought a vehicle from CarMax. Then she says she immediately had to take it to the service department.
Cassie (@cassielynncamp) claims that during her first drive she discovered a major issue with the vehicle that needed to be addressed right away.
On the drive home, Cassie says the check engine light came on during the ride home. That wasn’t the most alarming thing that happened.
“The check engine light came on and smoke came out the back of it on the way home from CarMax,” Cassie begins.
Cassie said she returned the vehicle to CarMax right away. She claims they kept it over the weekend and gave her a loaner. She remains worried about her vehicle.
“They just called me to tell me that it’s done and they did something with the battery, but that the smoke was normal. I was like ‘No it’s not. It was a lot of smoke coming out the back,’” Cassie says.
She demanded the CarMax service department take another look at it. Either way, she plans on making absolutely certain there’s no lingering issues.
“I’m gonna take it to my mechanic if they fix anything. Regardless I’m taking it to the mechanic,” she says.
CarMax has a 10 day, no questions asked return policy, which Cassie plans on doing if need be.
“I’m a little nervous now. My faith in their service is kind of low,” Cassie says.
The CarMax service department purportedly tried to convince Cassie that having smoke come out of your vehicle is normal. It’s definitely not. Rather, it may indicate there’s something wrong with your vehicle, potentially something serious.
Family Handyman reports that smoke is caused by small amounts of motor oil or other fluids leaking. Either fluid spilling onto the hot engine or into the exhaust system creates smoke. These fluids can include power steering, engine coolant, brake and transmission, and possibly even window washer. When you see any smoke, it’s best to address the situation immediately.
The color of the smoke and where it is can diagnose what the problem is.
A cloud of smoke coming from underneath the hood or tailpipe can indicate a severe problem. A serious electrical failure or mechanical issue may have occurred.
A wispy white smoke will appear when a blown radiator hose spills coolant on the engine. This smoke will have a sweet pungent odor that looks like steam. White smoke can also appear in the tailpipe when coolant is split from an engine part or bad head gasket and burns in the combustion chamber.
Seeing blue or gray smoke come from the tailpipe is a sign that the engine is burning oil. This may have a pungent bitter odor caused by plugged PCV valves, leaking valve seals, worn piston rings, using the wrong motor oil, or overfilling the crankcase.
When a thick gray smoke appears from the tailpipe, transmission fluid is getting sucked in the intake manifold. This means there’s a defective transmission vacuum modulator, which will create the dense gray smoke.
Black smoke can be caused by an electrical problem or raw fuel burning. The smell will resemble burning plastic and can come from under the hood or inside the passenger compartment. Burning raw fuel creates black smoke; this is caused by a poor engine sensor or ignition component, leaking fuel injector, or defective fuel pressure regulator. The smell will resemble burnt gasoline.
The only time it’s normal for smoke to come out of the car is a small white puff from the tailpipe. This smoke is water vapor and most likely condensation build up. This will occur when the car has sat overnight or on cold winter mornings, Jiffy Lube reports.
Viewers in the comment section recommended Cassie return the vehicle as soon as possible.
“As an ex employee, that’s why they give you their 10 days. RETURN IT and get another,” one person wrote.
Another added, “Personally, I wouldn’t spend anymore of those precious 10 days to get your money back figuring out this vehicle’s issues.”
“Take it back,” someone else agreed.
More viewers chimed in with negative experiences with CarMax
“Bought a car from them. Their service department ‘missed’ that the car had severe frame damage. They only noticed because I had to go back the next day for new air filters. Their service department is a joke,” one shared.
“Your mistake is that you bought a car from CarMax,” one wrote.
One viewer suggested buying an OBD-II reader to verify the problems are fixed when she gets the car back.
“It’s super cheap to buy an OBD-II read[er] from Amazon to take with you when car shopping. if it shows that codes were cleared in the last few drives don’t buy the car. They’re covering something and hoping that your trial run will be over before you notice the issues,” they suggested.
Motor1 has contacted Cassie via TikTok direct message and commented on the post. This post will be updated if she replies.
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