We live in Southern California and visited our kids and grandkids this summer for 3 months in Boise from June till the end of August. In the middle of July we started noticing an apparent misfire while in 5th gear only in our 2003 Honda Pilot that had 218000 miles on it. Knowing we had to drive it back to California in another month or so we knew we had to get it checked out. I started checking for different auto repair shops within walking distance near where we were staying. Then I ran across one of these Mobile Mechanic sites that come to your location, diagnose the problem and repair right there. Sounded great! I made an appointment and they came the next day. They did a computer diagnostic, found I had an evac problem with my emissions system. They were going to order parts and come back in 2 days to repair. Great again! Came back out pulled out the evap canister found 2 defective solenoids and replaced them. Mechanic took car for test drive and said the misfire was gone. I did not go with him as I stayed home with my wife who was ill that day and besides he seemed to be a good qualified mechanic. Total cost of the work $342. The next day I had an opportunity to drive the car and found the same problem existed. I went thru the mobile mechanic agency and after a few phone calls I decided I needed someone else to look at it. I was not sure if I had a legitimate misfire or possibly something going on in my transmission as it only appeared in 5th gear at higher speeds consistently.
I took it to a very busy trans repair facility and they test drove it with their diagnostic computer attached. I was able to ride with the mechanic on his test drive. He told me it had a misfire in 2 different cylinders and the transmission was fine. I left it with them to do the work. Called them the next day and they hadn't started on it yet. They would get on it that day and get back to me. I never heard anything so I walked back the 3rd day and still nothing done. They assured me they would get started on it immediately. I walked back to our place waiting for an update. A mechanic had pulled out one spark plug and thought it looked bad. These were 100,000 mile NGK spark plugs with less than 50000 miles on them. They called me and wanted to replace all 6 plugs and 6 coil packs and that would solve my problem at a cost of over $700. I said their prior mechanic told me only two cylinders were causing the problem and I didn't want to replace everything if it wasn't necessary. They said they didn't have time to analyze it any further and wanted to do the whole works. I decided to walk back, pick up the car and start looking for another shop.
I found another shop close by and told them the whole story of what I had gone thru. They set an appointment for the next week and said they would take care of me. Monday came and I dropped off the car. I was not permitted to stay or talk to their mechanic so a walked back home again. About 4 hours later they called me and said they took it for a test drive and found nothing wrong. They did still get an evap code on their diagnostics but when driving found no misfire condition. Now I was wondering if anyone could fix my problem. I walked back, picked up the car and paid for the diagnostics.
Driving around my area I found Aloha Auto Repair. I went home and did some research on them at their website and read many reviews. They sounded like good people, family run operation that had many great reviews. I decided to check them out personally. It was now 2 weeks away from our trip back to California of some 800 plus miles and I was getting very nervous. I went in and met with Jackie and told her of my problem and the stories of 3 prior shops. She assured me that her husband Jason would find out what is wrong and get back to me. I made an appointment and took the car in a few days later. Several hours later Jackie called me to say my problem was a clogged EGR valve that needed to be replaced. She wanted to get an OEM part from Honda but wasn't going to be able to get it for several days. They let me make a partial payment and take the car with me until they got the part. A few days later Jackie called me, she had the part so I took the car back. A few hours later she called, said the car was ready and fixed. I picked it up and drove it on the freeways for about 30-40 miles checking for any misfire condition. None! The car ran great. I called Jackie to tell her of my findings and thanked her and promised to give them a great review when I returned to California. A busy month after returning to California the car has been running great and I am finally sending my promised review for them. These guys are great. I agree with the many reviews that say they are a quality and honest repair shop with no BS. They will fix your car or tell you if they can't. I wish I had their shop here in California for any future problems. Check them out if you need work done. You won't be disappointed! read more
