Kearny Mesa Automotive & Transmission in
Rancho San Diego (CA)

Came for smog and greeted by a very rude young man, probably aged 20-25, with long curly hair. I walked in and he did not greet me and glanced at me blankly until I said I needed a smog check. I told him I left my car engine on for the smog check, and he asked me “why?” and “Who told you to do that?” as if I am crazy. He then told me the wait would be three hours, so I walked away to get picked up but decided after about five minutes (after calling another place I realized a 3 hour wait is not normal) to just go somewhere else. I came back in and found my car still on, pulled in and being checked if it’s ready. So I wasn’t crazy for leaving it on? Then I went back in and said I’ll go somewhere else. Again he was very blank and condescending. He was the only one there and had zero customer service skills, just left me feeling like an idiot. Not everyone knows about cars, in fact most people don’t! Be kind.

I'm from Los Angeles, and I came to San Diego to look at a Mazda I was interested in purchasing. I went here to get a pre-purchase inspection. I was more than happy with the through job they did. They provided me with a full report and pictures of the detailed inspection! They were super helpful and explained everything and provided me with informative recommendations. The car turned out mechanically sound, and I'm coming back to San Diego this week to purchase my Mazda! Highly recommend this shop! Thanks guys!

Incredible service! I brought my 2013 Jetta here a few weeks ago for brake work. They were able to replace the pads & rotors quickly and gave the car back in only a couple hours. I ended up experiencing another brake issue a week or so later and they took the car back and fixed the issue quickly for free without a question. I'm very impressed with their work and their customer service. Highly recommend.

My daughter seized the engine in her car while visiting friends in San Diego. We live out of state and I reached out to these guys to figure things out for us. Francisco understood the situation we were in, being out of state, and made things easy for us. They recovered the vehicle, evaluated the problem, sourced a replacement engine, and did the engine swap all in 4 days, all while communicating with me every step of the way. The cost of repairs was very fair. If I lived in San Diego, this would be my full time repair shop.

Hopefully this review will help others avoiding losing a lot of time and money like us. Our car was working perfectly fine when we brought it to this garage, we only came for an oil leak issue. We came in with a previously done diagnosis saying the issue came from the camshaft/crankshaft seals. They told us they needed to do their own diagnosis using a fluorescent fluid etc. Fair enough. They ended up telling us it was coming from the o-ring and charged us 1,000$ to do the work. We got the car back, the car was still leaking from the EXACT SAME SPOT. We suspect that they never done their initial diagnosis in the first place and that they tried to charge us a 1,000$ for a quick fix. We brought it back to them and they accepted to work on the car again for free agreeing that it was a fault on THEIR end. It took them another week to fix it, telling us it was finally coming from the oil pump and it was an extra 500$ to fix it. Ok fine but as soon as we told them we wanted the parts back they finally ended up saying it was not from the oil pump but from the camshaft seal (Thats exactly what our initial diagnosis said). We ended up getting our car back with a lot of new issues that we didn’t have and that are far worst than the oil leak we originally came for: engine light coming from the CAMSHAFT and CRANKSHAFT, (areas that they’ve been working on), a lot of different electrical connectors damaged and now our car won’t pass smog check. We also found a screwdriver in the motor area and had to come back a 3rd time because they didn’t put the motor protection correctly and it fell on the road , and a 4th time because we had a weird new noise coming from the engine and when they told us it was totally normal, we brought it to another mechanic that told us the serpentine belt was sectioned! We tried to go back to them to find a solution but they told us that it was our fault and that basically it was because we didn’t want to pay? When did we refuse to pay anything? We only came back to you because YOU DID NOT FIX THE ISSUE we paid you a 1,000$. You guys got upset because you had to work “for free” due to YOUR mistake and we are sure you sabotage our car as a pay back. We didn’t even want to create any more issues and wanted to be done with it and never hear from them again but now our car won’t pass the smog test and that’s enough. We have video proofs of all of this, engine light historic showing all the issues started to appear when they worked on our car, not after, not before and we are now filing a claim in small courts against them.

I discovered this spot near the Kia dealership, walked in, and luckily, Francisco accepted the job. Julio efficiently handled my transmission oil change, charged me fairly. I must note, those giving 1 star due to busyness is unfair. In conclusion, I highly recommend it for prompt and professional service👍

Francisco is the guy to go too! He Made me feel good about coming here and explained the details of what exactly a SMOG is LOL (girl things yanno) and I really appreciate the professionalism he showed. Thank you again!

Francisco has taken over the business and does a good job tracking the work on my car. His prices are fair and he stands by his warranties. As he told me, "we have enough work already... We don't need to make up problems about your car."

Do not go here!! They were extremely shady when they said my car wont start because of a key then i go over there to find out the car does start and my key worked fine. After they wanted to charge me $200 saying that they fixed the car even though they never even touched it

I am not usually someone who writes reviews, but Kearny Mesa Auto deserves one. I was worried about finding a mechanic being a young woman with no knowledge of cars, but Kearny Mesa is the place to go. They take the time to walk you through everything and give you a through explanation without making you feel unintelligent. Everyone here is very kind and friendly. The service is quick and efficient. I will never get my car serviced somewhere else!

I highly recommend this place for all of your car needs. They were able to take a look at my car the same day I called. Francisco was super respectful and even took the time to show me what he was doing to my car. I'm used to just blindly trusting other mechanics. I'll be returning when my car (inevitably) has other issues!

John is the most trustworthy mechanic I have every met. I appreciate all his efforts through out the 15 years I've been going to him. Some times it takes a while to see him. But It's worth the wait, to get that honest work done correctly! Make a appointment... it's important,..... as it makes it easier for all. Reasonable priced as well. Worth the wait...make it happen! Ozzi.....is his right hand guy.....and he opened for the shop. Good guy as well. Cheers to both!!

I call for a oil change and they tell me to come in anytime. I went in about an hour later and they told me it was busy and to come back tomorrow. I asked if I should have a reservation, and they said it would be quiet all day so I could come back anytime. I show up the next day and they say it's too busy. They told me to come back the next day at 830 am. I show up at 830 sharp and nobody is there. I wait 30 minutes and nobody shows up even though it says they open at 8am.

Francisco just got done with a tune up on my car which was much needed. Then my Dad was having trouble with his truck. Took it to Francisco and his staff and they did a WONDERFUL job! Thank you so much for taking such great care of my Dad. As long as you are still around you will have us as customers! Thank you again!

I went to them for the first time to fix my leaking transaxle. They were straightforward with pricing and I was pleased with the job. Unfortunately, while my car was there it got a dent in fender (very small lot). I don’t think there was any neglect just a random mishap. Francisco, the owner, took care of the repair through another vendor and had it completed in one day. Another place could have given me a hard time but he didn’t. I would go back to him as I appreciate how he handled the unexpected mishaps and did a good job in general. Thank you francisco!

I've been going here since I moved to San Diego almost 4 years ago. They are professional, accommodating, and budget-friendly! I've never once felt like they're just trying to make a profit, but their services are still high-quality. Highly recommend!

Francisco is an extremely knowledgeable and sincerely polite person and was truly a pleasure to work with. He assessed my level of knowledge before explaining things so that he could be as respectful as possible and I really appreciated that. I could tell he had years of hands-on experience behind the things he was telling me which was comforting during a stressful time. I trusted him completely. We chose to have our car towed to his shop based on proximity alone but we couldn’t have been luckier in the end. When it comes to mechanics, word-of-mouth means a lot. I’d send my friends and family members to him if they needed anything.

Highly recommend Kearny Mesa for any car issues you might have. Each time I've gone there they have been nothing but professional and knowledgeable about my car questions. Definitely go here!

Trustworthy place. The price is reasonable consider the quality of work and kind of job you can trust. Francisco is always nice to help if you have any car's problems or questions.

Excellent and honest mechanics, Francisco provided me with great information and a discounted price for repair of my granddaughters 06 Nissan Murano's transmission and axel repair.He was totally understanding that I was not willing to put that much into such an old car. So thanks Francisco for your help and understanding.

My front wheel was making a screeching/clanking noise and took my car to Kearny Mesa Automotive, right as they were closing. Chris helped me out and checked out my front wheel right away saving me from leaving my car there overnight. He was super helpful and didn’t charge me anything to take a look at the wheel. Will definitely come back to this place when I need further car repairs.

Great guy, Jimmy. Honest guy that does not rip you off. Top quality work with fast service. He replaced crappy parts on my car that another shop had put on without my knowledge when I put in a new engine. Showed me he actually cares about the quality of his work and it wins the loyalty of his customers. Life-time customer as long as I'm in San Diego.

Not recommend. Fail smog test and charge $49. This guy said, I need to replace over $150 dollar part plus labor. How nice business!? Same day went to other shop(5 Star rated from Google) pass smog without any problem. I can prove my pass paper and fail test. DO NOT GO THIS SHOP. WASTE MONEY AND TIME.

Gary is one of the best customer service person i have ever met The reasons why my husband and I take our 2 cars only here (an imported Nissan and a Cadillac ) it’s because they are super fast and good with their work ,friendly ,prices are fair ,and they really seem to appreciate their customers By te second time I went there ,Gary already knew what car I was driving Recommended 100%

The very frank manager, Bob, recommended a very affordable fix for malfunctioning ignition coils over the Volvo dealer's recommended fix for just one at 1/8 the cost. Was straightforward about the engine and emission situation and what he could never fix. No BS here: respect.

Very competent mechanics. Reasonable pricing, excellent customer service. Kearny Mesa Automotive is my go to mechanic for car repairs. I moved to Los Angeles 3 years ago and whenever I'm coming down to San Diego to see friends and family, I continue to drop my car off and let the guys do whatever they deem necessary. That's trust.

My experiences with Kearny Mesa Automotive have been great. Bob and his team seem to truly care about the cars and the customers. They recently replaced a damaged flywheel on our car. For anyone that works on cars for fun, pulling the transmission from a FWD car in the driveway isn't the most fun of jobs. While I would have liked to do this job on my own, time and space just didn't allow it. Bob and his team took the time to find the right parts at the right price. It is good to know that there are still people that care. I've recommended Kearny Mesa Automotive to others and will continue to do so.