Louisiana woman brought her Kia in for a blown tire. Then she found her motor’s injectors taken for another customer’s car

A Louisiana woman said she took her Kia to a dealership after a tire blew out on the interstate, only to later discover that parts had been removed from her engine and used on another customer’s vehicle.

Shirley Poullard brought her SUV to Kia of Lake Charles on June 17 after the tire blowout. She said in a social media post that she did not hear from the dealership for several days after her vehicle was towed there.

According to the Daily Mail, Poullard was told that the damage was not covered under her warranty. Weeks later, she went to the dealership and found the hood of her car open.

Woman confronts service employee after finding hood open

Poullard said she saw that her motor had been touched and questioned staff about it. An altercation with a service employee she identified as Adrian Walker grew heated, and she began recording the exchange before sharing the video online.

In the video, Poullard is heard asking, “I drove it! What’s wrong with my motor? Is that a motor, sir? Are they not working on my car, sir?!” A service manager asked her to calm down and told her that two injectors had been borrowed from her vehicle. Other car owners have also reported encounters with dishonest auto mechanics that left them dealing with unexpected costs and damage.

Poullard responded, “Did I send my car here for you to borrow parts?!” Walker told her the parts would be replaced for free but acknowledged that Poullard had not brought her car in for that purpose. Poullard said she had initially been told that her vehicle had not been touched, but later learned the motor had been taken apart to remove the injectors.

She said the SUV now drives and sounds worse than it did when she first got it. Poullard added that a general manager later apologized to her and did not charge her the $175 diagnostic fee.

Speaking to local NBC affiliate KPLC, Poullard said, “Taking something without permission is stealing,” and accused the dealership of stealing her injectors. She also told neighbors in the Lake Charles community that whoever bought new injectors for their Kia Telluride may have received used parts taken from her vehicle.

The dealership told KPLC that it took the allegations seriously and launched an internal review. In another case involving vehicle ownership disputes, a woman said a mechanic shop’s employee misled her about paperwork tied to her boyfriend’s car.

In a statement, Kia Lake Charles said, “Following that review, the Service Manager is no longer employed with our company.” The dealership added, “Our team is held to a high standard of customer care, professionalism, respect, and honesty. Every customer deserves to be treated with dignity, and we sincerely apologize to the customer involved.”

Poullard told KPLC that she plans to seek legal representation over the matter. The Daily Mail has reached out to both Poullard and Kia for further comment.