Auto Repair in Camarillo

Let’s talk about air quality in Camarillo. It’s a global issue, but affects us wherever we are. Many decades ago, we began to become aware of how air pollution negatively affects health. But what about the air inside your vehicle? Cabin air filters are now coming on most new SUVs in Camarillo. These filters clean the air in the passenger compartment. They can filter particles down to three microns, so that’s good enough to clean out dust, pollen and most pollutants. If you suffer from allergies in Camarillo, this is very good news. Your car can be a haven during your Camarillo commute.Now, it’s only been in the last few years that cabin air filters have become common. You can look in your owner’s manual to see if you have one. If you do, there’ll be a recommendation for replacing it when it gets dirty. If you live in an area of Camarillo where there’s a lot of dust, pollen or pollution ... read more

There’s a segment of the Camarillo population that’s not committed to proper vehicle maintenance. Mistaken perceptions have crept into the CA area over time. Many Camarillo motorists think the root lies in the fact that modern cars are so reliable. Reliability has improved dramatically in recent years. Quality surveys report fewer problems with new cars than ever before. Back when cars spent more time in the repair shop, Camarillo drivers were more mindful of routine service. Now, it’s much easier to put it off. Take tune-ups for example. In the days of mechanical ignition systems, an engine needed to be tuned-up every couple of years. The ignition points had to be replaced, spark plugs and coils replaced and the timing adjusted. If your engine was out of tune, you knew it. It ran poorly and got bad fuel economy. Now, the ignition system in your SUV is electronic and co ... read more

The push for fuel economy has two benefits: using less gas, and fewer emissions. Ventura County cars and trucks run cleaner than ever. Ventura County people may not realize that the first federally mandated pollution control device came out almost fifty years ago. Ventura County folks that were around in the early 60′s may remember that the PCV valve came out on 1964 model cars. PCV stand for Positive Crankcase Ventilation. The crankcase is the lower part of the engine where the crankshaft is housed and where the engine oil lives. The crankshaft is connected to the pistons that power the engine. When fuel is burned in the SUV engine, it pushes the pistons down and the crankshaft rotates and sends power to the transmission. Some of the explosive gases from combustion squeeze past the pistons and down into the crankcase. Now this gas is about 70% unburned fu ... read more

Camarillo drivers rely on their car's coolant system to keep their engine cool. Coolant (also called antifreeze) mixed with water flows through your SUV engine and absorbs heat. The mixture then flows out to the radiator where it’s cooled by air flowing over the radiator. From there the coolant/water mix circulates back through the engine to absorb more heat. There’s a reason we mix coolant and water. Water alone actually does a good job transferring heat from the engine. The problem is that water boils at a temperature that’s easily reached inside your SUV's engine, so it can turn to steam which does not conduct heat as well and is harder to contain. Also, if it’s freezing outside in Camarillo, the water in your engine could freeze while your vehicle is sitting out in the cold. So, if you remember your Camarillo high school chemistry, you’ll know that a mixture has both a higher boiling point and a lower freezing point ... read more

A while back, the Cash for Clunkers program was all over the news. Camarillo people could trade in their old vehicle for a new one that got better fuel economy and receive a government rebate. A lot of Camarillo 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 SUVs for 200,000 miles or more - as long as it’s economical to do so. There are plenty of Camarillo drivers whose vehicles are running after 150,000 or 200,000 miles. We can learn from what they’re doing to keep our own SUVs on the road in CA. Camarillo 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 ... 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 SUV. 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 Camarillo.Next, the belt powers the alternator. The alternator creates electricity that’s used by your SUV’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 SUVs, the serpentine belt powers the water ... read more

Most of our Somis clients want to save on gas and seek our advice on improving fuel economy. At Camarillo Car Care Center, we are frequently asked, however, just how much money Somis motorists can actually save. Well the US government has a website dedicated to helping us use less fuel. It presents the cost savings in a way Somis car owners can relate to and is relevant for all vehicles. Let me give you an example: Having your SUV engine properly tuned, can save up to 4%. If you’re paying three-fifty for a gallon of gas, you could save fourteen cents a gallon. In today's Camarillo Car Care Center post, we’re going to talk about several things you can do to improve your SUVfuel economy driving around Somis. We’ll tell you the potential savings per gallon of gas at three dollars and fifty cents, and we’ll show a graphic th ... read more

High gas prices in Camarillo have hit most of our budgets. You’ve probably budgeted a certain amount for vehicle related stuff. Increased fuel costs are now consuming a bigger portion of that budget and you may be tempted to skimp in some other areas - like scheduled maintenance. According to news reports and industry studies, you’re not alone. Nine out of ten personal vehicles on the road have at least one maintenance or repair item that hasn’t been done. Some of these items are serious safety concerns. Others are just more likely to affect the cost of operating your vehicle. In this area, we can take a lesson from professional Camarillo vehicle owners. I’m talking about fleet owners and operators. You know, Camarillo folks like the trucking companies and delivery services. Because their livelihood depends on it, they have gotten scheduled maintenance down to a science. And the last thing they skimp on i ... read more

Today's Camarillo Car Care Center post focuses on using the proper fluids for your vehicle. Big advances in automotive technology have lead to the development of high-tech fluids to keep pace. Some because of engineering advances and others, advances in the materials used to build SUV automotive systems. A simple example of this is the cooling system. For decades it was primarily made out of iron, steel and rubber hoses. There was one kind of coolant that protected these components from corrosion. Now cooling system components are made with various metal alloys and plastics. These materials require different additives to protect them from corrosion. Since the materials used vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, we now have a number of different kinds of coolant. And it’s important that Camarillo car owners use the right coolant. If you pour in ... read more

Your SUV requires plenty of clean fuel to run. When your fuel isn’t clean, your fuel injectors can start to become clogged up. When this happens, your SUV engine may not get the proper amount of fuel at the correct pressure to run efficiently. This hurts fuel economy and performance as you drive around Thousand Oaks. It can also lead to the buildup of harmful deposits on valves and in the combustion chamber. That’s why all vehicles, including SUVs, come equipped with a fuel filter somewhere between the engine and the fuel tank. The job of the filter is to clean out little pieces of dirt and contamination. The filter captures the contaminants and holds them out of the fuel stream. Of course, the filter will eventually get clogged up and need to be replaced at Camarillo Car Care Center. If your fuel filter is clogged, the SUV engine can’t get all the fuel it needs, and it ... read more