California Driver Academy

Jonathan was really excellent! I ordered the lessons for my wife who has been a very anxious and fearful driver she was debilitated from fear behind the wheel. PTSD and flash backs from a childhood motor accident. Jonathan was able to get her comfortable, confident and most importantly driving! She had a blast and now loves the freedom of driving! She is now recommending him to everyone she knows who is looking for lessons. Adults, Teens, he’s worth waiting for and really good at what he does. He will kindly push you, and prepare you which is really what you need! And extra bonus, if you pass the behind the wheel test 100% you will get a free burger and fries on them!

I took the six hours package for my son when we arrived from France.
My son had the two instructors of this school, Jose and Jonathan. Both were very friendly and efficient. They gave him all the tips for the security, which was the most important to me. They gave him also tips for the test. My son succeed to pass his driving test at the first try.
So I strongly recommend them.

Jose is great! I took a four-​class package with them and I found myself improving with every class. Jose is a patient, intuitive instructor who tried to help me with my driving problems on-​the-​go. I’m also happy to report that after taking this course, I passed my driving test at the Santa Clara DMV at the first try! Recommend them and recommend Jose.

We had a very positive experience with the California Driver Academy. They were efficient in their scheduling, good communicators and most importantly, Jonathon (our son’s instructor) was excellent.

At 21 years old, not having my license was my best kept secret. I took my behind the wheel test 2 times in highschool, and failed both times due to the anxiety induced by my lunatic examiners. After graduating college this past June, I finally developed a sense of urgency to get it.
I bought the basic 6 hour package. Had Jose for all 3 of my lessons during a one week span. He made me comfortable behind the wheel and tailored the lessons to what I needed to work on — unprotected left turns, right turn blind spot + mirror check, and reverse backing. I knew how to drive prior to these lessons, but I was seeking the polish needed to pass my license test and I got just that. I passed on my first time back @ the DMV.
Would take 2 stars off but I passed.
SO…
One star off because Jose showed up late for ²⁄₃ of my lessons. (First time was not his fault, front desk mixed up my address even though they confirmed my address a week before (SUS).) And left 5 – 7 minutes early for ²⁄₃. I also never went on the freeway (basic freeway is included in the 6 hour).
Overall, would recommend. Make sure you request Jose!

I recently passed the driver’s exam after completing four lessons with Jonathan. Throughout the process, Jonathan and the rest of the staff at California Driver Academy have been very helpful and flexible with lesson locations and times. Jonathan provides excellent instruction, with a heavy emphasis on scanning and defensive driving. Overall a very positive experience.

Very helpful office admins and meticulous instructors. Have just moved to the US and took four lessons over two months without extra practice. Passed first time.

I took 3 lessons with Jose and 1 lesson with Jonathan. Jose is friendly and relaxed, perfect for people who already know a bit about driving. Jonathan seems to be more attentive to details and that would work for people who start driving from a scratch. They both are good at making a driver scan the road. Since this school is oriented on your own training between lessons, be sure to have a car or an access to one. Read carefully their policies. Jonathan is caring about his business, so if you have questions or concerns, talk to him, and he will most probably satisfy your request.

Jonathan was a great instructor. I was initially pretty nervous about driving, but he calmed my nerves. He would make the learning experience fun and comfortable, and I was still able to gain a lot of knowledge. I passed my license test on my first try, and my friends who also had Jonathan passed on their first tries as well. Thanks to him, I consider myself a pretty safe driver!

I called multiple times, I left messages, nothing. I sent an email, nothing. Not worth my time.

I bought the 6 hour package. It was my first time driving in the U.S. In my first two hour lesson, my instructor was very irritable. When he came to pick me up, he did not even introduce himself and he wasn’t very happy. He just told me as if irritated to «get in the car». When we were driving, he would taunt me for the mistakes I made. In one instance when I almost turned into a one way street he said, «whatever happened to I work around this area?» in a tone that I felt was mocking me. On the other hand, this unpleasant experience strengthened my resolve to scan my surroundings better.
The 2^nd and 3^rd lessons were so much better because I had another instructor, Jose. Jose was very friendly and was more patient. I highly recommend him if you are taking this driving school. I felt really bad after my first lesson that I would give this shop only 1 star. Yes it was that frightening that I didn’t want to finish my lessons anymore but because I had a very good experience with Jose, I am giving another star.
Unfortunately the car I used is a bit old and it was a bit heavy to drive. They said they had a newer car but that was unavailable because it figured in an accident.
Customer service is okay too. They respond promptly. I’d put 2.5 starts if I could.

Jonathan is a great instructor, and I had an easy experience with California Driving Academy overall. Nick, the office assistant, was also very helpful.
I had not driven in a few years so just needed a confidence boost and for someone to get me back into good driving habits. Jonathan quickly learned that I automatically look to the left for signs (I’m used to driving on the opposite side of the road) so he flagged that and I have been working hard to correct it. I had two lessons with Jonathan, which gave me the confidence to hire a car and drive by myself. I passed my driving test soon after and probably wouldn’t have been able to do that without Jonathan’s help.

Jonathan is the best! I was extremely scared of driving but Jonathan helped me get over that fear! I passed my test on the first try, woohoo!!! Prices are reasonable and probably cheaper than most out there. Jonathan is a fun and helpful instructor!

Firstly, I did not like the way I was taught driving. Most of the time I just drove without getting any information on what the DMV would ask in the driving test. All I was asked to do was drive and scan around. No details on how to turn — mostly to be told that I need more practice between classes (what is the point of the driving class if I just need to practice on my own!!!). He should have made me practice turning and other details in a better way without complaining all the time in a negative fashion about how I need to practice practice practice! Why not practice with him then??? I found it annoying!
Secondly, I wanted to schedule classes as per my convenience only to be told that they want me to schedule the next class after 4 to 5 weeks. I did not have a good experience scheduling my classes and I found the communication very unprofessional. They would not send confirmation emails soon enough for the scheduled classes upfront and would do that arbitrarily. It needs to be made flexible for the customers to decide when they want the classes to be scheduled. Its not a driving test but a CLASS! They need to keep that in mind.
Thirdly, its super expensive. Also the instructor would leave 5 minutes early and if you are paying 120 bucks for 2 hours, thats almost 5 dollars for those additional 5 minutes. I need the complete 2 hours.
Anyway, I wouldn’t recommend this school to my friends.

I’ve avoided driving a car for most of my life due to a bad accident before I’ve gotten the chance to start driving. Jonathan has helped me feel more comfortable in the driver’s seat. His attention to detail and safety is superior to that of other instructors’ I have worked with. He was also nice enough to not charge me when I took my first exam and failed. I highly recommend him.

AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, SUPER PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TRAINER! BEST TEACHER EVER IN MY LIFE! BEST DRIVING SCHOOL!
My husband bought minimal package of 3 lessons for me. So I had these 3 lessons with Jonathan. He explained me everything: safe driving, how to park, how to scan all the time so you don’t miss anything and will not cause car accident or hit a pedestrian. He never got angry at me or yelled at me. My self-​esteem is much higher now. I practiced driving with my husband as well. So today I passed my driving test and got 99% (It was my first attempt). I’m absolutely satisfied with my results. All-​with Jonathan’s help.
I STRONGLY RECOMMEND CALIFORNIA DRIVER ACADEMY EVERYBODY!!!
P. S.:Jonathan is not just very professional trainer and very nice person but very educated man as well: he speaks Spanish, English, French and even Russian a little bit. One of the most educated men I’ve ever met.

Absolutely wonderful experience! After watching a Stanford driving school instructor drive next to us down el camino while happily texting away…(without a student in the car) we knew for sure we wanted to look elsewhere for our daughter and coincidentally we had just started to prepare for this search. So with them a for sure NO, I googled and found Jonathan at California driving school. His Unilocal reviews popped up and if course I read them after seeing how the other school instructor behaved. Jonathan had the best reviews out of all of them-​hence a no brainier for me. Sure Unilocal is full of fictitious fake reviews both good and bad… but it’s also very easy to spot real honest reviews for a company people feel strongly about praising for real.
This is one of them.
I was absolutely way too nervous to teach my daughter to drive and I drive an enormous truck that would only have added to the problem. Jonathan responded to my call in a very timely manner, was informative and helpful and truly put me at ease. Our daughter took his course and had nothing but praise for him and his techniques, hints, reminders and tips for practice. My daughter literally blossomed from a very nervous on the brake driver to a much smoother relaxed and still alert driver after only the first lesson. We went to her driving test still a bit nervous of course but confident that Jonathan had prepared her well including taking her down to the area of the test and showing her the areas which would be of extra concern due to 3 way stop, or lanes that end and merge, pedestrian caution areas etc. She passed… nothing was better for me than a proud child who achieved her goal thanks to jonathan. The dmv representative giving the test told my daughter that over 50 percent of the people fail! I can say as we waited for her turn that the person before her did fail and we watched him drive away as the dmv rep said «better luck next time!»
So, if you are reading these reviews in hopes of finding an instructor that can help you learn the ins and outs you need to be a safe driver you have found him in my book. A+
Thank you so much Jonathan!

I’ve been taking lessons with Jonathan for 1.5 months, 9 lessons in total. He explains driving techniques very well and is always friendly. He never got angry on my mistakes, answered all the questions about driving I asked. Also, he reminded to do required things in advance if saw a chance I wouldn’t do them (e.g. scan on the intersection). Jonathan explained me what things to look for around and how to analyze road situation. His skills are extremely good. He always intervened when I was making a bad move. Jonathan’s scanning is amazing. As an example, when we were in the Dmv office for a test, he recognized one girl standing in the line. He saw her in the car when we were driving to the Dmv office. When he asked a girl «Were you driving a car X?», she answered smth like «Yes. How do you know?».
I would recommend taking lessons with Jonathan.

Lessons with Jonathan are really rewarding and helpful, not only for passing the DMV drive test, but also for fostering good and safe driving habits. Jonathan really emphasizes «scanning», which requires a lot of body movements while operating the vehicle yet proves to be really useful because proper scanning indeed gives you better awareness of the surroundings and helps you prevent accidents. Jonathan knows how to drive well, tons of tips of how to drive safely, testing area layouts and most importantly, how to teach students effectively. The teaching environment is both harmonious and comfortable with Jonathan. I would recommend Jonathan to anyone interested in improving his/​her driving skills and passing the DMV drive test. I just passed the DMV drive test today at Redwood City DMV with 100% thanks to Jonathan’s helpful instruction.

I had a very limited time to learn how to drive (my driving test was in three days, but I only drove one week in my whole life, which was 10 years ago and not in the US). My friend, based on her very positive experience, recommended to take lessons with Jonathan. I took two lessons and one hour practice before the test, and it was enough for me to pass the test with a high score. While I was short in time, Jonathan managed to teach me everything what is needed to drive confidently and safely, and to pass the test. I don’t know whether he strategized our lessons or he is just a naturally good teacher, but at every moment of our driving together I noticed that I knew more now than just a minute before. Jonathan was also very supportive during the test at DMV. I highly recommend him!