My son's car had been serviced by Carlsbad Auto Service for more than seven years. During that…read moretime, we trusted their recommendations and followed through with maintenance and repairs as our budget allowed and according to how serious they told us each issue was. Mike was our service advisor for much of that time, and the owner was different;we had a very different experience with the shop.
On July 3, 2026, we brought the vehicle in based on a previous recommendation for a transmission drain and fill. The service was performed, and we paid $210.22. The vehicle had approximately 147,000 miles at the time.
Immediately after that service, the vehicle began experiencing problems it had not been experiencing before. It started losing power in the lower gears and jerking. Approximately two weeks later, I brought the vehicle back and spoke with Dave. He connected a scanner and told me there were no codes. I took the vehicle home, but the problem continued and got worse.
days later the check-engine light came on and the vehicle had very little power. I made another appointment and brought it back. Dave told me the diagnostic charge would be $215.00and that it would not be applied toward any repairs. I agreed and left the vehicle.
After looking at the vehicle, Dave called and told me that the transmission fluid smelled burnt and that it needed to be drained and filled. He then told me that the vehicle had no record of being serviced at the shop and that he had no service history.
I immediately stopped him and reminded him that this vehicle had been coming to Carlsbad Auto Service for years and, in fact, that they had performed the transmission service only the previous month. (the exact service he was recommending)At that point, he suddenly remembered the vehicle has been there before!
That was the moment I lost confidence in Dave and The whole service center.
A service advisor should review a customer's service history before discussing the vehicle with the customer. Instead, I was given information that was plainly inconsistent with your own records. Dave also recommended replacing the battery, even though theshop had replaced the battery less than a year earlier.
We ultimately told Dave to reset the check-engine light and that we would pick up the vehicle.
The following day, I spoke with Jamie, one of the owners. I explained everything that had happened. She told me she would listen to the phone conversation and call me back. She did call me back, but I was disappointed by the response.
Jamie told me that the shop had recommended a transmission drain and fill approximately 20,000 miles earlier. I asked a very reasonable question: when the transmission was actually drained and serviced on July 3, didn't anyone examine the fluid, its condition, its color, or its smell?
I was told that they did not.
That answer was extremely concerning to me. If you are servicing a transmission, particularly on a vehicle with approximately 147,000 miles, I would expect a professional automotive service facility to pay attention to the condition of the fluid being removed and to advise the customer if there were concerns about proceeding.
when I raised the battery issue, Jamie said there has been a lot of issues with batteries recently! didn't address the fact that Dave had not done his homework.
Because the battery was still under warranty, I made an appointment with Jamie for Friday at 8:00 a.m. and told her I would wait while it was replaced. I also made it very clear that I no longer trusted the shop.
When I arrived, Dave did not even acknowledge me. I told him I was there for the battery replacement and explained that Jamie had arranged it. His response was essentially, "I hope we have it." After approximately 20 minutes, Zarina brought me the invoice and keys and told me the work was completed.
The lack of professionalism and communication only reinforced the impression I already had.
Because I was no longer comfortable relying on Carlsbad Auto Service's diagnosis, I took the vehicle to another automotive shop for an independent second opinion. After examining the vehicle, they told me that, in their professional opinion, the transmission fluid service should not have been performed under the circumstances and that the service was what caused the transmission to begin acting up.
At this point, we paid Carlsbad Auto Service $210.22 for the transmission service and another $225.00 for the diagnostic work, and $98.00 for the seconed opinion!we are now dealing with a transmission that is malfunctioning after the service they recommended and performed.
