San Luis Obispo Auto Repair

When it comes to dependability, fuel efficiency, and popularity, few cars can rival the Toyota Corolla. For decades, this iconic sedan has been a symbol of reliability, captivating millions of drivers worldwide. In today's article, we'll explore the remarkable journey of the Toyota Corolla, from its humble beginnings to becoming a paragon of reliability and fuel efficiency.  The Genesis of the Toyota Corolla The Toyota Corolla made its debut in 1966 as a simple compact car designed for daily commuting. Its name, "Corolla," was derived from the Latin word for small crown, symbolizing the beginning of a legendary lineage.From the start, Toyota emphasized reliability, fuel efficiency, and durability in the Corolla's design. The early models were equipped with a robust 1.1-liter engine, and the focus was on creating a car that was easy to maintain and economical to run.  Evoluti ... read more

Giant Air Bag Recall What’s the Deal?? A Japanese company, Takata, is one of the world’s  leading manufacturers of automotive safety products, including the air bags supplied to a huge number of cars. Cars and trucks manufactured by BMW, Chrysler, Ford, GM (non-GM made cars only), Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, and Toyota are included. Most models affected were manufactured between 2000 and 2008. For a complete list and to see if there is a current recall on the air bag in your car, see nhtsa.gov and use their “vin search” function to check your car. Right now the list may be incomplete, so please check again in a month or two. So what’s the deal?  Right now (November 21, 2014) the best information suggests that the explosive material that deploys the bag is affected by high humidity, and over time it can absorb enough moisture to change the chemical properties of the propellant. Instead of deploying in a controlled , timed release ... read more

Driving Green - strategies for buying, driving, and maintaining a motor vehicle with minimal environmental impact. Most people don’t really consider the lifetime costs of owning a car, let alone its effect on the environment. The purchase price comes out of your pocket, but many of the other costs are shared by everyone, especially the effect they have on our environment. In this article I am trying to provide you a roadmap with different routes selected with a common goal in mind: getting from place to place with the least impact on our environment. The environmental penalty for driving a conventional car reads like some sort of existential horror story. Burning one gallon of gas consumes all the oxygen in 11,000 gallons of air and produces 20 pounds of CO2. (That’ll tell you how hard your air filter works!) The average passenger car in the US generates 5.26 tons of CO2 driving 11,500 miles in one year. The numbers become stupefying when one considers th ... read more

Engine oil now operates camshaft timing and other vital functions effecting power, fuel economy, and emissions. Car manufacturers have been trying to vary the camshaft timing of the intake and exhaust valve openings for years. While it became common place on racing car engines in the 70’s and 80’s no major manufacturer had been able to reliably incorporate it into production engines until Alfa Romeo introduced it on its fabled two liter twin cam four in 1982. Even then, its performance was unreliable at best. The breakthrough came with the convergence of several improvements and changes in engine design. Firstly, the thinner lubricants, such as 0/10 weight engine oil, used to lower emissions and improve fuel economy came out, along with the improved machining technology needed to maintain the close tolerances required to use such thin oil. Secondly, increasingly sophisticated engine management computers became capable of improved multitasking, and thirdly, intelligent CAD ... read more

Affected vehicles equipped with 1.6-liter GTDI engines include: 2014 Escape – Louisville Assembly Plant, Feb. 12, 2013 to Sept. 2, 2014 2014-15 Fiesta ST – Cuautitlan Assembly Plant, Jan. 22, 2013 to May 27, 2014 2013-14 Fusion – Hermosillo Assembly Plant, Feb. 15, 2012 to June 6, 2014 2013-15 Transit Connect – Valencia Assembly Plant, June 13, 2013 to Dec. 14, 2014 Apparently these cars and trucks are prone to coolant leaks, and in spite of the fact they have a temperature gauge to alert drivers that the engine is overheating, if the coolant gets low it will stop circulating and the engine will get hot enough to crack the cylinder head. The crack exposes a pressurized oil galley that sprays hot engine oil onto the hot exhaust with predictably disastrous consequences. Ford’s fix is to install a “Low Coolant Level” sensor in the reservoir and a light on the dash. This same engine, made by a German manufacturer, is also fitted to a number of ... read more