Auto Air & Accessories

Only if you really love your car or truck and need your a/​c fixed, Carlton is your man. Cars nowadays need the dash completely pulled apart and Carlton even takes pictures during the repair to show you. He also does other general repairs too with the same expertise. If you love your car like I do, you’ll appreciate his work.

Put up a post on Facebook, for recommendations for an A/​C shop. Two responses came back for Auto Air from classmates I knew from 20 years ago.
I make an appointment and take my truck in. Eric explained the prices for diagnostics, and recharging the system, and explained to me that there is a leak, but can’t tell how fast the leak is. I would have to keep track of it if the system blows warm air. 6 – 7 months down the road, my A/​C blows warm air. I called up Carlton to explain the situation, and he pulled up my file from my last visit. He explained what they would have to do, and how long it would take… which entails pulling out my whole dash to change out the unit behind the firewall. Sheesh… bad design engineering.
I get the work done, and Carlton explains the charges to me. He even credited back the refrigerant recharging from my first visit, which saved me some money. He also notified me of another potential problem that I needed to keep an eye on.
I trust Auto Air with my vehicle. They don’t pressure you to fix things that’s not needed. Hawaii needs more auto service techs like the guys in this shop!

Was recommended to Carlton and his shop by a friend. My car had not started on a Friday and after changing my battery I was still having charging issues which had confirmed to me my alternator was probably going bad. It was Saturday and the shop closed at noon. I called and he told me to bring it in and he would look at it. Got there at 12 and told him he could just run the diagnostic since he was closing and I could bring it back another day. He ran the diagnostic and confirmed my alternator was dead. Since I was just running on battery, he insisted he fix it since if I drove anymore I would kill the battery and get stuck again. He found the part and worked late after closing to not only fix the alternator but other real (not over-​selling, made up) issues I had. I am an above average car person and will know if I’m getting deceived. His work was excellent and he saved my family a ton of stress since this is our only car. As other have mentioned, he is honest, fair and goes out of his way for customers. I am a customer for life and would recommend him to anyone.

Happened upon this auto shop in the heart of Kalihi because they had been referred to us for servicing of our company’s autos. After personally dealing with Carlton, the owner, in setting up the appointments and taking two of our company cars in for general maintenance, was very impressed with their professionalism, quality, and efficient work. I then decided to bring my personal auto in. Carlton was so easy to work with and bent over backwards accommodating my busy schedule. Miki (the Office Manager?) made sure I was comfortable in my short wait for general servicing of car.
Auto air is located on little Homerule Street between Kalihi and Mokuea Streets. Don’t blink otherwise you may miss the entrance. Bring your breakfast or book to read while you wait otherwise there are daily newspapers there. Better yet, have a friend pick you up so you can have an eating adventure at one of the many eclectic «hole in the wall» eateries around the area with broke da mouth food!

I mean come on. What auto repair shop has ever called YOU a week later to see how your car and you are doing?
Have a 16 year old Saab 900s that I love. AA&A (Carlton) fixed all requested items at a fair price. Then, I had an electrical issue that Carlton troubleshot (I know it took him more time than he will admit too) but he hesitated to bill me. He fixed my problem and I had to make him bill me!
Then he follows up with a phone call. Do I trust this guy? Absolutely! I don’t think you can find a more trustworthy shop/​guys than Auto Air & Accessories.

They were charging me $ 4000 to fix my ac?! They apparently needed to change most of the parts like compressor, evaporator, etc. but $ 4000 seriously?! Plus I had to pay them $ 80 just for the diagnostics… went to Mike’s Auto AC in kapahulu instead and I was sooo glad I did! And no charge for diagnostics thank you very much…

These guys are pretty quick. They’re really nice and helpful.
The parking situation is kind of hard. If you go with someone and you have an appointment they will help you find the parking.
They’re really fast. We were there for about 10 minutes. Then again, I went for a safety check… still.
I will be going back next year for sure!

I have been going to auto air for twenty years back when Howard owned it. And even though it has changed hands the service is still the same. They get to the heart of the problem tell you what is wrong and give you a fair price to fix your car. The thing I really appreciate is that they always give you a heads up to potential problems that are there so you know what needs to be dealt with. Never pressuring you but just letting you know what’s next to fix on that four wheeled money pit. THey have been keeping my cars running great for years and I will always go to them.

Eric and Carlton are the best when it comes to auto repair. Eric usually answers the phone. The best thing is he is honest and easy going. He’ll explain what is wrong and what needs to be done. Carlton is the man behind the scene. He does magic when it comes to repairs. They work on all types of cars.
Try them. Give them a call and you will be surprised.
#honesty

Major props to the guys at Auto Air and Accessories! My whole family comes here now. Every time I’ve come here, I’ve always gotten excellent service.
Today, took my car in for routine service. I haven’t taken my car in since Christmas 2010. I actually have a phobia of car places ever since being burned multiple times by dealership shops that charge an arm and a leg. Only reason I took my car in to the dealer was because of my warranty. Now that warranty is gone, it’s bye bye for good to dealership repair shops.
Long story short, I was shocked by the price… pleasantly shocked! I was expecting a bill that would be a couple hundred. Being that it’s been a year and a half since my last service and bunch of stuff needed to get checked, at the old dealership shop I took it to, they would scare me into getting this service package that was at least $ 300. But, I didn’t get that here. When I saw that my bill was WAY WAY WAY UNDER a hundred, my jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe it.
I really appreciate the honesty here. They tell me what needs to get done right away and what can wait. They explain to me what was done on my car and if anything extra needs to get done, they call me first to okay the job. They also give you options on what you can do.
Auto Air and Accessories, you are my go to auto shop. It’s nice having that peace of mind that you are being taken cared of. Good and honest mechanics are hard to come by these days. It’s rare to find a place that cares about the people, not just about making a quick buck. Keep up the good work guys!

I’m no car expert, but I know that the dealership tends to rip you off when you need minor things repaired on your car. So Unilocal led me to Auto Air and Accessories where Eric handled my repair work.
*They work on American cars! (I have a Chevrolet Camero that needed fixing)
*Eric provided excellent communication throughout the process
*In the communications, he provided estimates and breakdowns and always asked/​confirmed what you want fixed or NOT fixed.
*He also gives recommendations if you have no clue without making you feel bad about your lack of knowledge. I mean really, he’s the expert right?! That what we’re paying for.
*I think they had reasonable prices and they seemed very happy to accommodate my schedule if needed be (I was in no rush though).
Had a wonderful experience and would not hesitate to go back to them for more repair work!

A little over two weeks ago, i brought in one of my cars because the a/​c stopped blowing cold. I expected to schedule an appointment for service and return another day. To my surprise, i was asked for my keys so the a/​c specialist could take a look at it. I was blown away. They offered me a seat in the office. I might have waited 15−25min. the specialist came in with a diagnosis of the problem, gave me my options, and i gave him the okay to begin work on my car. I opted to wait out the repair, in mean time i was fortunate to have the company of the shop dog «Chevy». Im not sure how long i waited but playing with «Chevy», time went by unnoticed. The job was completed and was able to take my car home the same day. Its been over two weeks now and the a/​c is working great. Overall it was a great experience and highly recommend Auto Air and Accessories.

I took my daughter’s car to another shop on Queen Street to fix the air conditioning and the guy wanted $ 2000 to fix it saying the condensor needed to be fixed and he needed to tear out the dash. I told him the car was not even worth $ 2000 and told him to just charge the AC. He charged me over $ 120 and the charge lasted 1 day. The next week I took the car to Auto Air and they charged the car and it has been 5 weeks and the AC is still cold. The bottom line is Auto Air is honest and will not rip you off. I will be a repeat customer of Auto Air.

For the past three yeas I have taken my car to Auto Air for servicing. I appreciate the customer service they provide, especially in explaining what is wrong with my car. They are very honest, telling me which things I needed to immediately fix and which things could wait to be fixed (so I could save up).
Most importantly, I appreciate how good they are at answering their phones or calling me to keep me updated on repairs being made to my car. While they are usually really fast in completing repairs on my car. They were in constant communication with me. I really appreciated that they would call with price estimates (if they found additional problems) before acting, therefore I was never shocked with an excessive bill when picking up my car.
I definitely recommend Auto Air for car repairs.

This Joker was trying to charge me twice! Replacement Safety Inspection stickers are supposed to be free if you have the paperwork from the original inspection. This shop insisted they would have to charge me for the replacement. Whether it was greed or ignorance, I don’t know.

I was going to take my car to the dealership for it’s first scheduled maintenance (dumb move, I know), and then a friend told me about this place. Took my car in, and Eric was super helpful and courteous, and the price was less than HALF what the dealer wanted. Also, he explained everything done to the car in detail, as well as things he recommended I keep an eye on. Long story short, he made me feel like he was trustworthy enough to bring my car back, and I’ll also be bringing my other car in for service too! Good mechanics are hard to find, so I’m glad someone told me about Auto Air and Accesories!

Based on a recommendation from a friend, I decided to give Auto Air and Accessories a call when my car’s A/​C went kaput. I called and talked to Eric (who I think is the one who usually answers the phone) and made arrangements to bring my car in.
My car was fixed pretty quick and Eric was really nice. The thing that keeps me coming back here (other than my poor aging car) is their customer service. Eric took the time to explain exactly what was wrong with the car (in layman’s terms because I’m clueless about cars) and then explained what was needed to fix it. Unlike other Auto repair shops I’ve dealt with in the past, he told me up front what needed to be repaired now and what could wait. He also helped me assess which repairs would be «worth it», considering the age of the car.
I really appreciated his honesty. I’ve heard horror stories from my friends about OTHER repairs shops they’ve gone to where unnecessary repairs were made and the car ended up having MORE problems soon after.
Eric was upfront and honest and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.
On top of that, when I was car less and needed to pick up my car, they even offered to pick me up. How many places offer that service?
They’re located on one of the side streets off of Ward Ave. I think there’s a pretty beat up looking sign on the front, but it’s on the small side, so drive slowly when you’re on the street.
A good mechanic is hard to find, so I really appreciate all the work and great customer service Auto Air and Accessories has provided for me.