AA's Mobile Service

10/09/2026

2006 Kia Spectra EX, 132K mile? Yah.
Customer states, “it has no power, it won’t go up a hill, I have to drive the long way to work, afraid to leave town.”

And the story gets sadder. Stealership sez, it needs a transmission replacement to the tune (and one time low price) of… thousands of dollars. Many, mucho, mas, waaaay too much.

Ok, from the start, we knew what to do.
Car starts driving in third gear (automatic), so it’s slow and sluggish. “Enough to get you home”, basically. So many fault codes in the transmission computer (TCM). All related to the valve body (the solenoids that shift the fluid passages to get you from First, to next, reverse, on and so on).
We reset all the computers and took it for a drive. Booom. It shifts proper. 🙃

A day later it starts with the same issue, Check Engine Light on, and has no power. It just won’t shift correctly!

Wayellll….. we know. That “ribbon” wire harness is corrupted / melted.
The solenoids (all five or six) are not receiving proper voltages. We removed the transmission pan, fluid, valve body assembly and came across a crispy wire harness. Yeppers. We checked each solenoid for proper operation, checked the 3 check valves, and cleaned all the passages in the maze that is a “valve body”. Looking good!

Called the dealership for a part number and availability. Yay. One day away? Let’s play!
And then…. One half of the harness shows up… Kia split it into two separate sections. Inside to outside. I wish the “trained” parts dude would have pointed that out. Grrrrrrr.
A few more days later and we have it all. Reassembly, and wallah… the vehicle has all the power, all the gears, and all the love!

In conclusion.. those dudes that scope your car… they don’t care.
“Ope. Tr**ny fault codes? Sell ‘em new one.” And the “service writers’ will call you, and scramble your life. Way to have a bad day.

We do real diagnostics. All makes and models. Just FYI. Because you need to know.

09/13/2026

09/06/2026

2020 Chevy Sonic (RS). 1.4L turbo auto. 90K-ish miles?
Customer; “It won’t go when I step on it”.
Test drive; no, no it won’t.
“Stealership” may have recommended an extensive and expensive solution? A new transmission? Or a “valve body”? But not a wiring harness for the body? These noobies…

Yes. CEL is on, “limp mode” third gear start. No reverse. Fault code P1942? Whatever code

Let’s take a minute, or 30; and look.
Just one fault code. The transmission “brain aka computer” is losing a voltage signal… ahh, blown fuse. Replaced, test drive… car shifts through all 5 gears. Plus reverse. Yay! Wtf! Let’s just drive it for a few….

A few days later the customer calls and says, “it’s doing it again!”
Foretold this I may have done. We pondered about the amperage surge that could have overpowered that fuse to begin with…..

Vehicle returns, under its own power. That same fuse was shorted.. hmmm. cue the Law and Order 1-2.
Let’s get back the wire schematic. Fuse feeds all the shfting solenoids IN the mechanical valve body AAAND the “rear view camera”. Oh, and the brake light switch. Brake lights work just dandy. One of three items on that circuit is shorting, causing the fuse to blow.

We knew that that camera had to separated from the equation. I mean, why would a camera be on the transmission valve body wiring circuit? Definitely sounds stoopid from here.
We opened the trunk, removed some trim, and unplugged that little “device”. The “reverse / back up camera” thingamajigger.
(ps; y’all should turn heads and look before, and after you engage) It’s good exercise.

After a few awesome test drives, the has all gears, had its “adaptive shift pattern” reset, and scoots. The customer is educated, advised, and ecstatic.
Always follow the cause, not just the symptoms. Ya gotta be smarter than what you’re working on.



Pps;, Yyyeeahhh, I should narrate these tales… hehehehe. Now hiring a videographer.

06/29/2026

06/21/2026

If you’ve ever stopped by the shop, and your experience was better than good, or greater than great? Was it so-so? Meh?

Please share and let us know how we can be better! And we thank you for your support!

Aaand… we wish a merry day to all those dads, fathers, pops, role models, professional protectors, exceptional guys, you know who, all across the world. Today we burn! The grill..

06/19/2026

Today was a good day 🎶❤️🚗

05/25/2026

Today we give thanks to those who gave all 🇺🇸

04/26/2026

This is a Public Service Announcement

Here we are on a Sunday, replacing the FOURTH heater core on one 2002 Dodge truck in the last 3 years. Made in China. This is an 8 hour job, plus A/C. Warranty work. Again. Money lost, customer displeased…
this hurts everyone.

Notice the “RETURN” shelf.
2008 Ford F150 cam gear “phaser”, made in China. In stock at the local dealer.
2010 Ford Focus transmission mount, made in China.
2012 Volkswagen Tiguan, engine oil cooler seals, made in China.
2009 Toyota Camry, airbag “clock spring”, made in China.
2016 Subaru Outback, Fel-Pro engine intake manifold gaskets, made in China.
Not pictured: 2001 Chevy Corvette, front turn signal lamp/lens, GM box, made in China.

When your parts don’t fit correctly, or I can’t trust them, what do we do?
Call out our local government representatives and ask why these parts are not made in America, to higher standards. I spend more time and patience trying to find the best parts for your ride, and sometimes… this is the best that I can do. “screams aloud”

04/19/2026

2016 Hyundai Elantra GT, 84k miles, towed in as a “crank, no fire”. It sounds like no compression, hence the “no fire”. Customer states it died at the stop light. Yikes. Most any other shop would say, “it needs an engine”. Not here. We want to know the truth of the matter.

Check Engine Light fault code for intake camshaft position in relation to the crankshaft position. Saw that coming. We removed the engine “valve cover” to examine the camshaft, timing chain, and valve train, and the answer was obvious. The variable intake camshaft gear… the bolts that hold it together had removed themselves. Aye aye aye.

These Kia / Hyundai engines are “valve benders”, and usually that turns the engine into a boat anchor, but I wasn’t convinced. The gear separated from “drive” and left the camshaft in a kinda neutral position, so we ran a camera into the spark plug holes to see the valve faces. Wow, it looks like every valve is seated and no damage has occurred! Chain failure at idle is a much better scenario than high rpm failure.

We removed the oil pan and the remnants of the failed bolts and gear, updated the chain and variable valve timing gears, resealed everything, and boom, a good running engine.

Note: we removed the NEW cam gear bolts and added “Loc-Tite” to make sure this never happens again. If only the engineers thought that through? Well we did. Quality is how we roll. Comments in pics