San Diego Auto Repair

Photo by Monica Sauro on Unsplash 5 Reasons To Add Preventative Maintenance To Your Calendar Last month, many of us took to drafting complicated schedules and random errands into our brand-new 2023 planners. As the month of New Year's Resolutions ended, you may have felt sluggish regarding your goals and appointments. This is totally normal for this time of year. Research shows that by February, nearly 80% of people have given up on their New Year's Resolutions.   Today, I’m making the case to you to keep on keepin’ on, especially concerning car maintenance. In fact, scheduling your car maintenance directly in your planner, calendar, or phone can help you in many ways. Below, I will list the top five reasons to add preventative maintenance to your calendar.  1. Save Time & Money by Identifying Problems Early Have you ever gone into the shop just ... read more

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash Many people think the most important thing a car does is go. But just as important is your brake being able to stop! If you’re looking to take care of your brakes better than ever in the new year, you’ve come to the right place!   Taking care of your brakes is as simple as keeping up with their regular maintenance schedule, replacing worn-out parts promptly, and going gentle on them when you can. Pay close attention to any strange feelings underfoot, and keep an ear out for atypical noises.    Brake maintenance can often be overlooked since it's not as exciting or glamorous as other purchases–but keeping up with regular brake inspections and repairs is crucial for safe and reliable driving! Below, we list some of our top tips for taking care of your brakes, easy enough to implement at the same time as all ... read more

Photo by Malachi Brooks on Unsplash   With wildfires becoming more violent in the state of California, we have to make sure that our car is in top shape in case of an evacuation. Although nothing beats checkups with a professional mechanic, here are some bullet points to help you determine if your car is ready if disaster comes in your region:   Check your tires. If your tires have dry rot or are coming apart, it’s best to replace them immediately if you can. If your tires have hard rubber in some places, that’s also an indicator of worn-down tires.   Avoid soft brakes. Soft brakes can be caused by a couple of things, but most oftenly, they are a sign of contaminated brake fluid. It’s a rule of thumb ... read more

Photo by Anastase Maragos on Unsplash   Welcome to the May blog for Import Auto Specialists! We hope that April was kind to you and your family and that immunizations are scheduled if not yet done. Things are beginning to reopen everywhere, and we hope everyone stays just ahead of the virus and keeps wearing those masks until they hear otherwise from the government!   We’re deep in Spring, and while May showers aren’t guaranteed, we can bet that Summer is just around the corner. The Summer heat can be brutal on your car and you. Being in a space with glass windows in the sun is solar cooking, so do your best to minimize the Summer’s traumatic heat when it arrives. Here are some tips for how to handle ... read more

  Top Gifts for the Car Lover in Your Life    When someone loves their car, often the most thoughtful gift you can give is… car accessories or a spa day!   Car Detailing Gift Certificate to a nearby auto spa is a truly generous and thoughtful gift. There is nothing more satisfying than to climb into your ride and breathe deeply surrounded by a new car smell with gleaming leather and clean carpeting surrounding you. Your car lover will be so grateful when they are driving their sparkling clean vehicle.   A Portable Jump box is an excellent safety device to make your loved one feel protected and well cared for. You can pick one up for well under $100, and they often have an emergency light and have a USB port on them to charge your cell phone if needed in a pinch.   Car Covers are especially nice to use when preserving your paint from harsh weather and the suns penetrating UV rays. Showing your partner that you care deeply ab ... read more

We all hear it as car owners, don’t we? Come into the auto repair shop for minor service or major service. But what does it mean? For every car brand, there are unique nuances to what minor service and major service involves. For the most part, vehicles need check-ups and maintenance as their mileage increases. That is why you’ll hear numbers like 7500 miles, 15,000 miles, 30,000 miles, 45,000 miles, 60,000 miles, 75,000 miles, 90,000 miles, etc. But what do these numbers mean? Of course, you’ll want to consult the Owners Manual for your vehicle for specific information. But generally speaking, minor service is to be performed between every 10K - 15K miles. This minor service generally includes the following:   Oil change Tire rotation Tire inspection Brake inspection Lubrication and inspection of chassis Fluid inspection Belt and hose inspection The goal for the minor service is to check on the vehicle’s health and make sure nothing appears to be ... read more

We are so lucky to live, work, and play in San Diego. Not only is it a beautiful place to live, but we don’t have to deal with yucky weather (for the most part). Even though our climate and surroundings lack the snow scene on a Christmas card, there are still some amazing San Diego locations to see the holiday lights. At Import Auto Specialists, we love celebrating the holidays. One of our favorite holiday activities is to hop in the car with the family and go see the Christmas lights. Here are our top five places to visit around San Diego:   Starlight Circle is located in Santee, and it’s awesome! You’ll see a massive lights display coming from several homes located on East and West Glendon circles off Magnolia Avenue. The lights are usually on from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. nightly. If you’re lucky and extra nice, the kind residents may share some of their Christmas treats with ... read more

BMW’s maintenance schedule recommends that the spark plugs on this BMW M6 are to be changed every 37,000 miles. It is a pretty straight forward procedure. Remove the intake ducts, loosen the intake box, remove any breather hoses in the way, pull out ignition coils and that should give you enough access to get the plugs out and in. We will be replacing the plugs with the factory recommended NGK Laser Platinum plugs. NGK is a name that most people should know if they know a thing or two about cars. We are surprised to find NGK in this particular setup as BMW usually defaults to BOSCH plugs. Apparently they just didn’t make the cut for this year and model. Most standard 3 and 5 series BMWs have a factory scheduled spark plug change around 100,000 miles, but since this is a high output / high performance V10, it is better safe than sorry to change these on or before the recommended scheduled mileage. ... read more

Customers are often mislead as to when the transmission fluid should be changed on their Mercedes Benz. Rumour going around says that it is a “lifetime” fluid. As professionals, we know that nothing lasts a “lifetime”. Fluid in MOST Mercedes Benz should be changed by 100,000 miles. Newer models 2006 – Present have changed the maintenance interval for the transmission fluid. Mercedes is now scheduling to have the fluid changed around an average of 30,000 miles. We aren’t sure what prompted this change, but it could be due to the fact that consumers were mislead and felt that the transmission never needed service which leads to mechanical breakdowns and expensive transmission repairs. The transmission pan gasket was leaking on this 2005 Mercedes Benz S500 so we needed to remove it, scrape the old gasket off, replace the filter while we were in there, re seal and put it all back together. Low fluid causes the transmission to shift hard or may even cause it not to shift at a ... read more