San Diego Auto Repair

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

Whether you’re waiting for your car to be serviced at Convoy Auto Repair, or you just happen to be in the neighborhood, Kearny Mesa is a great spot to grab a burger in San Diego. Here are our personal favorites. Smashburger - Located at 3737 Murphy Canyon Rd. near the Escondido Freeway, “smash. sizzle. savor.” is their motto. They begin by literally smashing a chunk of 100% Angus Beef on the hot grill, searing it and seasoning it to perfection. The burger is then placed on a butter-toasted artisan bun and topping with the best quality cheeses, freshest produce, and your favorite condiments. You can select from one of their recipes or create your own personalized burger with their myriad of ingredients. The prices are affordable and your burger is served on a plate, not in a bag like some of those other, more famous “burger joints.” Check out their ... read more

There are a number of factors that contribute to the high nighttime accident rate in the greater San Diego area, things like drowsy driving and a higher rate of impaired driving. Without a doubt, visibility is a major contributor. Let's focus on visibility... It's said that 90 percent of our driving decisions are based on what we see. Nighttime driving has the effect of reducing 20/20 vision to the equivalent of 20/50 vision. What you could clearly see at 50 feet in daylight can't be seen until you are just 20 feet away at night. Too make sure your headlights are giving you the greatest visibility, visit us at Convoy Auto Repair. you'll find us located on 3909 Convoy St., San Diego, CA 92111. Please give us a call to make an appointment: 858-560-9131. Accident avoidance is dependent on reaction time. Reaction time deteriorates measurably in low light conditions. One thing we can do to improve visibility is to make sure our headlights ... read more

Welcome to the Convoy Auto Repair blog. Today, let's talk about the effect of tire tread depth on braking. When talking about stopping power, most of us drivers tend to focus on our brakes. But our tires are where the rubber meets the road. So having good brakes isn't enough. Safe drivers need to have tires with enough traction to translate braking power into stopping power.Let's focus on stopping in wet conditions. In order for a tire to have good contact with the road, it has to move the water out of the way. If it can't move the water, the tire will actually ride on top of a thin film of water. That's called hydroplaning. If it's really bad, drivers can actually spin out of control. At best, you won't stop as fast. So how does a tire move water? It has channels for water to flow through. Look at your sedan tire and you'll see channels: channels that run around the tire and channels that flow across ... read more

Did you know that San Diego is now being called the craft beer capital of the world? Yes, it’s true, and we couldn’t be more excited about it. The craft beer scene has really taken off, especially in America’s Finest City, with breweries and brew pubs popping up all over the county. But you don’t have to travel to a trendy neighborhood like the Gaslamp District or La Jolla to enjoy great beer, there are craft beer establishments all over San Diego! Here are our favorite three spots to grab a beer (all nearby Convoy Auto Repair), in Kearny Mesa: O’Brien’s Pub - This spot is known as “the hoppiest place on Earth” for their great selection of bitter beers like IPA’s and Pale Ales. But don’t worry, if you aren’t a bitter beer fan, there are plenty of other varieties to choose from. O’Brien’s carries bee ... read more

If you've ever heard a squealing sound under your hood, chances are it was your serpentine belt. Your serpentine belt is a long belt that's driven by your engine. It winds around several accessories that power important automotive systems in your sedan. Let's go over them. First, the serpentine belt drives your air conditioning system. It spins the compressor that makes the cool air that takes the edge off the summer heat in San Diego.Next, the belt powers the alternator. The alternator creates electricity that's used by your sedan's electrical systems and also charges your car battery. Without the alternator, the battery will go dead in a few miles. The serpentine belt may also run the pumps for both the power steering (some are electric) and power brakes (some use vacuum boost). And, on most sedans, the serpentine belt powers the water pump. The water pump circulates coolant through the engine to ke ... read more

Every car in San Diego CA is at risk for theft. So it's up to us to make our cars a less appealing target and more of a challenge - hopefully sending potential thieves to look elsewhere.The National Insurance Crime Bureau recommends a layered approach to protecting vehicles: Common sense Visible and audible devices Immobilizing devices Tracking devices Let's review each of these. First, common sense: you would be surprised how many vehicles are stolen from San Diego CA where the keys were left in the ignition with the doors unlocked. Always take your keys, and lock the doors. In fact, in some places it's against the law to leave a vehicle unattended with the keys in the ignition.And don't leave spare keys in the car or hide them outside - because a thief will find them. Try to park in well-lit areas that have a lot of foot traffic. If possible, park near the end of a row and near a light. Back your c ... read more