Pacific Highway Auto Repair

Working up a sweat is a great thing to do in a gym around San Diego, but not in your vehicle. When San Diego residents' vehicle AC Systems have a problem, they'll often feel it right away. The question is, how long do you put up with it? You know, the old comfort versus cost dilemma. But a more comfortable drive around CA has a lot of benefits, and keeping the AC System well maintained can help prevent repairs.A common cause of AC failure is water and air in the system. The system does not work as well with air in it. And water can cause rust that leads to damage of the A/C components. Also refrigerant, the stuff that makes the air cold, can leak out, reducing the efficiency of the system and making it work harder to try to cool the air. That is why periodically evacuating the air conditioning system and recharging it keeps the proper amount of clean refrigerant in the system for San Diego residents, so it cools better and lasts longer.San Diego drivers should also ... read more

The simple fact is that 70% of car batteries fail within 4 years. They just need to be replaced at Pacific Highway Auto Repair when they are no longer able to hold a full charge.Batteries are a big ticket item for most San Diego drivers and it’s tempting to put off buying a new one as long as possible. But a battery that cannot hold a full charge requires the alternator to work extra hard, causing it to wear out prematurely.Your Pacific Highway Auto Repair service advisor can test your battery to see if it should be replaced. Testing is a good idea for CA drivers because a battery might still be good, but become dead because of a bad alternator or even a worn serpentine belt and tensioner. Pacific Highway Auto Repair4306 Pacific HighwaySan Diego, CA 92110619-299-7700https://www.PacificHighwayAutoRepair.com  

All CA pilots have checklists for every aspect of flying. They always use their checklists even if they only have two steps on them. They do this simply because a checklist is a great way to not forget steps. It is also how they can assure a predictable outcome. That is why San Diego automotive service centers including Pacific Highway Auto Repair have procedural standards for each service they perform. Pacific Highway Auto Repair technicians are trained step by step. And they perform the procedures step by step, the same way each time. By training to procedural standards, CA service centers can assure a quality outcome. The job is done right every time and San Diego customers leave happy with how their vehicle performs. Each company trains its technicians to standards. The CA automotive industry as a whole is very committed to standards of excellence and encourages individual CA service center operators to apply them to every vehicle they service. An exa ... read more

Having trouble with your fuel system? Bring your vehicle into Pacific Highway Auto Repair for a check up.In today's Pacific Highway Auto Repair auto post,we're talking about fuel system cleaning. The first thing to know is how important it is to have a clean fuel system. San Diego residents need fuel to go, and the cleaner the fuel system, the more efficiently the fuel will burn. That means more power and better mileage .A clean fuel system saves money for San Diego drivers at CA gas stations. We guess you could say it all starts and ends at the pump. One of the most important things San Diego residents can do to keep their vehicle fuel system clean is to buy good quality gas. Major brands have detergents that keep gum and varnish from rapidly building up in the fuel system.So buying cheaper gas in CA can actually be more expensive for San Diego drivers in the long run. Now, most cars on CA roads are more than five or six years old. That means they've had time for ... read more

  Welcome to the Pacific Highway Auto Repair automotive blog. Today, let's talk about the effect of tire wear. Let's focus on stopping in wet San Diego 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, San Diego drivers can actually spin out of control - endangering themselves and the other drivers around them. 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 vehicle tire and you'll see channels: channels that run around the tire and channels that flow across the tire. They're designed to direct water away from the tire so it can contact the road better.And the deeper the channel, the more water it can move. A brand new Pacific Highway Auto Repair tire has very deep channels and can easily ... read more

Let's talk about air quality in San Diego. It's a global issue, but affects us wherever we are. Many decades ago, San Diego drivers began to become aware of how air pollution negatively affects health. But what about the air inside your vehicle?Now, it's only been in the last few years that cabin air filters have become common in San Diego. 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 CA where there's a lot of dust, pollen or pollution, you may need to change it more often.You can also ask your friendly and knowledgeable service advisor at Pacific Highway Auto Repair in San Diego. How hard is it to change an air filter on a car? It depends on your vehicle. Some are quite accessible; others take some doing to get to them. They're usually in the engine compartment or under the dashboard.Because cabin air filters are so new on the scene, some people h ... read more

What type of technology do you use? Do you prefer an 8-track tape or an iPod? When it comes to winter tires, much of San Diego driver's perception dates back to when 8-track was the best way to listen to the Bee Gees.Twenty years ago in CA, winter tires differed from highway tires only in their tread design. CA drivers called them snow tires back then, and they had big, knobby lugs that were designed to give good traction in deep snow. They had the same rubber compound as regular tires and they weren't very good on ice, packed snow or wet CA roads. They were not even very good on dry roads. They really helped in deep or loose snow, but they did a poor job the rest of the time. They were loud and rode hard. People couldn't wait to get them off in the spring.Then all-season tires started to appear in San Diego tire shops. All-season tires are really a compromise between summer and winter performance. They have acceptable hot weather ride and tread life and can get CA drivers through mild ... read more

There are a surprising number of small, inexpensive parts that can lead to expensive engine damage when they fail. It doesn't seem right.Fortunately a lot of those things can be taken care of in routine maintenance. They may not be easy to remember because it is a long list, but your service center at Pacific Highway Auto Repair can help you know what's scheduled to be taken care of.Some of us in San Diego, CA, really don't look forward to going in for an oil change and then getting a list of the other things the manufacturer recommends.But automotive maintenance is all about prevention and addressing small problems before they get big. Let's take the fuel filter for example.You may not know this but the median age for private vehicles on our San Diego, CA, roads is over nine years. When vehicles get older, five years or so, they've accumulated a lot of dirt and rust in their gas tanks. If that dirt gets into the engine it can cause thousands ... read more

San Diego drivers may feel intimidated when they take their vehicles to a service center. They have questions but aren't sure how to ask. They don't want to feel embarrassed about their lack of knowledge. They don't want to make the service technician feel that they don't trust him.If your service advisor at Pacific Highway Auto Repair uses a term you don't understand, just ask him to explain. Remember, they are the auto service experts. If they came to your place of work, they probably wouldn't understand the jargon, either. When you take your vehicle in to be serviced, make sure you understand the financial issues up front. Ask about payment policies, warranties and, of course, the cost of the work being done.It helps to understand basic services your vehicle needs. Know the difference between a quick check-up and a thorough inspection, which you are getting and which you are asking for. Understand that diagnosing a problem takes time, and time isn't free. If you have concerns ... read more

People near San Diego, CA, often ask Pacific Highway Auto Repair how often they should have a particular service done. It's a great thing to ask. You can look at your owner's manual or have your San Diego, CA, service advisor at Pacific Highway Auto Repair look up your vehicle in a service database. What you find is often a surprise to people – there are actually two service schedules.One is the regular schedule and the other is the severe service schedule. Service intervals are shorter on the severe service schedule. When asked, most folks in San Diego will say that their driving is normal and that the 'regular' schedule probably applies to them. 'Severe service' sounds pretty extreme – 'I don't drive like that.'Well, here is what the manufacturers say constitutes severe driving conditions; you can draw your own conclusions. Most of your trips are less than four miles (six and a half kilometers). Most of your trips are less than ten miles (16 km) and outs ... read more