Pleasanton Auto Repair

Today we’re going to be talking about serpentine belts for our Pleasanton California 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 Pleasanton California 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 Pleasanton California, 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 ... read more

The government mandates a lot of equipment on cars in Pleasanton California: emission devices and control computers, safety equipment like airbags and crash worthiness requirements. All of this is great for the Pleasanton California motoring public, but it does add quite a bit to the price of a new car. Because new cars are more expensive, people in the Pleasanton area are driving their old cars longer. The average car is now over nine years old. Two thirds of vehicles on the road in Pleasanton have more than 75,000 miles. As cars age, their performance drops, they have difficulty idling for long periods and are more sensitive to weather extremes. Fortunately today's cars are up to the challenge – but they need a little help to keep on goin'. Give Precision Auto Repair a call to schedule your next maintenance. 164 A Wyoming Street Pleasanton, California 94566 (925) 462-7440 Some ow ... read more

All modern vehicles come with fuel injection systems, so it’s a topic we all need to know something about. All new cars and trucks sold in Pleasanton, California over the last 30 years or so have come with fuel injection systems. The fuel injector is a valve that delivers the gas or diesel fuel to the right place, in the right amount, at the right time; to be mixed with air and burned in the engine. So how many fuel injectors does your car have? There’s one for each cylinder. So four, six or eight for most folks in Pleasanton, California. Some vehicles have 10 or 12 cylinders. The engine control computer makes adjustments to the fuel injector as it monitors the engine and other sensors. Fuel injectors are a pretty sophisticated part. Precision Auto Repair can help you with a fuel injector cleaning service. What’s the benefit? In order to work right, the fuel injectors have to deliver th ... read more

Which item is most often stolen from vehicles in Pleasanton? Is it: Stereo Wheels Air Bag DVD System Well, if you said stereo – you used to be right. But airbags have now surpassed stereos as the biggest target for theft in Pleasanton – approximately 50,000 a year are stolen across the country. New airbags cost about $1,000, but go for $50 to $200 on the black market in Pleasanton. Stolen airbags are making their way back into cars that have been in an accident. Of course, the danger to the consumer of having a stolen airbag installed is that you can never be sure what may have previously affected them and if they will work right when you need them. There are reports that 1 in 25 airbag replacements are stolen or salvaged airbags – or no airbag is installed at all. That is definitely one car part you don't want to take a chance with, so Precision Auto Repair recommends following these guidelines:Use a reputabl ... read more

When your Honda, Acura, Toyota or Lexus breaks down, or just needs some routine service, you might get a little nervous. Your car’s so important to your life in San Ramon , you need to back on the road as soon as possible – with the problem fixed right the first time. If you’ve ever checked into some of the technician training Precision Auto Repair professionals receive, you may be surprised at how much knowledge and skill goes into diagnosing and repairing a modern car. Let me give you some perspective. Today there are four cylinder engines that make more power than the V-8’s in luxury cars twenty years ago. I mean a new V-6 Toyota Camry could beat Sonny Crocket’s Ferrari in a race to sixty. Some cars have several networked computers controlling most of the engine functions and many other vehicle functions as well. San Ramon motorists take all of this sophistication for granted – but somebody has t ... read more

Is your car sometimes hard to start on an early Pleasanton morning? When you turn the key, does it hesitate or stutter? If so, the problem could be the result of a dirty fuel system. Your car's fuel system starts with the air filter and ends in the top of your engine. Over time, different parts of the system get dirty, which robs you of performance and hurts your fuel economy. Most of our Honda, Acura, Toyota or Lexus in Pleasanton have fuel injectors, rather than a carburetor. Fuel injection systems have fewer problems and require less adjustment. But they still need to be properly maintained. This is why your owner's manual has a schedule for cleaning your fuel injectors and other parts of your fuel system. Some people are interested in buying fuel system cleaners that you can pour into your gas tank. You can do that - and there are lots of great product ... read more

Warm weather or cold, Pleasanton drivers still need to think about their Honda, Acura, Toyota or Lexus’s air conditioning. Most Pleasanton people don’t service their air conditioning until after it fails. At Precision Auto Repair, we can advise you on your vehicle manufacturer's preventive maintenance schedules for air conditioning service, just as we do for transmission service, oil changes and so on. Maintaining your air conditioning system means that you always have enough refrigerant to properly do the job. Small leaks in the Honda, Acura, Toyota or Lexus's air conditioning system allow the refrigerant to escape and the system can’t cool the air as well. We see that a lot at Precision Auto Repair in Pleasanton. The refrigerant also contains a special oil that lubricates air conditioning components, and keeps the seals resilient. Low refrigerant and lubricating oil means that the ai ... read more

Today we're going to talk about power steering service in Pleasanton. If you took an informal poll around Pleasanton you'd probably find that most have never heard of power steering service. That's not surprising. Even though power steering is standard on every vehicle, most people in Pleasanton aren't aware that it needs periodic service. If you're younger than a certain age, you've probably never driven a car or truck without power steering. To get an idea of the difference; if you've ever cut a board with a hand saw, you know it's a lot of work. Using a power saw is easy-peasy by comparison. Without power steering, your arms have to do all the work to steer the wheels, and that's hard, especially around downtown Pleasanton. That's why old cars had such big steering wheels; to get enough leverage to steer. Most vehicles in Pleasanton have a hydraulic power steering system. The serpen ... read more

All pilots have checklists for every aspect of flying. They always use their checklists even if they only have two steps on them. They do this simply because a checklist is a great way to not forget important steps. It is also how you can assure a predictable outcome. That is why Livermore and San Ramon automotive service centers have procedural standards for each service they perform. Technicians are trained step by step. And they perform the procedures step by step, the same way each time. By training to procedural standards, centers can assure a quality outcome. The job is done right every time and you are happy with how your car performs. Each company trains its technicians to standards. The industry as a whole is very committed to standards of excellence and encourages individual service center operators to apply them to every vehicle they service. An example is how service technicians grade problems and communicate their recommendations. If a technician tells you that a repa ... read more

Today Precision 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 California 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 va ... read more