Pacific Highway Auto Repair

One might say the most challenging part of being an automotive service technician at Pacific Highway Auto Repair is diagnosing a problem before it can be fixed.Cars are made up of a bunch of complex systems. There usually could be a number of reasons for any given symptom. So, it's challenging to track down the actual cause of the problem. And it can be frustrating for the vehicle owner because it can take time and money to get to the bottom of a problem. If it's not something obvious, it's easy for the customer to focus on the fixing and not the diagnosing.Let us at Pacific Highway Auto Repair introduce you to something we'll call 'Customer Detective Work' –  helping your technician find clues to what's wrong.We start with the detective basics: What, Where and When. Play along with me; You come in to Pacific Highway Auto Repair and your car is making a funny sound... Q: Where's the sound? A: Around the right front wheel. Q: What kind of sound? A: Kind ... read more

Some San Diego vehicle owners wonder why Pacific Highway Auto Repair and other San Diego auto repair shops charge a fee for vehicle diagnostics. Receiving a diagnostic charge at Pacific Highway Auto Repair for a tricky automotive problem shouldn't be a surprise. In the San Diego area, automotive diagnostics can cover quite a range. If you hear a noise in your vehicle brakes when you slow down in rush-hour traffic on a busy CA road, you pull off at the next off-ramp and take a quick visual check. That is usually enough to know what needs to be done. If you're having an intermittent problem with your vehicle engine, however, a Pacific Highway Auto Repair diagnosis may be much more involved.Much of the San Diego driver's confusion comes when the problem involves the Check Engine light. The Check Engine light comes on when the engine management computer has sensed a problem. There's a common misconception among CA drivers that the trouble code tells the Pacific Highway Auto Repair te ... read more

A big part of the service we provide at Pacific Highway Auto Repair for our San Diego customers is education. We want you to feel confident with your service decisions. And we're always open to questions from our valued San Diego area customers. Even though we try to be proactive in our Pacific Highway Auto Repair automotive education, we sometimes get busy fixing vehicles and need a reminder. Please, just ask. We've found our San Diego customers like the service reminders. They've grown to trust that our recommendations are based on the vehicle manufactures’ published maintenance schedules and that Pacific Highway Auto Repair is not just pulling them out of the air. We know that people in San Diego live a busy life with a lot more to think about than wondering if it's time to replace the PCV valve on their vehicle. Part of our Pacific Highway Auto Repair service process is checking the vehicle manufacture's schedule to make sure we don't over ... read more

There are some things drivers should know about San Diego car service and repair. First and foremost, Pacific Highway Auto Repair cares about you and your family's safety. And we really appreciate your business. Pacific Highway Auto Repair in San Diego wants to build a trusting relationship that becomes the foundation for a mutually beneficial experience for years to come.Building on that foundation, there are some things that would help you understand the auto service and repair business better. First, it can be really hard to fix vehicles. The days of shade tree mechanics are long gone. The majority of automotive systems are computerized. It takes a lot of training and very expensive equipment to diagnose and repair modern vehicles. The pros who work for Pacific Highway Auto Repair need extensive computer training – not just how to run the diagnostic systems, but also searching for the right parts, networking with other technicians to help them ... read more

We're going to be talking about the ethics of automotive repair. It seems like news outlets really like hit-and-run reporting; they hit everyone from groceries stores to retail to physicians. And the San Diego automotive service and repair industry hasn't been given a pass either.Unfortunately, every profession in San Diego has some bad actors that hurt the reputation of everyone else. On the automotive side, industry associations and professional licensing organizations are very committed to high ethical standards.Yet some people remain uncomfortable with San Diego automotive service and repair. It may start with the fact that our vehicles are a big investment and we rely on them for so much in our lives. That alone guarantees our attention. And how well we understand the recommendations really impacts our comfort level.If we understand what's recommended and the benefits of taking care of the work – and the pitfalls of putting it off ... read more

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

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

Today we're going to talk about on-board diagnostics and the questions we hear from folks around San Diego, CA, who need answers about diagnostic services. They want to know what diagnostics are, what's involved and what the benefits are. They really want to understand the value of diagnostic scans by a trained technician in San Diego.These are valid concerns. If you don't understand something it's really hard to know its value. Let's start with some history.Since 1996, all cars and light trucks in San Diego, CA, have been required to use a standardized diagnostic system to help repair technicians determine what's wrong with your vehicle. The diagnostic system works with the vehicle's Engine Control Module – the computer that controls many engine functions.The computer monitors dozens of components and processes. Depending on what the sensors read, the computer will make adjustments to compensate for conditions and minor problems. When there is a condition that it can't adjust fo ... read more

About 80% of the vehicles on San Diego roads today are behind on their preventive maintenance schedules. That translates to about 160 million vehicles in the United States that aren't performing as well as they could be - thousands right here in CA. Some of the maintenance issues are minor. Others represent serious safety concerns. There are many reasons San Diego drivers neglect their routine car care. Some of the more common ones are complacency, lack of confidence, lack of trust and budget issues. Modern vehicles are amazingly reliable compared to their older counterparts. They can run for years without any repairs, and we sometimes translate that to mean they don't need any maintenance. The trouble is that without maintenance, parts in the vehicle are gradually wearing out, fluids are getting dirty, oil is developing sludge — a lot of stuff is happening that we can't see, and it is destroying the vehicle. The first time we learn there is a pr ... read more