1. Griffin's Auto Repair

    1. Griffin's Auto Repair

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    San Diego, CA

    Griffin's Auto Repair

    4.1 (358 reviews)
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    Services - Griffin's Auto Repair

    Auto brake repair

    Auto engine repair

    Griffin's Auto Repair Photos

    Recommended Reviews - Griffin's Auto Repair

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    Happy car!
    Jason W.

    On my drive down to San Diego, my Jeep Wrangler started making a horrendous noise that evolved into physical grinding by the rear axles. I could hear and feel that something was seriously wrong. My local Jeep friend recommended Griffin Auto Repair over the Jeep dealerships in the area. I took it in and they looked at it right away, determined the problem, and got me a reasonable cost for some pretty major work (replace rear differential and axles). The entire time it was in the shop, I was kept well-informed about progress, parts, and any changes to the cost. Everybody I dealt with was professional, friendly, and worked as best as they could within my budget. I just got home from picking up the car and it drives as smoothly as the day I got it. I'm super happy with the service I received from Abraham and the crew!

    Aaron N.

    I came here today to get a coolant flush for my BMW E93. I had been experiencing overheating issues and had gotten a few fault codes on my OBD2 scanner relating to a possible blockage within the coolant system and possible pump failure. I asked them to do the flush. I received a phone call less than hour after leaving the shop. They told me that the engine cooling fans had switched on as soon as the engine was started, and that this was a really bad sign. They didn't give me any actual technical details but simply said that this was bad(which it is). I was already aware of this problem, as my OBD2 scanner had indicated that the coolant pump was being shutoff due to a blockage, which resulted in the car trying to cool itself as much as possible by running the fans at their full rpm. ​They didn't mention anything regarding the pump error codes at this point. Instead, they recommended a pressure test on my coolant system. I agreed knowing that it's a relatively simple and USUALLY inexpensive($80-100) procedure involving connecting a pump to the coolant reservoir and pumping the pressure up to the car's functioning coolant system PSI amount. This allows them to check for any leaks within the whole system. There weren't any. That cost me $193.33 for the pressure test alone. That's literally double what they charge at another shop down the street from them! I get a 2nd call an hour or so after the 1st with no mention of how the pressure test went. It's at this point they mention the fault codes showing up on their diagnostics equipment and make the recommendation that I replace the pump and thermostat(which is the most likely fix for this issue given my cars age, mileage, and the history of pump failures on all E90 series). It's at this point I realize that they hadn't even bothered to run a quick diagnostic on my car's system before recommending and completing a $193.33 pressure test. Knowing this, I declined their recommendation, and asked that they just perform the coolant flush with the hope that it might get rid of the blockage which would allow the pump to run again. I never assumed that this was guaranteed to solve the issue as I had mentioned to them that I may just need to replace the pump when I first got there. I knew this was a common issue with E90s. They told me it was unlikely to work(which it didn't) and that I would eventually just need to do the replacement(which I am). After picking up the car and arriving home, I plugged in my OBD2 scanner again just to recheck what error/fault codes were showing up. While doing this, my car notified me of my battery charge being at a low level. This had never occured before but was also indicative of a common problem that occurs when you bleed the coolant system and run the venting process. When doing this, it's recommended to connect the car to a battery charger because during the venting process, the electric water pump pulls a lot of power from the battery. During this process the engine isn't running. I called the shop to ask if their technician had connected my car to a battery charger during this process. They said that he did. When I told them that my battery was drained they took absolutely no responsibility and instead told me that they would go "check" to make sure that the 2 battery chargers they had were functioning properly and that my battery would eventually recharge itself when it's running...I will never go back here again and don't recommend anyone else does either.

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    4 months ago

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    24 days ago

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    28 days ago

    Great work. Proactive communication with me along the way. Highly recommend. Would definitely come back

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    2 months ago

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    4 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    10 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    Page 1 of 9

    Ask the Community - Griffin's Auto Repair

    Review Highlights - Griffin's Auto Repair

    Abraham, Richard, Carlos & The Mechanic are four of the best Great Spirits that The most High has created.

    Mentioned in 31 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Oil Changers

    Oil Changers

    4.6
    (746 reviews)

    I had a great experience here... The assistant manager Jorge took care of me, and provided great…read moreservice as well as doing an excellent job explaining the services he thought my car needed or didn't need. He actually talked me out of doing a couple things that I was asking about because everything looked good, which I appreciated a lot. Sometimes I feel like people are trying to constantly upsell me in these businesses, and that definitely wasn't the case here. He did identify a service I hadn't been thinking about, and my car has been running noticeably better since. Highly recommend this place.

    I live in San Diego because I prefer to walk more than I drive. But one of the reasons I hate…read moredriving beyond environmental impact is the predatory energy around car maintenance. Especially as a woman I just know they're more likely to take advantage. I got my last oil change here six months ago. I set a challenge for myself to try to only use one tank of gas in six months. So obviously, I have not driven very often. But Google, ChatGPT, and the few men in my life told me that I needed to go get an oil change since it had been 6 months. So I went back to oil changers. To my absolute delight they showed me oil that looked freshly changed. No need to change what's already good. They gave me all the tips I need to know for when I need to actually come back and what I can be doing to maintain my car in the meantime. It would have been so easy for them to just take my money and lie to me. It would have been just a normal errand I'd forget about in a few days. But now I will refer everybody to this location because I am so thrilled with that experience on top of already having a positive experience when I DID need an oil change last time. You don't really expect too much from these limited service shops. But the energy here is good. The people here seem to work well together and after today I will continue to come here as long as I live in San Diego.

    Valvoline Instant Oil Change

    Valvoline Instant Oil Change

    4.3
    (416 reviews)

    First timer at Valvoline, and I instantly felt ease. It's very streamlined from the initial…read moreinformation to explaining the options (3min). There is a boss man who direct and supervise each stall and each time guys work on something, they clearly confirm. Each guy also seem to be very knowledgeable of various situations (I asked some Q because my car will not be driven for 6months) and from the type of oil to any additional fluid to tires, these guys nailed everything. As I sit and wait for mine to be complete, I feel so relieved that they have such a transparent practice. This was a spontaneous (but overdue) oil change and I didn't come with no coupons, but the guy gave me discounts. I love this place and highly recommend! YOU CAN STAY IN THE CAR while they work on it (15-30min top)!

    After a turnaround trip to Beverly Hills and now back in San Diego, my car was due for a full…read moreEuropean synthetic oil change. I already purchased the oil filter online so all these guys had to do was remove the existing filter drain motor oil and put in the new filter and add several quarts of European synthetic oil. I also purchased the in cabin air online as a new one was needed. The crew were efficient, professional and quick but were NOT as accommodating as the West Los Angeles crew, which is where I last visited. This location is almost comparable but the WLA location was more accommodating in that they were willing to install my in cabin air filter and engine air filters. The crew here weren't as accommodating instead they did a song and dance of excuses on why they can't. Additionally, their Yelp page shows a discount 20% off of the total which would be the equivalent of $40 off the entire purchase since my bill was over two hundred but they would NOT honor it. They only agreed discount less than half which is dishonest and false advertising and as a matter of fact ILLEGAL!! There are serious $$$$ fines the Valvoline corporate will pay customers who were not honored advertised offers/discounts. I just wanted the services done so I reluctantly stayed. Be aware of all the discounts and see if this location will honor them, my experience was NOT as positive because I hate to be subject to a bait and switch game. Caution here.

    Valvoline Instant Oil Change

    Valvoline Instant Oil Change

    4.4
    (302 reviews)

    I had a great experience at Valvoline for the second time-- very informative, friendly, and…read morethorough. They work very fast and have a really good flow as a team. Emily and Martin worked with me & were extremely helpful. Will continue to come back here for sure for oil changes. Reasonable price.

    Went in for a routine oil change and agreed to a tire rotation while I was there. From the…read morebeginning, I was uneasy. The employee working on my car appeared to be in training and repeatedly needed assistance from coworkers. She spent much of the service joking and laughing with them while fumbling through the work on my vehicle. After some time, another employee came to my window and informed me that they had stripped a lug nut during the tire rotation and could not replace it. I was told they would order the necessary part and call me when it arrived so the issue could be fixed. While I was shocked that a simple tire rotation had resulted in damage to my vehicle, I left believing they would take responsibility and make things right. More than a week passed without any communication. I eventually called the store myself, only to be told by the manager, Javier, that they do not perform repairs at all. When I asked why an employee had specifically told me they would order a part and contact me when it arrived, he had no explanation. Instead, he informed me that I would need to take my vehicle to a repair shop, pay for the repair myself, and then seek reimbursement from Valvoline. I work two jobs and rely on my vehicle, so it took some time to get the repair scheduled. Before I was able to do so, I received calls from both Valvoline customer service and Javier asking whether I had gotten the repair completed. During those conversations, I explained that I was unhappy not only about the damage itself, but also about the misinformation and lack of follow-up. Javier was dismissive, sarcastic, and condescending throughout the conversation. Rather than showing concern for the situation, he seemed irritated that I was questioning how it had been handled. I eventually took my 2016 Volkswagen Beetle to a repair shop. The technicians there thoroughly inspected the damage and explained that the issue was directly caused during the tire service. They informed me that this was not a simple lug nut replacement as Javier repeatedly claimed. Because of the damage, the entire hub bearing assembly had to be replaced. The repair cost was nearly $700. As owners of Volkswagens know, repairs can be expensive, particularly for a model that is no longer being manufactured. To make matters worse, the repair shop also informed me that my vehicle was extremely low on oil despite having received an oil change at Valvoline less than two months and approximately 3,000 miles earlier. That raised even more concerns about the quality of the work being performed at this location. After completing the repair, I submitted the invoice for reimbursement. The automated system stated I would receive a response within 24 hours. When that deadline passed without any communication, I once again had to call myself. I was then told it was actually a 24-48 hour review period and that my claim would be evaluated. When I finally received a response, I was told that Valvoline would not reimburse the full repair cost because the amount had not been approved beforehand. This was the first time anyone had ever mentioned a required approval process. Javier had never provided a spending limit, recommended an approved repair facility, or instructed me to contact him before authorizing repairs. In fact, he specifically told me I could take the vehicle anywhere I wanted. What made this conversation especially frustrating was Javier's behavior. He repeatedly insisted that he had only approved replacing a lug nut, despite being told that the damaged hub bearing assembly also required replacement as a direct result of the incident. When I explained that the repair could not have been completed without replacing the damaged components, he laughed. He then informed me that he had called a few neighboring repair shops and decided that my repair should have cost less. He refused to escalate the matter, refused to connect me with his area manager, and repeatedly talked over my concerns rather than addressing them. At the end of the day, I brought my vehicle to Valvoline for a routine oil change and tire rotation. Instead, their employees damaged my car, provided inaccurate information about how the issue would be resolved, failed to follow up as promised, and then attempted to avoid full responsibility for the resulting repair costs. I spent weeks chasing answers, arranging repairs, and advocating for myself over damage that never should have occurred in the first place. Mistakes happen. What matters is how a company responds when they make them. In this case, the damage itself was bad enough, but the lack of accountability, the contradictory information, and the unprofessional conduct from management made the experience far worse. I would strongly caution anyone considering this location to think twice before trusting them with their vehicle.

    Griffin's Auto Repair - autorepair - Updated July 2026

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