Auto Repair in Camarillo

A recent report stated that over 80 percent of the vehicles on our Camarillo CA roads have one or more service or repair that's needed, but hasn't been taken care of. Now that's a lot of undone service. That translates into something over 160 million vehicles in the U.S. alone. Some of the neglected items are minor. Others are serious safety concerns. There are several reasons why we hesitate to take care of recommended services; especially services that our Camarillo CA automotive advisor recommends when we're in for something else, like an oil change. The first issue boils down to comfort with car care. We don't always feel we know enough to make good decisions. Some of that can be attributed to the fact that vehicles are so reliable these days. They almost become an appliance. Of course you love your SUV, but if you don't have to worry about it breaking down all the time, you're not forced to think as much abo ... read more

Weight is the enemy of fuel economy. Everyone from here to Ventura County knows this makes sense. Some of us in the Ventura County area carry a bunch of unnecessary weight, and I'm not talkin' what you see in the mirror. Guys; sports equipment and tools. Ladies; well, just take a look around the passenger compartment and trunk. I think my car has about forty-five pounds of French fries on the floor. All that extra weight wastes gas as you drive between here and Ventura County, and everywhere else. Lose the junk and save some money. …And you really only need one of those spare tires

Today we're going to talk about power steering service in Camarillo. If you took an informal poll around Camarillo 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 Camarillo 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 Camarillo. That's why old cars had such big steering wheels; to get enough leverage to steer. Most vehicles in Camarillo have a hydraulic power steering system. The serpentine belt from the engine powers a pump ... read more

Your engine is like a finely choreographed dance. All the parts have to work together. If the timing is off at the ballet, dancers crash into each other and fall down. It the timing is off in your engine, it may not run at all. One of the most intricate dances in your engine, has to do with the combustion cycle. Your SUV engine has cylinders in which a piston travels up and down. At the top of the cylinders are valves open to bring in the air and fuel. And there are valves that open to let out the exhaust after the fuel has been burned. It's critical that the values be timed to open and close at precisely the right time in the combustion cycle, or the engine will run poorly or not at all. The timing belt is responsible for rotating the shafts that control the valves. It's vital and precision work. Timing belts are made of very tough flexible material. They can last a long time. But they eventually wear ou ... read more

If you've ever been in a car accident around Camarillo CA, even a minor one, you know how upsetting it can be. It's hard to think straight and know what to do. Let's review what you should do in case of an accident in Camarillo, CA: When an accident occurs, you should always stop. Leaving the scene of an accident is considered a crime in CA – even if it's not your fault. And hit-and-run penalties are fairly severe, possibly resulting in steep fines, loss of your driver's license or even jail time in our local Camarillo lockup. Most states, including CA require that you try to help someone who is injured by calling for help or performing first aid if you are able. Warn other Camarillo motorists by putting out flares, using your flashers or lifting your hood. Call 911 as soon as possible. Tell the operator if medical or fire help is needed. Always file a police rep ... read more

If you're a quart low in your SUV, there isn't enough motor oil to lubricate your engine properly. The extra friction causes drag that reduces fuel economy while you're driving around the Thousand Oaks area. The same goes for dirty oil; it doesn't reduce friction properly. The result is you get to watch those numbers at your local Thousand Oaks gas pump rolling higher and higher. The transmission also needs the proper amount of clean fluid to do its work. When it's in need of service, the transmission drags your fuel economy down. So keep it clean and give yourself a fighting chance

This fuel saving tip is so simple, no one from here to Somis will believe it. It has to do with your gas cap. The first thing is to make sure it's screwed on tight. If it's loose, gas vapor will be constantly leaking out; wasted gas. And air will get in and that can cause your oxygen sensor to read incorrectly and the oxygen sensor will tell the engine management computer to adjust the fuel-air mix and, well, you get the picture; you'll be burning more gas around Somis than you need to. This could cause the check engine light to come on as well. A worn gas cap can have the same effect. If you constantly smell gas when you walk by your tank, you might need a new gas cap. So, twist your cap until it clicks three times - that means it's on tight. Have your Somis area service advisor at Camarillo Car Care Center inspect the cap to see if it needs to be rep ... read more

Here's an interesting statistic for our friends in Camarillo CA: Only thirty percent of car batteries make it to forty-eight months. And the life expectancy varies by where you live. It ranges from fifty-one months in extremely cold areas to just thirty months in extremely hot climates. Why is that? It turns out that it's our modern cars with all their electric accessories that are to blame. Things like, GPS, DVDs, and entertainment computers are keeping car batteries from maintaining a full charge. The longer a battery goes with a low charge, the sooner it'll die. So you must recharge your battery. This is the job of the alternator. The problem comes when the car's demand for electricity is high and we are driving in stop and go conditions or short trips around Camarillo or Somis. The alternator just can't keep up. The result is shortened battery life. So what can we do to improve our battery's health? We need to keep the batt ... read more

Wheel alignment is often overlooked by busy Somis and Ventura County car owners until serious tire damage has been done. One wheel can be knocked out of alignment from the rest by hitting a curb or pothole on Thousand Oaks roads. When a vehicle’s out of alignment, one or more of the wheels does not track true and pulls against the others. The tires will wear out very quickly and will need to be replaced prematurely. It could also lead to SUV suspension damage. At Camarillo Car Care Center, your vehicle is put on an alignment rack where the tires, steering and suspension parts are checked for damage. Then the alignment is charted and checked against the factory settings. Adjustments are made to bring the wheels back into alignment. This gets all four wheels going in precisely the same direction. Signs of alignment problems are: Your car pulls to one side ... read more

In very simple terms, a fuel injector is a valve that squirts fuel into your SUV engine. Your engine control computer tells the fuel injector how much fuel to deliver as well as the precise time it should be delivered. Of course this happens thousands of times a minute in every single fuel-injected car driving down Camarillo , Somis, and Ventura County roads. Most fuel injectors for gas engines are known in the Thousand Oaks auto industry as port fuel injectors because they deliver the fuel to a port just outside the cylinder. The fuel pump provides pressure needed to squirt the right amount of fuel into the engine. Although more complicated, direct injection technology promises greater power with improved fuel economy for gas-poor Camarillo , Somis, and Ventura County commuters. CA motorists can expect to see more of it in the future. High temperatures ... read more