San Diego Auto Repair

High gas prices in San Diego have hit most of our budgets. You've probably budgeted a certain amount for vehicle related stuff. Increased fuel costs are now consuming a bigger portion of that budget and you may be tempted to skimp in some other areas - like scheduled maintenance. According to news reports and industry studies, you're not alone. Nine out of ten personal vehicles on the road have at least one maintenance or repair item that hasn't been done. Some of these items are serious safety concerns. Others are just more likely to affect the cost of operating your vehicle. In this area, we can take a lesson from professional vehicle owners. I'm talking about fleet owners and operators. You know, San Diego folks like the trucking companies and delivery services. Because their livelihood depends on it, they have gotten scheduled maintenance down to a science. And the last thing they skimp on is regular maintenance. W ... read more

Today's Convoy Auto Repair post focuses on using the proper fluids for your vehicle. Big advances in automotive technology have lead to the development of high-tech fluids to keep pace. Some because of engineering advances and others, advances in the materials used to build sedan automotive systems. A simple example of this is the cooling system. For decades it was primarily made out of iron, steel and rubber hoses. There was one kind of coolant that protected these components from corrosion. Now cooling system components are made with various metal alloys and plastics. These materials require different additives to protect them from corrosion. Since the materials used vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, we now have a number of different kinds of coolant. And it's important that car owners use the right coolant. If you pour in the wrong kind, it won't protect the cooling system and may even void th ... read more

In our auto video today we'll be talking with Alan Peterson about myths surrounding automotive maintenance. You can lump these myths into the statement that "modern cars are so reliable, they are virtually maintenance free". Any good myth has some elements of truth. No offense to San Diego Bigfoot fans, but this maintenance-free myth has more evidence than most. If we look at some isolated areas of auto maintenance, we could conclude that maintenance isn't so important. But other areas would just as easily lead you to believe that maintenance is more important than ever. Here are some examples for our friends in San Diego. -Chalk one up for the myth. On the other side, some vehicles come with sophisticated variable valve timing. A lot of complicated parts up in the valve train that didn't even exist not that many years ago. These parts are very vulnerable to oil sludge. -A point to maintenance. -Myth gets a point. -Point for maintenance. I think you get the pictur ... read more

When your vehicle is in desperate need of a spruce-up, it may be difficult to narrow down the options of the best places to give your car the attention it deserves. Therefore, we have taken on that task for you. Here are our top three recommendations to get your car detailed in Kearny Mesa, San Diego. Our first suggestion is Miranda's Auto Detail. Jesus Miranda has over 15 years of experience detailing vehicles. He is a skilled professional and pays attention to every element of your car. Miranda's Auto Detail is located at 3885 Convoy Street across from Convoy Auto Repair or you can contact them at 619-865-1150. This is a great place to have an expert bring your vehicle back to its full potential. The second recommendation we have is Lee's Auto Detailing. This is considered one of the best mobile auto detailers in San Diego. Areas of client services include Clairemont, Mission Valley ... read more

When it comes to their vehicles, some San Diego people don't have a maintenance mindset. They know they need to take care of their cars, but it just seems really hard to get them to remember to do it. San Diego drivers generally accept that many things in life require regular maintenance, but just may have not applied it to their sedans. For example: the lawn. You water it and mow it every week. And weed the flower beds and rake the leaves. There are other things that San Diego people are good about maintaining. Going to the dentist twice a year. Clothes to the dry cleaner. Flu shots. Taking the kids to your San Diego doctor for a checkup before school starts. So San Diego people really are maintenance minded. They just have to learn to apply that mindset to cars. I mean, if you never brush your teeth or go to the dentist, you'll become painfully aware of your neglect when you get a big cavity. Once the damage is done ... read more

A day doesn't go by without clients bringing in their vehicles and describing some type of strange or new noise. We cannot begin to explain how important it is for us to diagnose these noises to properly identify the source. Just imagine getting into a car that you don't drive on a daily basis; you may have a hard time pinpointing the noise of concern. Many times, we have driven a vehicle and identified multiple noises that seem abnormal to me. only to find out the client's concern is just the "new" noise, and not the other previous noises. Then, we have the exceptions to the rule, like this case of the noisy Volkswagen. A brief call from the client explains that the brakes in the VW have been making some abnormal noises. Now the brake pedal feels low, and they feel it may be unsafe to drive, so they've made the decision to tow it in. A great decision, indeed! The vehicle arrived, and as stated, it not only had no brakes, but when the brakes were applied, the noise was so loud that it ... read more

When winter approaches in San Diego, we break out the sweaters, coats, boots and mittens. We want to be ready for winter conditions. Your vehicle needs to be ready for winter as well. The last thing you want is to get stranded out in the cold. You need your vehicle to be safe and reliable. It's a good idea to get caught up on any neglected maintenance items anytime - but the stakes are higher in the winter. There are some specific things that we need to do in San Diego to have our vehicle ready for winter. The most obvious is having the antifreeze checked. If the antifreeze level is too low, it can't properly protect your engine, radiator and hoses from freezing. If your car does not seem to be making enough heat to keep you warm, your antifreeze level may be low or you could have a thermostat problem. Get it checked out. If you are due for a cooling system service, now is a perfect time to have it done. In the cold months around San Diego we always worry about being able to stop in t ... read more

Spring is officially here, and if you're looking for some vroom-worthy events happening in Southern California, there are a few exciting things on our radar! Whether you prefer fast rides or classic beauts, read on for tons of automotive fun in San Diego and beyond. Not too far north of San Diego sits another city just as dedicated to auto events as we are. Irvine is about an hour’s drive up the I-5 freeway and frequently features tons of great auto events. Every Sunday, at the Great Park Farmers Market, is the Car and Bike Show from 11am-2pm. This free show features a 50/50 opportunity drawing, awards, and live music. Participants in the show also receive discounts from selected Great Park Farmers Market Vendors. Great Park is situated in the geographic center of Orange County within the city li ... read more

One automotive service issue that doesn't get much attention is driveline service. Drivelines don't get talked about very much around San Diego, but they're very important. First let's define what the driveline is: Taking a small step back, the power plant is comprised of the engine and transmission. The driveline starts there and includes all of the components that transfer power from the transmission to the wheels. That's not really a lot of components, but they handle the full force of the engine. Without the driveline you're not moving. So we need to take good care of it. The driveline components differ depending on whether your vehicle has front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, all wheel drive or four wheel drive. For purposes of our discussion, we're going to have to over simplify a bit. Let's start with front wheel drive. The point where the transmission stops and the driveline begins is a little blurred with front wheel drive because the transaxle houses both t ... read more

A while back, the Cash for Clunkers program was all over the news. San Diego people could trade in their old vehicle for a new one that got better fuel economy and receive a government rebate. A lot of San Diego motorists had so-called clunkers that they wanted to keep. They're good commuters, grocery getters or toy haulers. They enjoy that fact that they're paid off, or soon will be. They would gladly like to keep their sedans for 200,000 miles or more - as long as it's economical to do so. There are plenty of San Diego drivers whose vehicles are running after 150,000 or 200,000 miles. We can learn from what they're doing to keep our own sedans on the road in CA. San Diego drivers of high-mileage cars often report a common denominator of never skipping an oil change.That may sound a bit unsophisticated, but it's really not. First off, oil is the life blood of your sedan's engine and ... read more