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Cal Star Smog

5.0 (3 reviews)
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Elkhorn Smog - AC unit

Elkhorn Smog

(27 reviews)

This smog station intentionally failed one of our older vehicles even though it passed both the…read moreemissions test and visual inspection. Initially, I thought well it's an old vehicle. Maybe it's finally having issues so I followed Victor's instructions which were to that the EGR system needed to be cleaned or repaired because it was not operating properly. He also said the gas cap had to be replaced because it failed a leak test. The following day I had the EGR system cleaned and checked. I was told there was nothing wrong with the EGR and that the passages were clear. This obviously did not sit well with me after having to pay to have this unnecessary work done. The gas cap was also tested and passed a leak test so yet more money wasted that didn't need to be Wasted. The following day, I contacted Victor Smog shop and asked him to re-smog the vehicle since I had already paid him and explain to him that we followed his instructions and there was nothing wrong with the car. He said, bring it in and he will reinspect it. He Yet again failed it. I reached out to the bureau of automotive repair and looked at the Smog inspection manual. This person Victor is intentionally failing older vehicles because he is afraid they will fail their next Smog and it will affect his score with the bureau of automotive repair smog licensing division . My suggestion to anyone is do not deal with this dishonest person and find a honest Smog facility. This person will take your money and waste your time. I turned him into the bureau of automotive repair. If you have any issues, I suggest you do the same. It is free to report them and they will investigate your concern.

Do not bring your RV! Owner guided me into his bay rather than pull his gear out. I ended up…read morecrushing my satellite dome on my RV and nearly tore off my front AC unit. I pulled apart the satellite dome, thankfully it was just the cover that was mostly damaged. But even after all of that and scratching up some of my roof and the dome cover. He offered me a $20 discount for my inconvenience. He's lucky I didn't get an insurance quote and come after him to have the scratches and the dome replaced and repaired.

North Highlands Tire Pros - White smoke from tail pipe (yikes!)

North Highlands Tire Pros

(84 reviews)

These guys took great care of my car, it did take some time to work on German, but nonetheless my…read morehuge oil leak was quadruple checked and Sean really took the time to find the culprit and reassembled a slightly modified engine together properly. The front desk guys were super professional, friendly, and honest with fair price even before the military appreciation discount. I will be back for all of my maintenance

Tl;dr: The people at North Highlands are wonderful. They are honest, hardworking, detailed, and…read morecommunicative. It takes some time to get repairs done, but your automobile is in good hands! I've had my 1999 Toyota 4Runner since I was a kid, it was our family car. It has roadtripped cross country multiple times, been shipped to and from Hawaii, and has had its fair share of mountain hills, gravel, and dirt roads. Needless to say, I love my car. But with 300,000+ miles on it, the issue isn't IF it needs to be repaired, but WHAT needs to be repaired. In September 2024, I moved to Sacramento and my car was running smoothly. Fast forward to February 2025, my car's temperature gauge was overheating and coolant was continually disappearing from the reservoir. I took my car to an initial mechanic, he diagnosed a faulty radiator hose. I thought this was odd since I got this part replaced in August 2024. But, if this was case, I needed to take my car to a mechanic within my old mechanics warranty program (TechNet). Enter North Highlands Tire Pros. Following the previous mechanics diagnosis, Rodrigo and his team checked my car's cooling system. They found that the lower hose clamps were loose, and that the upper hose clamps were old and worn, thus causing some coolant leakage. They tightened the clamps and replaced the old ones and performed multiple coolant pressure tests to make sure the system was good to go. But that was not the root of the overheating problem. Although the engine passed multiple block tests, there was excessive white smoke coming from the tail pipes during startup. Upon pulling the spark plugs, they found excess coolant in the combustion chamber and corroded engine cylinders (yikes!), this was the true cause of the overheating. Given the cars age, Rodrigo suggested it was better to replace the whole engine instead of trying to repair the warped/corroded gaskets & cylinders. He sourced 3 low mileage engines (used). The first one had obvious signs of rust and corrosion, and the second one looked clean, but failed during the test drive (cylinders collapsed on themselves & engine had a knocking sound). At this point I was losing hope that my car would ever be fixed, but North Highlands did not give up. Rodrigo and his team personally went to the used parts supplier, inspected and retrieved a 3rd engine, installed said engine, and took it on multiple test drives (100 miles: local roads & freeway) before releasing the car back to me. I appreciate how detailed, hardworking, and honest these mechanics & technicians are. They took the time to inspect my car holistically and found the root of the overheating problem. If I went with the initial mechanic, I would have unnecessarily paid $200+ to get a perfectly good radiator hose replaced and still would have had engine overheating problems! Choosing to replace my car's original engine with a used, lower-mileage engine, I understood that it was a gamble to get a good, used engine that functions well without problems. I am so grateful for North Highlands' attention to detail and honest work ethic. The team inspected and tested the 3 engines out, reporting honestly when an engine didn't meet standards and did not charge me for the additional labor hours it took to take out and install the 2 faulty engines. My car has been running great since with no weird noises or suspicious smoke. Although my car was in the shop for over a month (due to setbacks in getting a functioning used-engine), the repair was top notch and very high quality! North Highlands officially documented my cars diagnosis with pictures/videos and written reports via their online portal. Additionally, Rodrigo personally called to keep me informed on every step of the repair. He patiently explained every step of the repair and gave me constant updates, never making me feel stupid or blindsided. I am so grateful to have gone with Norrh Highlands Tire Pros. Thank you Rodrigo and the North Highlands team for giving my car a second chance at life!

Cal Star Smog - smog_check_stations - Updated May 2026

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