Pleasanton Auto Repair

So what is the most distracting food to have in the car while driving around Pleasanton?Is it: A Hamburger; Coffee; A Soft Drink, or Gummy Bears? Well, you may be surprised to learn that all but the gummy bears are in the top ten most distracting foods when you are driving, but if you chose 'coffee', then give yourself an extra two points; coffee is the number one food distraction for drivers in Pleasanton and around the country. Food distractions cause 25 percent of all car accidents; over a million and a half each year! You'll notice that all of the top ten distracting food items are messy. Messy foods are the type of food you might spill (very distracting!), then try to clean up (a safe-driving impossibility!). If you gotta eat on the run, take five-then drive. You'll thank yourself later for two reasons, one being that you can actually relax for just a moment in our fast-paced world, and the other is that you won't h ... read more

When I was a kid in Pleasanton, my dad always made sure he took the cars in for Spring and Fall checkups. I was telling a friend that it's about time to get into Precision Auto Repair for my checkup and he said that he read on the internet that modern cars don't need seasonal service. My friend is (technically) right about some things, but from a practical standpoint, a seasonal check up still makes sense. Back when my dad was teaching me about how to take care of the family Honda, Acura, Toyota or Lexus, most cars used a different weight of oil in the winter and in the summer. But most of today's modern engines run the same oil year round. High-tech engines and high-tech motor oils are better able to handle the seasonal changes. Your owner's manual or Pleasanton service advisor at Precision Auto Repair can tell you the right oil to use. Of course, you're concerned about the coolant or anti ... read more

We're living in a disposable society. Everything from elaborate packaging to our clothing. Even cell phones are disposable. When replacement is cheaper than repair, the term "built to last" goes by the wayside. An exception is our vehicles. They're still a very big investment and we want to make them last as long as possible - and we want to make keeping them as cheap as possible. When talking cars, it's all about preventive maintenance. There is an old saying that says, "a stitch in time saves nine" and that is really true when it comes to taking care of your car. A great example is coolant service. Your coolant not only protects your engine from overheating and freezing - it must also protect cooling system components from corrosion. Over time, coolant becomes corrosive and actually starts to damage your radiator and other parts. That's why you need to have your cooling system serviced on a regular schedule. The same is true for your power steering system, brake fluid, air condit ... read more

Your car is important to you and keeping it running is vital to your Pleasanton lifestyle. That's why you should have it serviced regularly at Precision Auto Repair. And even though it may just be routine maintenance, you want it done right. It's also very important to your Pleasanton service center to keep you happy and on the road. You might be surprised at the amount of money our Pleasanton service center spends every year to make sure our technicians are properly trained. Precision Auto Repair offers a variety of car care services to many kinds of vehicles. We need to be up to date on the latest techniques and parts so that they can care for your car properly. Our Pleasanton centers subscribe to data services that list the high quality parts and fluids recommended by your manufacturer. And each service has a checklist of standard procedures. Precision Auto Repair technicians follow ... read more

You know, at Precision Auto Repair we get a lot of people asking about how to prepare their car for a trip. That’s a big deal. You could be driving through mountains and deserts in some pretty lonely areas outside of Pleasanton so you may be anxious to know that the car is up to the task and won’t leave you stranded. You really do need to plan ahead for a major road trip – there are a lot of things to get ready. Where should you start? You could start with the tires. Look them over for tread wear and check to see that they are properly inflated. Take a quick test drive around Pleasanton to see if you can feel any vibrations: are the wheels are in balance? Is the car tracking straight? Is the alignment ok? The next thing is a full service oil change to make sure all of your fluids are topped off and you have fresh oil for the trip. And if your car has over 75,000 miles, you may consider putting in the high-mileage formu ... read more

New cars cost so much these days. Add financing and insurance and, well a new vehicle may not seem so attractive. A lot of Pleasanton, California people are hoping to make their cars last a lot longer. The good news is that with the current state of automotive engineering and manufacture, there’s no reason a modern vehicle can’t be made to last for a 150,000 miles or more. There is an old saying that says, 'a stitch in time saves nine' and that is really true when it comes to taking care of your car. A great example is coolant service. Over time, coolant becomes corrosive and actually starts to damage your radiator and other parts. That’s why you need to have your cooling system serviced on a regular schedule. The same is true for your power steering system, brake fluid, air conditioning system, differential and transmission. And your oil changes should be done right on schedule to avo ... read more

Before the recession hit, the median age for cars in the Pleasanton California area (zip code: 94566) was over nine years. And two-thirds had over 75,000 miles. At Precision Auto Repair we hear reports that those numbers continue to rise. Many people in Pleasanton are keeping their vehicles longer. The economy has influenced that, but the fact that modern Honda, Acura, Toyota or Lexuss are more durable and reliable means that owning a high mileage vehicle doesn't have to be a painful experience. Local car owners in Pleasanton with over 100,000 miles on their vehicles often ask which service intervals they should follow. Let's start with the special needs of the older vehicle... The reality is that time and mileage will take its toll. The engine and transmission will have more sludge. The fuel, steering and brake systems will have gum and varnish built up. There'll be more dirt and contaminants in the ... read more

Your vehicle manufacturer publishes two auto maintenance schedules. The regular schedule and the severe service schedule. It’d be wrong for us to tell you that everyone in Pleasanton always needs to follow the severe service schedule – but its wishful thinking to say that the regular schedule is always good enough for your Honda, Acura, Toyota or Lexus. At Precision Auto Repair we’ll give you the definitions and explain the issues, and you can be the judge. Most manufactures list the following as severe conditions: Most of your trips are less than four miles. Most of your trips are less than 10 miles and outside temperatures are below freezing. The engine is at low speed most of the time – not on the highway. You operate your vehicle in dusty areas. You regularly tow a trailer or carry heavy loads. Driving in very hot or very cold weather. So think about your typical week. Do you live a block from a Califor ... read more

A lot of our viewers have asked whether or not they should use their severe service maintenance schedule, which is listed in their car owners' manual. It can be confusing. Let's clear the air on this subject. Cricket Killingsworth is from QMI/Heartland, a manufacturer of automotive products and fluids. She's been in the automotive business for 20 years and is a speaker, a trainer, and a writer. Cricket says there's so much confusion on this topic because, "Most owners' manuals actually have two maintenance schedules. Sometimes these are called 'regular service' and 'severe service'. Sometimes they're simply called Schedule 1 and Schedule 2. A severe service schedule recommends that things like an oil change, air filter replacement, and transmission service be done more often: either in fewer miles or in less time. Manufacturers create these specific schedules for each vehicle they make. So there isn't one generic schedu ... read more

So you’ve bought a used car in the Pleasanton area. How do you know what you’re getting? It is hard to know what you’re getting because people in the Pleasanton area sell cars for different reasons. Think about why you’ve sold cars. Did you just want something new or were there problems that you wanted to run away from. Maybe it was a little of both. Used cars with 25,000 to 35,000 miles on them are often lease returns, corporate program cars or vehicles that have done duty in rental fleets. We feel pretty confident because they’re newer and may still be under warranty. But how well have they been maintained? If you plan on owning a car for a long time, you’ll keep up on the maintenance so that you can avoid expensive repairs down the road. But, if you know you’re only going to have the car for two or three years, you may not be so committed to maintenance. It would be easy to think that skipping an oil change here and there wouldn’t ruin a brand new ... read more