Don Smasal —
Lead Technician & Owner,
Spot-On Automotive Diagnostics.
Don Smasal is the founder, owner, and lead technician of Spot-On Automotive Diagnostics LLC in San Antonio, Texas. He holds ASE Master certifications in both Automobile and Medium/Heavy Truck, ASE Advanced Specialist credentials L1 through L4 (including ADAS), and an active NASTF Vehicle Security Professional registration. He founded Spot-On Automotive Diagnostics in April 2021.
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Where Don trained.
| Associate DegreeAutomotive Technology | Universal Technical Institute (UTI) — Avondale, Arizona |
National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.
| ASE Master Automobile TechnicianA1–A8 series · light vehicle | Full A-series Master certification |
| ASE Master Medium/Heavy Truck TechnicianT1–T8 series · commercial | Full T-series Master certification |
| ASE L1 — Advanced Engine Performance SpecialistDriveability & emissions | Advanced level diagnostic specialist |
| ASE L2 — Electronic Diesel Engine Diagnosis SpecialistModern diesel engine | Advanced level diagnostic specialist |
| ASE L3 — Light Duty Hybrid/Electric Vehicle SpecialistHigh-voltage systems | Advanced level diagnostic specialist |
| ASE L4 — Light Duty Vehicle ADAS SpecialistAdvanced driver assistance systems | Advanced level diagnostic specialist |
| ASE B5 — Mechanical & Electrical ComponentsCollision Repair & Refinish series | Specialist ASE certification within the Collision Repair & Refinish (B-series). Not a master or general collision designation. |
OEM-authentic training.
| Ford FACT Certifications (11)Ford Motor Company factory training | Eleven separate Ford Authorized Certified Technician (FACT) credentials |
| Nissan North AmericaFactory-trained | Nissan factory technician training program completions |
| Toyota Motor CorporationExpert-level factory training completed | Completed Toyota expert-level e-learning and in-person factory technician training (formal NTT designation not held) |
| CumminsDiesel engine diagnostics & programming training | Cummins diesel engine platform diagnostic and programming coursework |
| Detroit DieselHeavy-duty diesel platform training | Detroit Diesel heavy commercial platform diagnostic training |
| ZF TransmissionsTransmission training | ZF automatic and commercial transmission diagnostic and service training |
| Allison TransmissionsCommercial transmission training | Allison commercial automatic transmission diagnostic and service training |
| J2534 Pass-Thru Programming — OE DomesticIndustry training | Domestic OEM J2534 programming certification |
| J2534 Pass-Thru Programming — OE AsianIndustry training | Asian OEM J2534 programming certification |
| Select I-CAR Course CompletionsCollision industry training | Targeted I-CAR coursework relevant to ADAS & structural service |
Authorized credentials, current and verifiable.
| NASTF Vehicle Security Professional (VSP)Active registration | Authorized by the National Automotive Service Task Force to perform legal security gateway work on modern vehicles — including key generation, immobilizer programming, Mercedes-Benz TRP coordination, and security module adaptation. |
Next on the list.
| ASE World Class TechnicianIn progress | Top-tier ASE designation requiring 22+ specific certifications. Don is actively working through the remaining requirements. |
Before Spot-On.
Don earned his Associate's in Automotive Technology from Universal Technical Institute, then moved to San Antonio and joined Gunn Nissan, starting as an express technician and advancing to line technician.
From there he spent roughly seven years at VIA Metropolitan Transit, starting as a fleet mechanic and advancing through journeyman mechanic, to lead mechanic, to Fleet & Facilities Foreman — a role he held for about four and a half years. As foreman he served on the management team overseeing A-shift across multiple departments (general repair, heavy-line engine and transmission repair, body and paint, and the electronic shop) while running fleet readiness and facilities: scheduling revenue and non-revenue units for daily service, building and maintaining preventive-maintenance programs across all sub-fleets, overseeing repair budgets and work-order quality, supervising and training skilled and unskilled staff, conducting performance evaluations, and managing OEM-parts ordering plus outside-vendor warranty and non-warranty repair work. During his VIA tenure he competed on the first-place team at the 2014 APTA International Maintenance Competition.
He returned to the dealership floor at North Park Toyota of San Antonio (Feb–Sep 2020) as a Service Technician — heavy-line diagnosis and repair across engine, transmission, electrical, steering, suspension, brakes, and A/C — then moved to Toyota of Boerne (Sep 2020–Jul 2021) as a Diagnostic Specialist, running advanced diagnostics with digital storage oscilloscopes and mentoring entry- to novice-level technicians. That role overlapped the April 2021 launch of Spot-On Automotive Diagnostics.
What Don personally does.
Bring the work you can't finish locally.
For vehicle owners: drop off at our San Antonio shop by appointment. For repair shops, body shops, dealerships, and fleets: mobile dispatch across the San Antonio metro, remote programming across the US and Canada, or mail-in bench service.