San Diego Auto Repair

As January gets underway, there are several events that the city of San Diego and culture-craving locals can eagerly anticipate. First, curb your culinary cravings at San Diego Restaurant Week. From January 16-21st, you can get a steal-of-a-deal on 3 course menus from San Diego’s best restaurants. Chose from over 160 local spots and enjoy $20, $30, or $40 meals. It’s a great opportunity to check out some new cuisine options in America’s Finest City. If you feel like going out for a run, the Carlsbad Marathon may be an event to consider. On January 23rd, participants will hit the coastal course and be rewarded with a medal, t-shirt, and goodie bag while running one of the best-looking routes in the nation. Feel like 26.2 miles is a bit much? Perhaps the ... read more

Your engine is like a finely choreographed dance. All the parts have to work together. If the timing is off at the ballet, dancers crash into each other and fall down. If the timing is off in your engine, it may not run at all. One of the most intricate dances in your engine, has to do with the combustion cycle. Your sedan engine has cylinders in which a piston travels up and down. At the top of the cylinders are valves open to bring in the air and fuel. And there are valves that open to let out the exhaust after the fuel has been burned. It's critical that the values be timed to open and close at precisely the right time in the combustion cycle, or the engine will run poorly or not at all. The timing belt is responsible for rotating the shafts that control the valves. It's vital and precision work. Timing belts are made of very tough flexible material. They can last a long time, but they eventually wear out and can break. The consequences can be disastrous. In some engines, the valv ... read more

Many motorists wait too long before seeking out brake service, a situation that is made worse when winter comes calling. Under slick winter driving conditions, drivers will often attribute a lack of stopping power to ice on the roads rather than considering the possibility that a brake repair may be necessary. Small problems that are present during summer driving may begin to manifest themselves as winter hits, making a car far more difficult to control. Drivers will often notice that their brake pedal requires more force to create a result, that the wheels squeal as they stop, or that the car pulls to the left or right when braking. These are all signs that a brake service is needed. To avoid winter driving complications, drivers should have their brakes serviced and a brake repair done, if necessary, before winter hits. Experienced technicians can check the fluid levels in the brake system, the ... read more

Today Convoy Auto Repair is talking about the proper fluids for your vehicle. It's become more complicated with changes in automotive design and manufacturing. It's not that people in CA are confused as much as they don't realize how much things have changed in recent years. Let's take engine oil. Twenty or thirty years ago, there were just a handful of different weights of oil. The weight of an oil is a scientific measure of its properties, particularly its viscosity or thickness. It was common in those days to use a lighter weight oil in the winter when it's cold outside. That way the oil would be able to splash around inside the engine and protect the parts before it was fully warmed up. And a heavier weight oil would be used in the summer. The thicker oil wouldn't thin out too much in the summer heat and vaporize in the engine. Modern valve trains have become very complicated with more moving parts and small passages than ever before. The valve train is in the top of the engine ... read more

What type of technology do you use? Do you prefer an 8-track tape or an iPod? When it comes to winter tires, much of the public's perception dates back to when 8-track was the best way to listen to the Bee Gees. Twenty years ago, winter tires differed from highway tires only in their tread design. We called them snow tires back then and they had big, knobby lugs that were designed to give good traction in deep snow. They had the same rubber compound as regular tires and they weren't very good on ice, packed snow or wet roads. They were not even very good on dry roads. They really helped in deep or loose snow, but they did a poor job the rest of the time. They were loud and rode hard. You couldn't wait to get them off in the spring. Then all-season tires started to come along. All-season tires are really a compromise between summer and winter performance. They have acceptable hot weather ride and tread life, and you can get through mild winter road conditions OK. But there are ... read more

The function of the fuel filter is pretty self-explanatory. It filters your fuel. The fuel filter is in the fuel line somewhere in between the fuel tank and the engine. Both gas and diesel vehicles around San Diego CA use fuel filters. Generally speaking there's not a lot of dirt in our San Diego CA auto fuel supply, but there is enough that you want to screen it out. The problem actually gets worse the older your vehicle becomes. That's because dirt, rust and other contaminants will settle out of the fuel and onto the bottom of the fuel tank. After your sedan is five years or older, it can actually have a fair amount of sediment built up. That just means that the fuel filter has to work harder as your sedan ages. It'll get clogged sooner and need to be replaced more often. A symptom of a clogged fuel filter is that the engine sputters at highway speeds or under hard acceleration. That's because enough fuel is getting through around town, but when you need more fuel for speed, enough ... read more

Local San Diego roadside emergencies can range from a flat tire downtown to being stranded in a snowy ravine for three days, so you may want to consider a basic emergency kit to keep in the car at all times and a travel kit tailored to a specific trip. Your close-to-home kit for around San Diego would have some basic items to work on your car: everything you need to change a tire, gloves, a couple quarts of oil, some antifreeze and water. A can of tire inflator is a great temporary fix for minor flats. You'll also want jumper cables or a booster box, flares, a flashlight and some basic hand tools. Additionally, if you need help towing a car, Convoy can assist you with this. Now for your comfort and safety: a first aid kit, drinkable water, high calorie food (like energy bars), blankets, toilet paper, cell phone, towel, hat and boots. Keep some change for a pay phone, emergency cash and a credit card. People who live in areas with frequent s ... read more

Everyone in San Diego knows we're supposed to go to the dentist twice a year. We get our teeth cleaned and have a thorough dental inspection. Once a year, we get x-rays to look for problems that can’t be seen with the naked eye. When the dentist is done, he tells us what he’s found – “Everything’s fine, see you in six months.” Or “You’ve got a small cavity starting, let’s schedule an appointment to take care of it.” By the time you leave, you have a plan for addressing any necessary repairs. This system works so much better than waiting for a painful problem before going into the dentist. Small problems are fixed before they turn into big problems. And you avoid those huge bills. If we buy into this way of handling our dental care, why do we resist so much when facing the same system for our car care? Following the manufacturer’s recommended intervals can be confusing. First there are recommendations for so many things: oil changes, transmission, coolant, air conditioning, power steer ... read more

Nothing in your engine workers harder than your oil. With hundreds of moving parts, and thousands of explosions every minute, it's no wonder that engine oil needs to be changed frequently! You've probably heard the old rule of thumb: Change your oil every 3,000 miles/ 5,000 kilometers or 3 months, whichever comes first. But some car manufacturers have introduced extended car oil change intervals. They figure that a modern vehicle driven under the right conditions can go for 5,000 miles/8000 kilometers or more between an oil change. The key phrase here is "under the right conditions". If you look at your owner's manual, you'll see two different maintenance schedules: one for "normal" driving conditions and one for "Severe Service". Severe service driving conditions include stop and go, short trips, towing, hauling, hot, cold, and dusty driving. That's why at AutoN ... read more

Like everything automotive, there have been great strides in headlight technology in recent years. We can all drive more safely at night because of it. Good headlights improve visibility down the road, enabling you to see farther. They also improve your peripheral vision, helping you to see the sides more clearly. The more you can see, the quicker you can react to road conditions. This is important because nearly half of traffic fatalities take place at night. And as the country's population ages, everything that helps older eyes is welcome. Most new cars come with halogen headlamps. A decade ago, halogens were exotic and expensive. Now that they are standard equipment, the price has come way down. Many luxury cars are equipped with high intensity discharge, or HID, headlamps. You have probably seen them on the road, they're very bright and have a bluish tint. From behind the wheel, there is no doubt that HID headlamps are the best thing going. However, many people complain about HID ... read more