Auto Repair in Camarillo

It's important for Camarillo motorists to know battery basics. First, let’s talk about which is harder on a battery - hot or cold CA weather. Most Thousand Oaks motorists think it’s cold weather because that’s when we call on our batteries to have enough power to start a cold SUV engine. However, heat does more damage to a battery than cold. Truth is, our batteries start to die a little from day one. Keeping a full charge slows the process, which is hard with short Camarillo trips because the alternator doesn’t have time to fully recharge the battery from starting the engine. Camarillo motorists can top off the charge with a computer controlled battery charger - say, once a month in the summer and every three months during the winter. As far as how long a battery will last, statistics show that 70% have given up the ghost within four years. By that time, they aren’t capable of taking a full charge like t ... read more

All those automotive fluids can be confusing for Thousand Oaks motorists. Recent years have brought new grades of engine oil, types of transmission fluid, coolant, and brake fluid. The right fluid protects your vehicle and helps it perform at its best. The wrong fluid won’t work as well for Camarillo motorists and could even cause damage. In addition to new grades of engine oil, many SUVs now leave the factory with synthetic oil. Thousand Oaks motorists should always use the recommended grade and type of oil in their engine. All coolant, also called antifreeze, used to be green. Now there are several other colors of coolant sold at Camarillo Car Care Center in Camarillo. Each type is designed to protect the cooling system components that are particular to your vehicle. The wrong stuff can void your SUV cooling system warranty and could even cause engine damage. Most passenger ve ... read more

Modern Camarillo vehicles have several computers on board that control all kinds of things like engine functions, transmission shifts, traction control, anti-lock brakes, stability control, emissions - and on some vehicles, even steering, braking and the throttle. Think about that for a minute - things that used to be controlled by simple mechanical connections now have electronic controls that rely on computers, software and sensors. It’s no wonder that when something goes wrong with their SUV it can be pretty complicated for Camarillo auto owners to track down the source of the problem. To help your Camarillo Car Care Center service advisor figure out what’s wrong, your SUV is equipped with on-board diagnostics. The Check Engine Light comes on to tell you there’s a problem and the engine management computer stores a trouble code. Your friendly Camarillo Car Care Center ... read more

Every SUV on CA interstates has a differential, and it is critical to the proper operation of the vehicle, but most Camarillo motorists don’t have a clue what it is. The differential compensates for differing wheel speeds. For example, when you turn, the inside tire on the turn travels a much shorter distance than the outside wheel. So the inside wheel of the SUV must move at a slower speed than the outside wheel. Without a differential, the wheels would hop and scrape while turning. Have you ever seen the large bugle-shaped object in the middle of the rear axle of a truck? That’s the differential. In a rear-wheel drive vehicle, the differential is located on the back axle. Four-wheel drive vehicles and SUV’s have differentials on both the front and the rear axle. You might expect that the differential is located on the front axle of a front-wheel drive vehicle. You’d be right. But the differential is ca ... read more

Hello, welcome to Camarillo Car Care Center. Today's topic is batteries. It seems like everything in Somis runs on batteries. Of course, the batteries we’re most concerned with here at Camarillo Car Care Center are those in our vehicles. Car batteries wear out just like any other battery and need to be replaced. There are a couple of things Somis drivers should know when looking for a new battery. There are two measurements that come into play: one is cold cranking amps and the other is reserve capacity. Let’s start with cold cranking amps. This can be thought of as the power output used to start a cold engine. The number of cold cranking amps you need depends on your vehicle and where you live, specifically how cold it is where you live. The two factors are that the colder your SUV's engine is, the more power it takes to turn the engine over to get it started. It has al ... read more

When all of a vehicle’s wheels are lined up exactly with each other, your wheels are in alignment. Hitting a road hazard or even just the normal bumps and bounces of everyday driving in Camarillo can cause your SUV's wheels to be out of alignment. Driving for an extended time in Camarillo when you’re out of alignment causes your SUV's tires to wear unevenly and excessively - perhaps causing you to have to replace tires years too early or even lead to a blowout: Dangerous … and expensive. It can also cause premature wear to your suspension system, which can be really expensive. Here are some alignment basics: The ideal alignment for your SUV was designed by its engineers. Alignment service at Camarillo Car Care Center starts with an inspection of the steering and suspension - to see if anything’s bent or broken. Then the Camarillo technician will look at tire condition. Fr ... read more

Hello Ventura County, let's talk about brakes. Braking, as all Ventura County drivers know,is slowing or stopping a vehicle. As you can imagine, brakes are engineered to work well on a particular vehicle application. For example, you would expect more powerful brakes on a heavy-duty pickup that routinely hauls big loads and pulls trailers, than you would on a compact car. And a Corvette that can go over 180 miles per hour would have much different braking needs than the family mini-van you drive around Ventura County. But the mechanical aspects of the brakes themselves are just one issue. There’s also the power brake pump and brake fluid. And then there are the tires, which are critical to the effectiveness of the brakes. Let’s step back. A new SUV or truck rolls off a local Ventura County dealer showroom floor. It has brand new brakes with brand new brak ... read more

We are fanatics about quality. We hire the finest talent to service your cars. We use high quality parts and fluids that last longer and are right for your particular vehicle. We utilize the best equipment to service your cars too. All of this shows how serious our commitment is to quality work done right the first time. Nothing says it better than our 3 year, 36,000 mileage warranty. We don't just say our work is great, we back it up with a warranty that is almost unheard of in the auto repair industry. Most shops just give a warranty of only a few months. Our warranty covers both parts and labor for your repairs. Now that's confidence! Click here to read more about our 3year/36,000 mile warranty.

Today in our Camarillo Car Care Center blog, we’re going to talk about following recommended service intervals. Your SUV isn’t the only aspect of your life in Camarillo with recommended intervals: Let’s start with twice yearly dental cleaning. And physical exams. How about laundry, mowing the lawn and paying the bills? Now, what would happen if you didn’t follow these intervals? Well, you’d get more cavities. You’d probably not become aware of health issues that benefit from early detection and treatment. And you’d have to wear dirty clothes, be embarrassed by your overgrown lawn and have your utilities shut off. We all realize there are some things in life that we have to take care of regularly. If we don’t, there are negative consequences. Our quality of life takes a hit and it inevitably costs more money. So why is it so hard to remember to follow regular preventive maintenance on our SUVs? Probably a ... read more

Your SUV engine really needs clean air to operate efficiently. Let’s go egghead for a minute. For every gallon of gas we burn driving around Camarillo , twenty pounds of carbon dioxide comes out the tailpipe. Question: how can a gallon of gas that weighs a little over six pounds produce twenty pounds of carbon dioxide? The answer is that the carbon comes from the gasoline, but the oxygen comes from the air. You see, it takes about twelve thousand gallons of air to burn a gallon of gas in your engine. Clearly, your SUV needs a lot of air to keep going in Camarillo . A lot of clean air is better. You’ve seen the pictures of the crowds in Asia wearing face masks. They want some kind of filter to keep unwanted pollution and germs out of their lungs. Well, your SUV also works better when its internals are clean. When your SUV air filter’s dirty, it simply can’t trap any more dirt, so the dirt ... read more