Woman says her Jeep SUV blew up at Phoenix Walmart after oil changes there

It was a day like any other for elementary instructional aide and track and field coach Nikki Smith — that is, until her car exploded in the parking lot of the automotive center of a Phoenix Walmart SuperCenter on August 29.

Smith said she had frequented Store #5189 near Indian School Road and 51st Avenue around three times to get her oil changed prior to the explosion because of the low cost and convenient location. 

Her dream car, the 2014 black Jeep Cherokee SUV, she purchased last year never had any issues. Unless you count a broken windshield wiper.

That is, until she was left without a vehicle after two recent oil changes under Walmart's supervision.

Oil began leaking under hood, Jeep would not accelerate after oil changes

The first oil change, on August 12, seemed to have gone off without a hitch. 

After that, Smith drove her vehicle for a couple of weeks before noticing that oil had leaked into parts underneath her hood. 

Early on the morning of August 28, she returned to Walmart to inform them of the leak.  

The automotive center kept her vehicle an additional four hours from the time she brought it in. The oil was subsequently replaced and they told her that the next time she came back, they would give her a free oil change. 

"I feel like they knew there was something wrong with my car, but they were just trying to fix it without me figuring it out," Smith said.  

But after that second oil change, her vehicle would not accelerate past 20 mph and was smoking. So she went back again and was told, in order to fix what was wrong with the car, they needed Smith to run a diagnostic test on her vehicle because they did not have the electronic reader. 

Car burst into flames moments after arriving at Walmart 

Smith returned the next morning as soon as the center opened armed with information she thought would solve her troubles. 

She only spent two minutes inside the Walmart when a mechanic ran inside and told her that her vehicle was smoking and they thought it was going to catch fire. Smith thought she still might have to grab some of her personal belongings and turn off the vehicle.  

But by the time she reached the driver's side, the vehicle exploded. It is not yet clear what may have caused the explosion.

Even though one of the employees told her they would put her in a rental car, no such action was taken. 

She told them she had to work the next day but says she was told that there was nothing that could be done until the claim was processed and the investigation was complete. 

Since that conversation, Smith has reached out to the Better Business Bureau and Walmart customer service to no avail. 

Walmart "has not reached out" to me personally to ask me if I needed help with anything or that they are sorry. So I kind of just feel like I'm doing everything on my own right now," she said.

A representative from Walmart told The Arizona Republic on Tuesday, "they are aware of the situation, and will continue working with the customer until the matter concludes." 

GoFundMe has raised over $7,000

All Smith really wants now is her car back. 

"I want what I came here with. I’m not asking for anything less or anything more. They can put me back into the same Jeep same year and model," she writes on GoFundMe.

A reliable form of transportation certainly would cost less than the $400 she is currently spending on a rental car every week to get to work as an instructional aide at Sahuaro Ranch Elementary School in Glendale and a coach at BASIS Phoenix. Especially when all of her bills have had to be paid late as a result, she said. 

"I am doing everything by myself — for me and my child. I do not have extra funds," she said. 

Nikki Smith created a GoFundMe to help her pay vehicle rental costs, she has raised over $7,000 as of Tuesday afternoon. 

“I'm just thankful that me and my daughter are alive and that we weren't in the car when it happened. I just want them to make things right. However they feel they can make it right I just want them to do that.”

Reach breaking news reporter Amaris Encinas at amaris.encinas@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @amarisencinas.

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