A Real 95-Point Inspection, Start to Finish
This is an actual inspection report from our shop: a 2013 Hyundai Sonata that came in for an oil change and a brake check in July 2026. Customer details removed; everything else is exactly what our technician documented.
The car, and what it came in for
A 2013 Hyundai Sonata, booked for an oil change, a front-and-rear brake check, a tire inspection, and our 95-point inspection. A routine visit, the kind we see every day.
The inspection flagged 16 technician concerns. Every one got a photo, so the owner could see exactly what we saw before approving a single line of work. Below is that report: the real photos, the technician's real notes.
Brakes
Needs attention now: Front brake pads: 1mm left
1mm of brake pad friction material remaining. Pads are very, very worn out. Manufacturer recommends changing at 3mm. 2mm is the legal minimum safe friction material.
Needs attention now: Front rotors: worn, grooved, out of spec
Rotors worn, grooved and out of spec: grooves forming in the friction surface that lead to noise, vibration, and premature pad wear.
Needs attention now: Front calipers: stuck
Front left and right brake calipers are hard to retract / stuck. The pads can drag, overheat, and wear unevenly.
Needs attention now: Brake fluid: contaminated
Contaminated and/or high moisture content. Contaminated fluid makes the car take longer to stop, can cause a soft or squishy pedal, and eventually rusts the braking components from the inside.
Coming due: Rear brakes: worn, some life left
6mm of pad friction material remaining: worn but still has some life. Recommended change is at 3mm.
Under the hood
Needs attention now: Engine oil: not registering on the dipstick
No oil registering on the dipstick. The engine oil is very low and should be changed/replaced immediately.
Needs attention now: Oil leak: valve cover gasket
Engine oil leaking from the valve cover gasket(s), and from the timing cover.
Needs attention now: Oil leak: timing cover
Second leak point at the timing cover. The two leaks together explain how the oil level got this low between changes.
Needs attention now: Engine air filter: very dirty
Very dirty with a lot of debris. Replace immediately. Engine air filters should be changed every 12–15k miles for clean airflow, fuel economy, and engine life.
Needs attention now: Evaporation hose: completely off
The evaporation hose was found completely disconnected.
Coming due: Coolant: near the end of its service life
Moderate condition: boiling point and pH are near the point of needing a change, but okay for now.
Coming due: Cooling system: inspected
Water pump and pulleys visually inspected while the belt service was evaluated.
Coming due: Drive belt: due by schedule
Recommended per the manufacturer maintenance schedule. No record of it ever being done on the CARFAX history report.
Coming due: Tune-up: due by schedule
Ignition/tune-up recommended per the manufacturer schedule, no service record found. The plug we pulled confirmed it.
Coming due: Cabin air filter: due
Due per the maintenance schedule (every 12–15k miles or 24 months). This is the air the HVAC blows at you.
Tires
Needs attention now: Front left tire: 2/32, at the legal minimum
2/32 tread depth remaining. Replace now. Recommended change depth is 3/32; 2/32 is the legal minimum.
Coming due: Rear tires: healthy (for contrast)
7/32–10/32 remaining, plenty of life. Same gauge, same day. This is what the front should look like.
Coming due: Tire size: 205/65R16
Size confirmed off the sidewall so the replacement quote is for the exact tire. No guessing.
What happened next
The report went to the owner's phone. They reviewed the photos, approved the work, and we got started: front brake pads, rotors and calipers, a brake fluid flush, two new tires, drive belt, spark plugs, engine air and cabin filters, a coolant service, the valve cover gasket, and a full-synthetic oil change.
Total turnaround: about 2½ days. Most of that was waiting on a part to arrive, not the car sitting on the lift. A real list, knocked out in one visit instead of five surprise breakdowns spread over the next year.
A week later, the owner left this on our CARFAX page:
"Excellent service! Car was in bad shape and turn around time to fix the needed items took around 2 1/2 days! Car runs like new now!"
What the report actually looks like on your phone
The findings above are pulled from the real report. This is the report itself, the exact format that lands on your phone as a private link: the Vehicle Health summary up top, then every finding with its photo. (Identifying details removed; the report link itself only ever goes to the customer.)
Questions About This Report
What you're looking at, and what your own report would look like.
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Do I have to fix everything the inspection finds?
What happened to this Sonata?
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