San Carlos Auto Repair

It can be quite scary -- watching your teen driver take a big step and drive themselves to school. You can imagine them, blasting the radio and stepping on the gas pedal, but with a reliable and safe vehicle, you can breathe a little easier. These cars are equipped with safety features, from automatic braking to blind spot monitors. Safety is the top priority when it comes to auto repair and picking out the safest car for your teen driver. Here are the safest Japanese cars on the market:  Toyota Corolla: All of the latest and greatest safety features can be found in a Toyota Corolla. This car is also an economical option, both price and fuel wise.  Honda Fit: The Honda Fit is small, but mighty, as it is quite a roomy Japanese vehicle. As a bonus, it is quite safe and gets great gas mileage.  Toyota Prius V: This car is a little bigger than your typical Prius, but all the safety features and economical advantages remain the same. What more can you ask for?  Subar ... read more

This summer, explore what Northern California has to offer. Our beautiful state has so many different hiking locations! At A+ Japanese Auto Repair, we want to make sure your car is ready to get you where you want this summer. Check out these hiking trails that you’ll be sure to love! Explore, Castle Lake Trail, located in Mount Shasta. This 11-mile hiking trail offers a spectacular view of lakes and peaks, giving you some of the most unique views that you'll ever see in Northern California.  Experience Cinder Cone Nature Trail, located 4 hours northeast from San Francisco in Old Station, California. See Lassen’s volcanic landscape from this cinder cone. You will be able to see the landscape that was transformed by volcanic activity.  Purisima Creek Trail, located in Half Moon Bay, that overlooks the slopes of the Santa Cruz mountains. From there, you will be able to see the beautiful redwood trees and creeks. Experience Santa Cruz’s beauty from this l ... read more

There are tons of mobile apps out there designed to help us make our lives more efficient, including apps for directions. Most of these direction apps are geared toward being hands-free, meaning they are safe for you to use while driving. In fact, many of these apps are equipped with warnings to remind you to put down your phone while driving and listen to the voice commands programmed into the mobile app.  Not only are there mobile apps, but there are several GPS devices that are designed solely for the purpose of driving directions. Mobile apps, however, can be used for various forms of transportation, not just driving such as walking and biking. Here are 5 of the most helpful, free direction apps:  Google Maps: This is the classic direction app and has proved its sufficiency time and time again. It has tons of voice commands too, really demonstrating its ability to be hands-free.  Waze: This app not only offers directions but has several bonus features, including u ... read more

Summer is just around the corner, which means it is the perfect time to start planning your summer vacation. We can’t wait to embark on our summer adventures, especially if that means a road trip with your family. We are fortunate to live in such a lovely area, as we are surrounded by many beautiful places all within a day’s drive. Here are the top 7 road trip ideas for summertime in San Carlos: Nicasio, one of the tiniest towns in Marin County, is complete with some of the most delectable cheese and wine tasting in the region. Point Reyes, including Point Reyes National Seashore and make sure to hike and picnic along Abbotts Lagoon. North Bay Movie Tour in Petaluma is an excellent way to spend the day. George Lucas, the creator of “Star Wars,” filmed the classic, “American G ... read more

At A+ Japanese Auto Repair, we recognize how busy your day can get. From racing across town to drop your son off at his baseball game to being stuck in rush-hour traffic for your morning meeting, you have a jam-packed schedule. Sometimes, a trip to an auto repair shop can make your busy day even busier. With us, we strive to ensure your experience with us is stress-free and seamless, so you can continue to check items off your to-do list. Here are five ways we make auto repair convenient for you:  Complimentary loaner vehicles: while our technicians are servicing your vehicle, you can utilize one of our ten loaner cars to get where you need to be. Yes, you can make it to your son’s baseball game or your morning meeting.  Complimentary courtesy shuttle: our team can take wherever you need to go in the local area. Just because your car is in the shop doesn’t mean your day needs to come to a complete halt.  After Hours Drop-off and Pickup: you can quickly drop ... read more

Learn How To Properly Jump Start A Dead Battery A dead battery will probably leave you stranded at least once in your life so it is important to learn how to properly jump start a dead battery.   There are two common methods to jumpstart a dead battery. You can use the traditional battery jumper cables or a newer battery jumper pack. Each requires a similar process but with the battery jumper cables you will need an extra car in order to jump the dead battery.   1. Turn the ignition key off before making any connections. (if you are using battery jumper cables, leave one car running and remove the key from the dead car. Then make sure none of the jumper battery cable ends touch each other or any painted area of the car.)   2. Clamp the positive (red +) clamp onto the vehicle (red +) battery post. If you can't find the battery there will probably be a connection point under the hood some where marked with a "+" symbol ... read more

What does the battery light mean on my dash ? If the battery light comes on your dash which you are driving, that means there is a problem with the car's charging system. About 90% of the time, the alternator is under or over charging the battery. You probably have less than 15 minutes before the car will stop running. Can you drive with the battery light on? You can drive the car with the battery light on but you will only have on average 15 minutes. After roughly 15 minutes, your car will run out of electrical power and the car will stall.  What can you do when the battery light comes on while driving? Since the vehicle is only running on the power that is remaining in your car's battery, you will want to turn off all electrical components that allow you to still safely operate the car. Depending on the battery condition and the electrical loads on your system, you probably have about 10-20 minutes of driving until your vehicle ... read more

How long should my car battery last? Car batteries last anywhere from 3-6 years based on the size, quality, location, and the type of battery.  Flooded Lead Acid Car Battery Most car batteries are still using lead acid flooded batteries. The battery consists of lead plates, an acid solution in which the plates are flooded, positive/negative terminals, and a plastic housing which holds it all together. Lead is known as a toxic agent and it will effect ones health but the battery companies still use lead. It’s a great material for maintaining a batteries’ charge, accepting a new charge, and the more lead a battery uses, usually the more energy it’s capable to hold. Size Of The Battery, Bigger is Usually Better The size of a car battery is rated to the amount of the Cold Cranking Amps that a car requires to start. A larger battery will typically last longer than a smaller battery but it certainly depends on how it is being used and it ... read more

When do you need to change a hybrid battery? Let's explore the options on changing a Hybrid battery pack ​We were recently working on a Toyota Prius at our shop, A+ Japanese Auto Repair,  and it needed a hybrid battery pack replacement. We thought this would be a good time to share a few photos and tell you a little bit more about hybrid battery packs. A hybrid battery pack is made up of several batteries connected by a series of connections. The voltage at each cell can range from 9 volts and higher. The hybrid computer monitors two cells at a time and compares the voltages to all of the other paired cells. If there are a pair of batteries that are too far away from one another in the voltage category then the computer will set a trouble code in the hybrid battery computer. There are some companies that will remove the battery pack from the car and only replace the battery cells which&nbs ... read more