9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
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We specialize in bringing the highest quality used engines from Japan. If you are looking for a replacement engine, you have arrived at your only source for JDM!
Monday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Sunday
Closed
What clients say about JAPANESE ENGINES & TRANSMISSION /SALES & INSTALLATION JDM ENGINE IMPORT in Santa Ana (CA)
One of the worst experiences I’ve ever had with any auto shop.
I bought a transmission from them — right after installation, the check engine light came on. We had to replace a motor inside, then another error popped up. Turns out, they have no real knowledge of transmissions. I had to take the car to the dealer, who confirmed the transmission was bad and needed full replacement.
They refused to cover the labor, made me pay again, and kept delaying the repair week after week with excuse after excuse. First it was “end of the week,” then “early next week,” then “Wednesday” — only to find out they meant next Wednesday. Completely unacceptable.
When I finally got the car back — the same error was still there. Nothing was fixed.
This place wasted my money, my time, and pushed me to the limit with frustration. Avoid this shop unless you want a nightmare.
Overall, Japanese engines are highly regarded for their reliability, performance, and innovative technology. While they may have some drawbacks, their benefits make them a popular choice among car enthusiasts and everyday drivers alike.
I bought an engine from them i got everything installed in the car and then the camshaft broke at the end with the distributor, it was all rusted out and broke into 3 pieces. It was still in the 3 month warranty phase but when i tried getting ahold of them for the warranty no one would get back to me. Worse customer service
Bought an engine. had a Valve cover leak Throwing Codes for Cyclinders. Had to Pay to get that fixed. The warranty Doesn’t Cover Nothing Basically Engine Lost Compression at the 3 month Mark and never Got back to me. Wouldn’t recommend.
I had a very bad experience with this shop. I took a trip to see how my car was doing after it had been several weeks (he said it would take a week) and when I got there the first thing I noticed was how filthy my car was and the damage that had been done while at his shop to the front splitter and bumper. The splitter had 2 cracks on it and the bumper was damaged also. He denied any responsibility. He promised he would pressure wash my motor bay because it was disgusting. Then I noticed the motor that he sold me on was not the motor he put in my car. The motor he put in my car was much older. He was very rude and dismissive about that. He then charged me an extra $800 on top of the motor and labor for my right side sprocket. He said he couldn’t tune my car so that would be extra also. A couple weeks later I made my 2nd trip out there as he stated the car finally no longer had a check engine light coming on (why would it even have a check engine light on to begin with this was supposed to be a good motor he sold me). I started to drive home and not even 2 blocks away from the shop the check engine light came on. I drove it back immediately. He finally took it to a Subaru tuner and claimed the check engine light was off and it wouldn’t come back on. So I got on the freeway and the check engine light came back on. He told me to take it home and drive it a little. The check engine light never turned off. I drove it back to him the next day wasting more gas money. He had my car for another 2 weeks and then called saying it’s ready for pick up. I went down there, it was not ready. He said he wasn’t expecting me???? This time I had my father in law with me and we checked the oil and it was empty. He tossed some oil in and we rechecked the dipstick, he put wayyyyy too much oil on. Then he had to call his mechanic back out while we waited another 1.5 hours while he removed oil. I asked him if he was going to clean up the car as he had promised because it was filthy inside and out. I didn’t care so much about the interior but the paint was all damaged due to all the fluids that had been sitting on the paint for over a month. He refused to do so and slid me $100 to take care of it myself. He also told me that if I plugged in my Cobb tuner that my check engine light would most likely come back on. When I got the car home it was smoking from the engine bay and I could smell oil and the radiator fluid. Needless to say I do not recommend this shop and I will not give him anymore of my business.
BEWARE: $3700 dollar repair was a nightmare. Scion FRS 2015. Dropped off for rebuild motor due to a misfire to Aly. Dropped off 1st week of December 2022. Get back 3rd week of December 2022 - same misfire persists same day of pick up. Takes 2 more months to get the car back (3rd week of February 2023) Aly tells me he will not extend the warranty from first day of pick up though the same damn issue persists from day of drop off. I mention I’m going to report to different government agencies, then he changes his mind that he’ll extend the warranty. This guy is a piece of work. Scammy stuff. I get the car back and it still has other issues that were not there when dropped off. They fixed it after 3 months. My flywheel breaks within 3 weeks of getting the car back. The whole engine needs to be taken out again.
Update 8/30/23 - engine is dead after 12k miles
I bought an engine for a 1999 Honda CRV. i had read the reviews and was concerned about the quality of the engine. I paid for it and heard nothing from them for about 2 days. I was afraid they were going to not send it or something. Shipping took about 5 working days and i guess it has to do alot with the mechanic. the inslation was done and the motor sounds great. My mechanic took the valve cover off and it look brand new. No issues or problems so far. Update 8-2023 a year later and 8k miles on engine since installation no issues or problems with engine.
Engine/Transmission arrived in about 5 business days. No damage during shipping, clean and no fluids leaks, packaged securely to pallet. I received after ordering over the phone was a text with my receipt then a day later i received the tracking number for the shipper. Will buy from here again
Their ENGINES loose COMPRESSION too soon. 5 months in buying an engine for a 2008 Honda Accord and having it installed it gave up. Multiple Misfired Codes and now its completely done. Won't start anymore and of course 90 days warranty. They say the engines they sale have 60k miles and JAPANESE, who knows that's what they tell you. Oh well $1,200 dollars down the drain only lasted 5 months.
I took my 2002 wrx here that I had purchased solely to swap a jdm ej205 and when I got it back he gave it to me with vacuum hoses still not connected and told me that its no oem so he can't do anything about it and told me turbo was good when it wasn't. Turbo spilled oil all over the floor at the tune shop and when I brought it back he wanted to charge me $200 to install another bad turbo that I had brought without knowing it was good. Took it somewhere else and they hooked up the hoses very easily and a couple thousand miles later the engine goes... this place still charged me full price $800 total. Don't waste your time here for custom swaps
Bought a VG30DETT from this shop back in 2015, never thought to leave a review, but they sent it with cut harnesses, a crushed oil pan, and seized turbos that were not salvageable. Seems like it's an ongoing issue, with the more recent reviews as well. Absolute rip off.
I swapped me toyota prius engine from jdm import they are so attentive,fast,loyal and professional
My car is working like new
Ali swapped the engine in just 5 hours
I really recommend this business
They were great to service me, however a lot of the stuff I paid for, “New” Belts, Pumps, Radiator, Pulleys. Looked very used. It’s my fault for not seeing them correctly. I just got very lazy to even notice. Sadly I am already out of warranty. But if I could purchase a motor again. I would do it. No other place has them good like these guys.
I bought an engine form these guys had no compression in two cylinders they then sent a "replacement" that was only a long block and wasn't even the same motor that I ordered then proceeded after I disputed the charge they come and pick up their motor and still tell my bank that they sent me a motor. They took my money and left me with nothing do. Not. Trust. Them.
My mechanics absolutely didn't say it had compression... I have documents from multiple mechanics stating it didn't (pictures are posted) and videos. I can post the videos also if you guys want to continue to tell lies. you could have picked up the bad engine but instead you took the replacement and here's a picture of the rusted frozen turbo and one of the mechanics documents stating that it doesn't have compression.
REVIEW UPDATE 6/1
In exchange for updating the review, JDM Engines Import replaced the engine as well as sharing the cost of labor as agreed. My car was picked up on 5/22. It was a rough beginning but they did honor their agreement.
AT YOUR OWN RISK!
4/19/18 - We purchased a used engine from JDM Engines Import. (Inv# 103063 – 09-04 VG33 Engine Infiniti QX4 Pathfinder Frontier 3.3l v6 SN:14550) The used engine came with a warranty for the engine only on the invoice. Before the purchase, My husband inquired about the warranty and whether we would be compensated for the labor of installation. Alpha (one of the owners of the company) assured my husband the warranty would cover the engine if it was faulty and if the reason was the engine, he would have ‘his guys” install it. This verbal assurance was verbal only and not in writing. He also assured us all testing would be done before to ensure the engine was functioning and working properly.
4/28/18 - We called JDM Engines Import and let them know the engine was seized (it was on a weekend). The person answering the phone was named Ali, the brother of Alpha whom yelled at my husband stating he checks the engine himself and hung up on him. I then called he yelled at me and told me to call back on Monday and hung up on me.
4/30/18 We called a tow-truck to tow our vehicle to JDM Engines Import. based on the verbal assurance he gave us. He proceeded to tell him there must have been a language barrier or a misunderstanding in communication because his English wasn’t too great and that he would never make an assurance like that. He told him the labor cost would be an additional $800.00. I don’t understand how he communicated so well when making a sale but suddenly he is unable to communicate due to a language barrier when dealing with a complaint and I don’t understand how anyone would misunderstand an $800.00 charge. My husband demanded an inspection be made and an initial inspection was made which he insisted on observing. The inspection took over an hour or longer with 3 mechanics combing the engine and manifold with magnets as well. It was determined by the mechanics and Alpha that the engine was faulty and it would be exchanged. An arrangement was made to cover half the cost. We were issued an estimate with a total cost of $400.00 with a 90 day labor warranty, signed with his initials. He also waived the Items and Conditions Covered by the Limited Warranty as well as Items not covered by the limited Warranty, signed with his initials. He also waved the storage fee signed with his initials
5/8/18 - My husband called to check on the car. He was advised it would be ready next week.
5/9/18 - Ali calls yelling, stating they found a bolt in the engine and the piston was bent. My told him that is impossible, Why would the piston being bent be our issue when the engine is seized and we were unable to fully turn the crank? My husband is actually ASE certified and understands the mechanics of how a motor functions. When he began asking technical questions, Ali just got angrier and told him to come down, he threatened to throw our car out on the street and call the police, he said he had a video of the bolt.
I would like to note, he notified us 9 days after the initial inspection which took over an hour. the manifold was taken off and opened and inspected as my husband observed along with Alpha. There were no indication of foul play at the time. Ali was not present for the initial inspection/evaluation at the time, not present for the agreement of shared cost. I would understand a video or discovery upon the initial inspection but a video of an inspection made 9 days after the original agreement; which was made only after 3 of their mechanics combed through the motor, sounds like more than foul play.
I am not stating all of their goods are faulty but if it is, don't expect them to honor anything but their own pockets.
Ali did great with getting my Subaru WRX running , him and his crew we're able to give a quick turnaround . I didn't run into any problems . Overall cost was cheap for both engine and labor compared to a normal car shop who wanted to charge me 5500 for a USED engine . I payed 750 for mine .
I ordered a transmission from these guys. Price was fair, shipping was quick, but the transmission sent will not work with my application. I was told that I told them the wrong year of my car. I asked for them to arrange s return and refund. The gentleman helping me insisted he send me another. 2 days later I was told I needed to pay shipping because it would cost him too much. I agreed out of need. I became very frustrated. The agent clearly was frustrated as well, kept saying I need to send back his transmission and he will refund me. After 2 days of phone discussion, he arranged freight to pick it up, but I could not leave work in the middle of the day to meet them, as no appt was made. Still no replacement. 5 more days past, no replacement, no refund. Placed several calls and did not hear back. Called a fourth time and was told by the agent I had been working with that it was shipped, but an employee put the wrong address and instead it went to their shop. Said it would ship on Monday again. Monday came...no confirmation, I called again. On Tuesday I called again and finally got an invoice confirming shipment. I later received a call and was told I would be refunded the extra cost I paid for shipment. Then later received an email requesting to change my review.
Overall, most of this could have been avoided, but as I have learned there was a bit of a language barrier. I feel like the agent has tried to help, but we don't always understand what the other person said / meant which has unfortunately left me 3 weeks without a car taking up a garage space I planned to rent for 3 days. Company could do better. I think they mean well, but need to get their act together.
I have a 1996 honda prelude that needed an engine swap. I called pretty much every jdm place in the area and everyone gave me different excuses either they didn't have the motor or didn't have any time for weeks. I finally went to jdm engine import and I talked to Alpha about my options, all of which he had in stock. After talking with him and seeing their shop I decided to go there and I ended up getting a h23a blue top which is what I wanted originally. The car is a 96 and the motor that broke was a 95 and a previous swap. I'm sure it was a nightmare for them to get everything working but they did and the car runs very well with no issues. I am very happy with the work done. The price was pretty much the same if not lower than all the other places I called and it took some extra time because of the previous swap and they didn't charge me extra for it. Overall I am extremely happy with my choice to take my car to there and I highly recommend anyone else to do the same.
Feb 11, 2017
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