Castro Valley Auto Repair

When your Acura is ready for a bit of TLC, onboard computer will display a service code. The “A” in the code means that your vehicle needs and oil change and oil filter change. The numbers that follow letter A indicate additional maintenance items. For example “1” stands for “rotate tires”, so if your Acura display A1 code, it means oil change and tire rotation. “A5” code means oil change and coolant flush and replacement. Below is a list of the codes you might see at some point: 1 – check tire pressure, and rotate tires 2 – replace dust and pollen filters, and check the drive belt 3 – replace transfer fluid and transmission fluid, where applicable. 4 –  replace spark plugs, replace timing belt ( if applicable ), inspect valve clearance and water pump ( if we are replacing the timing belt, we recommend water pump replacement as well since the majority of the labor cost is already covered because of the t ... read more

We are big fans of Subaru vehicles, but they occasionally come with an issue or two. The 2011 Subaru Forester has two engine oil issues that owners need to be aware of:   first and foremost, the engine can consume too much engine oil while operating, the other issue is oil leaks. Excessive oil consumption is a known problem for a number of vehicles, and unfortunately, 2011 Forester is one of them. It can be 1 - 2 quarts between oil changes, but sometimes as many as 3-4 quarts. If you own a 2011 Subaru Forester, we highly recommend checking engine oil levels every 1000 miles and topping it off if necessary. This will keep your vehicle from depleting the engine oil. Oil leaks are always a concern, and unfortunately older Subaru vehicles are oil leak prone. An oil leak can be particularly dangerous if your Subaru also has a tendency to excessive oil consumption. If the two are combined, and the owner does not monitor engine oil level, the vehicle may run out of engine oil &nda ... read more