San Diego Auto Repair

This is something really amazing: For every gallon of gas your car burns, it uses 12,000 gallons of air. All of that air has to be filtered to keep your engine clean. That’s like a hundred gallons of air every block! The engine air filter is just another example of a very inexpensive part that has to do a tremendous amount of work. And when it works, everything goes well. But, when it doesn’t, well, it can lead to costly car engine problems. Of course, your manufacturer recommends intervals for changing your air filter. But like most service intervals, where and how you drive your car affects when your filter needs to be changed. Dusty conditions in and around San Diego or polluted city driving means you’ll need to change your filter more often. Your Convoy technician can check your filter for you. In fact, it’s often a routine part of an oil change. When you think about it, a clogged air filter won’t allow as much air through as a clean filter. Your ... read more

With the recent focus in Mission Valley on improving fuel economy, we've been told how important it is to maintain our tire pressure. Everyone in Mission Valley knows that tires wear out, but we all want to make them last as long as possible because they're fairly expensive to replace. In addition to saving gas, properly inflated tires last longer. Under-inflated tires will wear out more quickly. Some people in Mission Valley wonder if there is benefit to adding a few extra pounds of pressure when they fill up their tires. But actually, there isn't. In fact, there are very good reasons not to over-inflate your tires. For one, the middle of the tread will wear unevenly because the full tread is not contacting the road properly. That also adversely affects your handling. Every vehicle in the Mission Valley area has a sticker on the driver's side door jamb that tells you the manufacturer's recommended tire pressure. This recommendation is an integral part of the vehicle's suspension tun ... read more

Screeching tires, crunching metal – it’s an accident! If you’ve ever been in a car accident in San Diego, even a minor one, you know how upsetting it can be. It’s hard to think straight and know what to do. Let’s review what you should do in case of an accident When an accident occurs, you should always stop. Leaving the scene of an accident in San Diego is considered a crime - even if it’s not your fault. And hit and run penalties are fairly severe, possibly resulting in steep fines, loss of your CA driver’s license or even jail time. Your jurisdiction may require that you try to help someone who is injured by calling for help or performing first aid if you are able. Warn other Kearny Mesa and Mission Valley motorists by putting out flares, using your flashers or lifting your hood. Call San Diego emergency services as soon as possible. Tell the operator if medical or fire help is needed. Always file a San Diego police report. It’s tempting to skip this if everything ... read more

Today we want to talk about timing belts. They’re something that many San Diego drivers don’t know much about and yet your vehicle won’t run if it’s broken – and it could cause many thousands of dollars damage if it does break. A broken timing belt is usually a tale of woe. Even though timing belt replacement is scheduled in the owner’s manual, it’s not the kind of thing that most San Diego car owners remember because it’s not well understood. Let’s review what a timing belt does. As you know, the engine’s power is generated in the cylinders. A piston rides up and down in the cylinder. During the first down stroke, an intake valve at the top of the cylinder opens and air and fuel is drawn into the cylinder. Then the piston returns to the top, compressing the fuel and air mix. At the top, the spark plug fires, igniting the fuel pushing the piston down in the power stroke. As the piston once again returns up in the final stroke of the cycle, an exhaust ... read more

Today we’re going to be talking about serpentine belts for our customers. Let’s start by talking about the accessories that are driven by the serpentine belt. First is the alternator. That’s the device that makes electricity to power the vehicle and recharge the battery. Then there’s the air conditioning compressor that makes cool air for you while you're driving around San Diego CA in the summer. The power steering and power brake pumps are driven by the serpentine belt in most vehicles. Those pumps make the pressure that assists your steering and braking. In many vehicles, the water pump is driven by the serpentine belt. The water pump is what circulates the coolant that protects your engine. In some cars around San Diego CA, the water pump is driven by the timing belt. The radiator cooling fans on some vehicles are also driven by the serpentine belt. Some have separate electric motors. That’s really a lot of work for one belt. But modern engine desi ... read more