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!
