Silicon Valley Auto Repair

We hear a lot of odd sounds roll through the bays, and certain ones raise the stakes fast. A quick sound check and a little pattern-matching can tell you whether it is safe to keep driving or it's time to schedule a check. Below are six noises that deserve attention and what they usually mean. 1. High-Pitched Squeal That Stops When You Press The Brake Pedal That brief squeal at low speeds is often a pad wear indicator grazing the rotor. It is designed to get loud before the pad is gone. Light surface rust after rain can squeal too, but it fades after a few stops. If the sound returns daily or grows sharper, the pads may be near the end of life, or the hardware needs cleaning and lubrication. Ignoring it risks scoring the rotors and stretching the stopping distance. 2. Grinding Or Growling That Tracks Road Speed A steady grind while moving points to either pads worn down to the backing plate or a wheel bearing that has started to fail. With pad ... read more

You park at the store, come back ten minutes later, and the starter barely clicks. The battery seemed fine yesterday, so the sudden failure feels random. In most cases it was building for weeks. Modern vehicles put a steady load on the battery even while parked, and heat, short trips, and age all chip away at its reserve until one cold morning or hot afternoon finishes the job. Why Modern Batteries Fail Suddenly Lead acid batteries do not taper off like a phone battery. They can deliver normal cranking right up to the day internal capacity drops below what the starter needs. Plate material sheds with age, sulfation builds on surfaces, and a few deep discharges finish the process. Once internal resistance climbs, voltage sags hard during crank and the car feels dead without much warning. Short Trips, Heat, and Hidden Drains City driving is tough on batteries. Repeated short trips never give the alternator time to replenish the energy used to start t ... read more

Noticing your oil level dropping even though there’s no visible leak? You’re not alone. Many drivers are caught off guard by disappearing oil, wondering where it’s going and what it means for their engine. Since oil is essential for lubrication and engine protection, any unexplained loss could signal a bigger problem. So, what’s happening under the hood? Burning Oil Inside the Engine One of the most common reasons for disappearing oil is that it's being burned inside the engine. This can happen due to worn piston rings, valve seals, or other internal issues. When oil gets into the combustion chamber, it burns along with the air-fuel mixture, creating blue or grayish smoke from the exhaust. In some cases, oil burning happens gradually and isn’t always noticeable right away. PCV System Issues The positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system is responsible for managing pressure and removing harmful gases from the engin ... read more