TLS Auto Service

Excellent service! Anthony takes extra time to make sure I understand what needs to be done on my Matrix and even shows me old parts that have been removed. I even get a text the next day to check in with me on how my car is running. I highly recommend TLS Auto Service—
Suzanne G.

Anthony is great. I’ve been taking my car to him for over two years now (I’m the second owner, and the car had been meticulously maintained for 15 years at the dealership by the first owner). The car had been developing some serious drivability issues with abrupt shifts and engine hesitation. To keep it short, it was a very difficult to diagnose electrical issue that Anthony was able to fix! The car has continued to drive perfectly now and I couldn’t be happier.
In short, TLS Auto is always five stars. It’s so nice to be able to pull up to the shop and have Anthony remember who you are and your cars’ history. The work is done accurately, the prices are great, the service is great — what else could be better?

I took my Lexus to TLS for it’s 90k mile service. Anthony was exceptional. His customer service is beyond good. He took photos of all the work he did and reviewed them with me and checked in with me the day after I picked my car up to verify that everything was going well. He’s extremely friendly and helpful. I highly recommend taking your car to him. His quality of work is exceptional.

About a week ago I went to Anthony at TLS Auto for a leaking power steering pump replacement on my 94 Lexus Ls400. I waited a week to write this review just to see how things fared car wise and yes, everything’s working great without issue. Here are some main points:
— TLS specializes in (but is not limited to) Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles
— TLS only uses OEM parts
— Mechanics are Toyota certified
— Labor is $ 100/​hour
— Routine car inspection after repair/​maintenance
The main thing I appreciate about TLS is their willingness to take time out of their day to assess the problem/​issue thoroughly before actually tackling it. I called a few days before making my actual appointment to see if I could drop by and have them look at my leak, to make sure it was actually the pump that was leaking. When I dropped by, with no appointment, they actually put my car on the lift, took the flashlights out and started looking for and even physically showed me the leak and the exact problem, a leaking power steering pump.
Overall, great service! Anthony is an honest man and doesn’t get paid enough for the service he does. I had asked about what rubber hoses to use so I could replace the miscellaneous hoses myself and he did so while doing my power steering pump replacement, free of charge too! Even when I paid for his services, he declined my small tip. (By the way Anthony, if you’re reading this, I hope I didn’t offend you with that, I should’ve offered more, you deserved it.) I’ll be going to TLS Auto for my future auto mechanical needs.

My old car needs health check and Anthony here is the best doctor! Im so lucky to have this place in my neighbor.

I have a Prius and have been taking it to the dealer for routine maintenance and oil changes for many years. I decided to try TLS Auto Service based on the high reviews. I am totally impressed. I scheduled an appointment and was told how long the oil change would take. Anthony even recommended nearby places to wait until my car was ready. My car was ready on time. Anthony is very thorough and in addition to changing the oil, he checked other things in the car that may need attention in the future in addition to pointing out things that were just fine. I appreciated this information as it was presented in an informative way and not as an up sell. He even checked the next day to make sure that all was well with the car. It was.
The business itself is very clean, tidy and the other employees are equally polite. Truly top notch customer service.

It’s always difficult to find a mechanic you can trust. Our family mechanic of like 15 years retired and closed his shop. I can see why he referred us here.
Excellent service from the beginning to the end. And the car runs great!!! Great follow-​up.

I’ve been taking my Lexus IS300 to Anthony for the past year for everything from regular oil changes to major repairs and he is the best, hands down.
His pricing is fair and honest and made me realize how much I’ve been overpaying at the dealership.
His customer service and personal attention is top notch and even adds personal touches like sending pictures of the parts he replaces and sending follow up texts to check in on how your car is doing. Little things that make a big difference and shows he cares about the relationships with his customers.
Bottom line, I won’t take my Toyota and Lexus anywhere else besides TLS Auto.

5 stars for a very good reason. My SC400 may be old but its a high end vehicle that can’t be taken to any mechanic, and the dealer would charge a million for the smallest thing. TLS is the place to go if you love your Toyota, Lexus, or Scion. They are extremely busy and you have to schedule well in advance, but its well worth it. They are honest and thorough and I wouldn’t go anywhere else

I brought my Lexus RX300 to this place yesterday for a minor maintenance. Overall, I am very happy with this shop and the interaction with Anthony. Things were moving along very smoothly. He even follow sent me a text this morning to see how my SUV is doing. In addition, he saved me tons of $$$ for not having to bring my SUV to the Lexus dealer. Well deserved 5-​star rating.

Came back for an entire new suspension and CV boot replacement — Anthony and team are the best, they always delivers the highest quality service! The car is back to driving like new, all factory parts, and I’m one happy customer! :-)

I found this place on Unilocal.As described, the service is great, the elements for the car is in very good quality. Great place!

Found this repair shop via Unilocal.Definitely lives up to the rest of the outstanding reviews. Took care of my 2001 Prius. Engine was sluggish and giving cylinder error codes. I replaced the spark plugs, cleaned the throttle and MAF sensor but no joy. Anthony identified and replaced bad ignition coils quickly, and suggested other work that needed to be done, be it DIY or bringing it back to him.
I’ve been looking for a mechanic I can trust and I see this being where I take my cars whenever they need service in the future. You won’t regret doing business here!

I don’t get excited about a business often, but this is one that blows me away. I’ve now taken my Highlander there twice (the second time because I really liked the first), and each time Anthony’s quality work, great pricing, and customer service exceed anything I’ve seen at the dealerships. Definitely the place to take your vehicle for service in San Jose!

I have had nothing but great experiences with Anthony. He is honest, knowledgeable, experienced and friendly. I can not say enough good things about him! I have found my dream mechanic!
Thank you Anthony!

I had a good experience with Anthony and this establishment. After examining my car, ordering parts, and trying the new parts in my car, Anthony discovered that my car’s problem was actually outside the range of his expertise and straight up told me so. Since he was unable to fully diagnose the problem, he didn’t charge me anything at all even though he had to spend time trying to figure out what was wrong. Less honest mechanics probably would have either continued trying to tinker outside of their skill set and/​or would have charged me even if unable to deliver any results.
In short, I appreciate Anthony’s honesty and customer service even despite the fact that my car was unable to be fixed.

This is an update to TLS Auto Service per my most recent visit. I have had the pleasure to work with Anthony as Dan was out. I never actually met Anthony but he already knew me per my visits with my Camry. I brought to him my 1986 Toyota MR2 unexpectedly and he was able to take care of me still! Anthony is legit and I will be coming back to get full service on my MR2 soon.

Very good experience with TLS .
The guys are thorough and know what they are doing unlike many other mechanics i have been too .
Quickly understood the problem and solved it in time at very reasonable prices .
I would not go to any one else for my Toyota

I had a great experience with a recent service on my vehicle at TLS.
The initial phone conversation was great and making an appointment was very easy. At check in/​drop off, Anthony went over all services step by step which is very helpful. At pick up, he showed me all the parts that were replaced and went over the service and things to keep an eye out for in the future.
I’ll bring my cars here for all future auto repair/​service needs.

I really wanted to like this business, based on the overwhelming number of positive reviews here.
The first time I came here for my car was in June of 2013 for a 135k service. I bought the car at 105k, and was still searching for a mechanic I could trust with it. Dan was very thorough with his inspection, replacing spark plugs, the rear wheel cylinder, and the valve cover gaskets.
He also listed his recommendations for repairs in the near future. These included A/​C service, a power steering flush, a transmission flush, and rear shocks. Like I said, my car’s fairly old, and while I wasn’t happy about the scope of the possible repair bill, these seemed like plausible recommendations, and I decide I’d take care of those at a later date.
We get the phone call to pick up the car because the repairs are done. 5 minutes into the drive, the «Check Engine» light comes on. I take it back to TLS, where Dan informs me that the O2 sensor had some oil drip on to it, causing it to malfunction. He tells me that the shaky condition of my car engine means that this was a fluke occurrence, and he’s not responsible for it.
I’m not happy with this outcome, and end up getting 2 other opinions; both other mechanics agree that this was unacceptable, and afterward, Dan agrees to replace the O2 sensor, at his cost. He’s not happy about it, and he acts differently than when I first spoke with him. He gets a lot more terse, and when he does talk, it’s with this defensive edge with things like, «This other shop didn’t see [this other mechanical issue]» or «I always do [this good mechanical practice].»
Anyway, because he made good on fixing the problem, I’m satisfied. Not thrilled with his attitude, but I don’t write critical Unilocal reviews lightly. (Check my other reviews. I try to focus on the positive, because I know that it’s hard running a small business.) Also, because things are now weird with TLS, I decide to find a different mechanic.
So last week (early August, 2014), I end up going to a different mechanic for my 150k service. Things are mostly okay. Both the front and the rear shocks still need attention, and the valve cover gaskets are leaking again. I check my records and confirm that, huh, I got those changed 14 months and 14,000 miles ago.
I call TLS, and they say, yeah, that shouldn’t be happening, and to bring the car back in so they can take care of me.
I do that, and walk in through the door to explain the situation.
Dan’s behind the counter, and before I finish talking, he says very tersely, «Yes. I remember you.» Not in a friendly way, but a way that makes me think, «Oh, man. This is gonna be awkward.»
He puts the car up on the rack, and in response to my concerns, including the valve cover gaskets and the shocks, tells me that none of them are problematic. The valve cover gaskets only look like they’re leaking from the residual oil stains from how messy my engine was in the past, he says. The valve cover gaskets should last 100,000 miles, and there’s nothing wrong with the ones he installed, he says.
The shocks will eventually have to be replaced, but it’s an old car, and it’s heavy, and he says they’re not a problem. The whole inspection takes maybe 10 minutes, tops.
On top of it, he’s still doing the weird attitude thing again. He points to the oil filter and tells me the other shop was sloppy. He quickly puts a little air in the tires and says nothing’s wrong with the shocks (even though HE recommended replacing them a year ago!), but that the other shop didn’t bother to put air in my tires. There’s all this little passive-​aggressive finger-​pointing behavior that just makes me want to get out of there ASAP.
So I nod, take the car in to a 3^rd mechanic, who confirms the problems with the valve cover gaskets, and the shocks. FWIW, the other two mechanics not involved in this review have Unilocal scores of 4 and 5 stars, respectively. And neither of them pulled any passive-​aggressive communication with me, either.
3 stars for the first repair encounter; 1 star for the customer service; 1 star for the latest repair encounter. I’d like to give a 1.5, but because I can only give whole numbers, I’ll have to round up to a 2.
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UPDATE: 8÷9÷14: 6:43 p.m. Pacific Time:
Dan deeply cares about his Unilocal reputation. Within an hour of my posting this review, he sent me a text with a copy of my invoice, and the message: «I helped you to fix the sienna at my lost and this is what i got from you!!! WOW…»
(Link here:
)
A fact I acknowledged in my original review.
I would also like to acknowledge that texting a customer to complain that he posted a review you don’t like is deeply, profoundly unprofessional. Dan: I know you’re reading this. Please don’t ever contact me again.
Revising my review to reflect this latest distasteful incident. 1 star.