SALINEVILLE, Ohio - A Salineville man claims his car's transmission was damaged after a faulty oil change at the Auto Care Center in the Walmart Super Center in Salem, and the company will only pay for a used transmission that he must find himself.

Rodney Ohler, a retired pastor, says he heard a strange noise from his 2020 Subaru Forester's engine as he drove home from the oil change on Jan. 5.

"I noticed that there was some grinding going on, and there was no place for me to get off," he said.

Ohler says he brought his car to the Huebner Subaru in Carollton who told him his car's transmission fluid was empty and the oil was filled about three inches above the fill line.

The dealership told him that his transmission would need to be repaired or replaced, and estimated a full replacement would cost up to $8,200.

After he reported the incident to the Walmart, a representative from Walmart Claims Services reached out to him to tell him the company would not pay for a remanufactured or new transmission and that he would need to find a used transmission that would need to be approved for reimbursement. 

Ohler says the situation has frustrated him at a difficult time in his life.

"I didn't feel like I was a respected customer, I didn't feel like I was valued or important, or neither did I feel they had addressed the situation with integrity," Ohler said.

Ohler says he uses a courtesy car given to him by Huebner Subaru that he uses to drive his wife, who was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, to and from a hospital in Cleveland.

He claims the lawyers he told about his case say he needs to find a consumer rights personal property lawyer, which he has yet to find.

A spokesperson from Walmart told 21 News in a statement that they are aware of Ohler's claim.

"We are aware of the situation and regret the inconvenience it caused our customer. Customer satisfaction is important to us, and we have made an offer to the customer as part of our efforts to resolve the matter," said Walmart Director of Global Communications Mark Rickel.