Hybrid Experts

Eh, dang those catalytic converter thieves. They love my 2007 Prius like its a tree with forbidden fruit.

Unfortunately, that's my fully depreciated hauling car. With 215K miles on it, I've literally had no problems other than having to replace the hybrid battery once, and the catalytic converter now twice!

Losing that part is a problem since its very expensive to replace, and you don't want to drive a noisy stinky car without it. The car is barely valuable enough to replace it, so just taking it to the dealer isn't workable unless you have comprehensive insurance. (side note: if you have a 2004 - 2009 Prius, keep paying for comprehensive with a low deductible because of the hazard of cat theft. I didn't, so that's my problem).

So, I called around all over the place trying to find someone who could give me a replacement at a reasonable cost. Also, I found most mechanics were saying there was up to a 6 month wait time for backordered California-compliant cats.

Faraj and Hybrid Experts came to my rescue. Not only did they quote me a very reasonable price, they were able to get a new Toyota Cat in 1 day. I drove my noisy stinky Prius 50 miles to them because the offer was so good.

They added another (yes a second) cat shield, and also replaced a faulty O2 sensor, and got all the work done in under 3 hours.

So far, the car works great. No noise, no stink, no check engine lights.

I also cleaned my garage so those damned cat thieves won't find my forbidden-fruit laden car so easily this next time.

Morale of this story:
1. Keep your comprehensive insurance
2. Keep your car off the street
3. Call Hybrid Experts if they get you anyways

Need a 12V Battery Replacement?

My 2012 (240K+ mile) Prius didn't start due a dead 12v battery. It lasted 12 years since I drove it off the dealership. I called around my local big box auto stores and was quoted over $300 for the battery and learn that Toyota Prius was excluded from their free battery installation service. I figure the battery was located in the trunk/rear of the car which made it more complicated than others. I definitely wasn't comfortable switching this out myself.

After a few calls to stores for price and product availability, I shot Hybrid Experts a text and was given the best price with free installation over the phone. (I won't reveal the price here but trust me, H.E. is truly passing the savings to us).

I arrived on my scheduled time and was again, welcomed with a smile by the Owner. This is a Wednesday afternoon, the shop was busy with customers, all during a heat wave of 105 degrees. You got the Owner trouble shooting and calling for parts, the Son rushing back to install his last piece, all done with a smile and for the customer.

So onto my car... My new battery I was expecting to be a generic brand or something our big box stores would carry like Duracell, etc.. based off the price quoted to me over the phone. I was 100% wrong, H.E. got a Toyota Brand 12v, the exact battery that lasted 12 years when i drove it off the lot. This was a sweet surprise and it shows they only use quality parts and trusted brands which is backed by their warranty. I'm confident that I found the best guys in the business here.

Thank you again Hybrid Experts!

I called Hybrid Experts to find out if they could test the hybrid battery of a 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid that I was thinking of buying. Faraj picked up my call, explained how the battery worked, and then, after determining that I had a sufficient amount of mechanical knowledge, explained - in detail - how I could diagnose the battery without bringing it to him to test.

He was surprisingly friendly and patient. Before calling him, I had called another hybrid specialty shop in SF (Earthling Automotive) and they repeatedly insisted that there was absolutely no way to test the battery and I just had to "roll the dice and gamble."

There's no doubt in my mind that Faraj is knowledgeable and honest. After I repeated back the steps in the diagnostic test, his exact words were, "You got it! You could pay me $300 or $350 to test this or you can do it yourself - it's up to you." If your hybrid is having issues, I'm confident he will offer you the lowest cost way to solve them. This is a guy who knows what he is talking about and is willing to share his expertise, often for free. Other reviewers have also mentioned this very rare quality. What a gem!

Hi
To those that all all out there , Faraj Hybrid Expert is the Best Hybrid Mechanic out there ! He would help you & try to solve your mechanical issue without hesitation when your in desperate need in resolving a mechanic issue - even though I have never met him before !
Here is my situation & how he help !
I own a 2013 hybrid prius four which my daughter drives regularly- I discover that her brake lights , Trac light , abs light we're on ! Was told there maybe a recall on the Master Cylinder or abs pump , so I took it to capitol Toyota august 16 2023 ! They told me that Toyota has an extend warranty on this item , it's 10 year from the day your vehicle was first registered or 150k miles which ever comes first ! So my car was first register July 23 2013 & had 143,000 miles ! So the Toyota dealership said I am out of luck , you have to fully paid for replacing the Master Cylinder brake booster assembly & the Abs pump assembly even though it's just 3 week after July 23 2023 ( that's when the warranty expires) .

So I roll up my sleeves & bough the two parts & watch a couple of YouTube videos & and tackle the job a week ago & install & every when smoothly ! After everything was installed the car would not start up !
So I Yep Faraj & a few other shops into ask for help with the need of getting my car started & needing a recalibration of the abs pump & master cylinder!
Nobody understands why the car did not start up , only and only Faraj understood why ! He personally try to contact me & was unsuccessful so he left his contact # and indicated he can help me !
So I contact him , and we FaceTime & it was the red safety plug - I did not slide it to the right ! So my hybrids battery was not fully connected !
So Fajai you made my life a lot easier & you went out of you busy schedule to just contact me to help me out ( when you don't need to ) & have the intuition & knowledge of hybrid cars to know why my car did not start.

Also the fact you took time out from your busy schedule show me you have fine character!

You will always be my mechanic In Hybrid repairs !

You are an exceptional person & a very knowledgeable Mechanic

Had the "Check Hybrid System" message on my 12 Prius and took it to Hybrid Expects for a diagnosis. Faraj ran the diagnosis and told me my inverter needed to be replaced. He gave me a great quote to replace it with a second hand one (given my car is so old anyways).. but he's so honest; he also told me to check with Toyota dealership to see if it's still under warranty (along with my ABS system). He didn't charge me for anything and gave me great advice. I'd totally recommend anyone with a Prius to bring it to him for any service, especially with the electrical system.

I took the car to Prius Hybrid Battery Of San Jose down the road afterwards. They also ran the same diagnosis, They refused to tell me what came up with the scan. All she said was they need to run a deeper inspection for $300 to find out what's wrong.

Huge thanks to Faraj and his team for accommodating me at the last minute! I had gone to a dealer earlier in the day to install a catalytic converter shield. A few hours later, dealer called me to say they didn't have the right size tool to install the shield - really?!

I managed to get a hold of Faraj, and he was able to schedule me same day! He showed me the process of installation, location of the shield, and was very friendly throughout the process.

If I need anymore work done on my Prius, I will happily go back to Faraj and his team, and recommend anyone else to do the same!

My 2012 Toyota Prius V had a dc/dc inverter converter malfunction. Faraj, owner of Hybrid Experts of Santa Clara (giving location so as to not get confused with other "hybrid experts" in the SF Bay Area), explained to me what the P0A94 and other error codes meant, what the fix would be, and how much it would cost to repair it. He was very patient with me and my questions regarding the issue, explained to me three ways on how to fix the problem, provided with a quote for each solution, and gave me a realistic time frame as to when the car will be repaired. The pricing Faraj provided for each repair solution were very competitive and were WAY lower than those of any Toyota dealership.

And, he didn't try to upsell me with any other services that "I may need". Faraj simply explained that these vehicles will last well over 300,000 miles if the proper Toyota maintenance is kept up to date, as with any other vehicles, and recommended replacing items what they see breaking down most often in these vehicles, i.e. inverter cooling pump and the hybrid battery (you can check it out on line) in order to avoid the more costly repairs when (not if) they break down. He even told me, that if I decide to take my vehicle to another shop, to make sure that those repairs are done by a hybrid trained mechanic/shop. Faraj showed that he cares for the customer and how the customer can fullfil their needs even if the work is done at another location.

Faraj and his son "EZ" were very professional, friendly, honest, and "down to earth". I've already recommended Faraj and EZ of Hybrid Experts in Santa Clara to two of my co-workers instead of sending their hybrids to a dealership or another shop for maintenance and repairs. Definitely will be bringing my Prius here for any future mechanical/electrical needs.....and perhaps my Outback Sport and Escape if they have time. Thank You Hybrid Experts in Santa Clara! :-)

My husband had been bringing our 2007 prius here for a few years. We had the prius battery and engine changed here plus check ups.

The service is fantastic. Incredibly kind, genuine, helpful, transparent and honest. We ended up selling our prius due to a long distance move and were grateful that Faraj was willing to have the work warranties on the car be transferable to the new owner.

We were thinking of getting a newer prius sometime in the future and Faraj was kind enough to speak with us on the phone and let us pick his brain with questions.

We would not hesitate to recommend this place to any prius or hybrid car owner.

What sets these folks apart from most mechanics, is that they are super friendly, caring, human beings, with good communication skills.
I've lived in San Francisco or Oakland, and took my 2007 Prius to every mechanic with significant Prius experience (4 shops). 2 of them have horrible customer service, and charged me for services I later realized I didn't need, 1 is great but way more expensive than any other shop around, and the final one is pretty great, but they don't let you speak directly to the mechanics *at all* and they are often booked weeks out. So, I saw these reviews, and decided it was worth driving over an hour each way. And I'm glad I did. They got me in in just a few days, we're efficient, competent, affordable, and had great communication.
Seeing how they run their business first hand, I will not hesitate to make the trip again when I need service again.

This was the best experience I ever had with a mechanic. Quick replies - replied even after hours and answered all my questions.
Quick scheduling - got me in the very next day.
Fair price - I got multiple quotes and theirs were very competitive.
Friendly people - Faraj and his son were very friendly throughout.

Took two minutes to check in the car. They pointed me to a good cafe nearby. I went there and worked for a couple of hours. Then I got the call that the car was ready. They had photos of the work and invoice ready. I paid and I was on my way.

I had a super excellent experience with them super helpful with my car and I really recommend them to anyone. Thank you for all your help.
Everyone wanted to sell me a whole new battery and they checked and scanned my car all it was just a fuse wowwwwwwwwwww and they did not even charge me.
Guys I am comming back for my maintenance