San Carlos & Valley Springs Auto Repair

Hey all!    I often get asked the question "Do you replace tires at Toole's Garage?". Well, we absolutely do take care of our clients tires, we also align the vehicle as well. What you should know about tires however, is something that most tire places don't know, or won't mention. The reason why tires vary in price so much is mostly due to the quality of the tire, in some cases, the brand name actually will dictate some of the cost, just like anything else. But there are many ratings when it comes to tires. There is tread wear, temperature, and traction. Tread wear is listed as a number, it typically determines the composition of the rubber if it's either going to be a very hard rubber or a very soft rubber. The hard rubber tires will have a long tread life, but typically are not as grippy once warmed up. On the contrary most soft rubber tires are very grippy when w ... read more

Hey All,      Yes, I am writing about an Oil Change. Why? I will tell you. This is me hopping on my soapbox. Engine oil is the life blood of your engine. Technology has changes, engines are getting more precision, lighter, physically smaller, etc. Oil has gotten better as well. Here is where the problem starts. Manufacturers are recommending oil changes due to driving styles, measured by analytics.This is not actually measuring the actual oil in the car. Many of you out there have changed your own oil, many of you have not. You will see that new oil looks lovely, like a nice olive oil. During its lifespan, it somehow turns into a dark staining black substance that seems thicker than it went in. How does that happen? Imagine a campfire, and you add a piece of wood that maybe had a little paint on it. It creates a nasty soot burning off of it. Inside your engine, the gasoline that is igniting is creating ... read more

Hey Fans and people who just want to know!    I get the question asked a lot about brake pads. There are so many brands and types out there, it feels just like walking down a grocery isle. "Hmm, do I go for the pads on the top shelf, or grab the cheap ones down below?" I usually will go with some sort of OEM brake pad that is Ceramic based.There are basically 3 types of pads now, an organic material, a semi-metallic material, and ceramic material.   Primarily, the organic gives you nice quiet brakes, low brake dust, but not the best feel when really needing to stop, meaning, the stopping power is the least effective.      Semi-metallic pads have the best stopping power, but are noisy and create a lot of brake dust. We have also found that the copper used in brake pads is causing some problems in the environment (no good).   Lastly, there is ceramic pads. They are a great combination of both o ... read more

Hey Fans!   I get this question asked a lot. What is a Timing Belt, and why do I have to change it? Simply put, the timing belt is a toothed belt that keeps the engine in sync, or as its name mentions, time. There are essentially 2 halves of an engine, an upper half and a lower half. The bottom side of the engine is the crankshaft, it is known as the rotating assembly because the pistons are connected to the crankshaft. As the explosions happen from the fuel ignition in the cylinder, the pistons are forced downward causing the crankshaft to rotate. The crankshaft has a toothed gear on the front that the timing belt rides on. This rotation causes the belt to move and spin the other half of the engine that contains the camshaft, or multiple camshafts. They also have a toothed gear attached. This camshaft pushes on the valves against the springs to make them open. This lets air and fuel ... read more

Why Do Most Drivers Distrust Auto Repair Shops? As a vehicle owner, you may have been in a situation at an auto repair shop where you felt cheated or doubted the honesty of the mechanics. For example, you may have taken your vehicle into an auto repair shop for an oil change and received a recommendation for new brake pads. However, you just had your brake pads replaced a month earlier. Realizing that the recommendation may be a scam to get more money out of you, you may have developed an overall distrust for auto repair shops - and you’re not alone. In a recent survey conducted by AAA, 2 out of 3 drivers reported that they did not trust auto repair shops. Most drivers were scared of shops recommending unnecessary services and repairs as their number one reason for distrust. Among the other reasons were overcharging for services, negative past experiences, and the fear of work not being completed correctly. Many drivers combat this distrust of auto repair shops by choosing a si ... read more

Toole’s Garage is accepting new customers in San Carlos! Bermico Auto has gracefully been serving the Peninsula Area since 1984, when it first opened in San Bruno. We would love to thank Martha and Dan’s commitment to Bermico Auto and their commitment to the community and are proud to follow their example. At Toole’s Garage, we will continue to support our community through various causes and events. Need a new shop to take your vehicle too? Look no further than Toole’s Garage. At Toole’s Garage, we: Use the latest factory approved tools and techniques Offer a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty Offer rental cars for $25/day or FREE local shuttle Toole’s Garage will honor Bermico’s warranty for any new Toole’s customer! Specialize in several makes and models! Acura Buick Honda Jeep Lexus Mitsubishi Saturn Subaru Toyota Here are some of the services that we provide that Bermico Auto did as well: New vehicle scheduled ma ... read more

Hey Fans! I just had a conversation with a customer about the "lifetime transmission fluid" in their Toyota. They have about 40,000 miles on their Prius and the ATF is black and burnt. The transmissions of today are fairly complex inside, and hybrid vehicles typically have high voltage electric motors in them. The goal of fluid maintenance is to keep the quality of the lubricating oil/fluid as clean and debris free as possible.  Most vehicles now DO NOT have a serviceable filter inside the transmission, making it even more crucial to keep the fluid clean. The cost to include fluid servicing in a factory scheduled maintenance is relatively inexpensive. What it does for you is keep the burnt and dirty fluid that is naturally starting to occur to a minimum. It does not all not come out of the transmission at once, it is typically only going to be a slight dilution at each fluid change interval. You can maybe see how if it is allowed to get&nb ... read more

Hello Fans! It has been a bit since I have written anything for you (at least worth reading), but I wanted to tell my story of novice welder to super fabricator (in my own mind)! Sorry for the length, I am chatty today. Those of you who are local or follow us on Facebook know the Toole’s Garage truck. It was a project that started out in 2009 to be just Dave Toole building an old truck to use as a shop vehicle, durable, versatile, and a road rescue machine. Well, I started out by disassembling all the wiring to put in a new multi-circuited harness and instrumentation (nothing worked in there anyway).& This of course led to a new steering column and my first attempt at welding. I bought a welder and started to weld up all the holes on the firewall. Well, needless to say, after melting holes on the firewall and spending hours grinding off the lumps of metal filler used to weld the plugs in place, I was ready to sell the wel ... read more

This is something that we are starting to hear more often. The great news is that we, as The Hybrid Shop Bay Area, are able to bring your existing battery back to life. If caught early enough, we may not even have to replace any cells within that battery. Be careful to all who are looking to find a replacement battery. There are a lot of places selling used batteries, or remanufactured batteries. The process to condition a single battery is fairly simple, but to condition a complete hybrid battery takes the proper equipment and scientific process to keep them balanced. There are but a handful of shops that have this capability. We have performed our battery conditioning process on many of these “other” batteries, as the failure rate is very high. Don’t pay twice, take your vehicle to The Hybrid Pro’s to have it done right, the first time. So if your Prius Hybrid Battery is dying, The Hybrid Shop has the necessary skill and equipment to effectively p ... read more

In your day to day dealings with companies, do you ever find yourself asking in your head, "Wow, were did customer courtesy go?" Well, it is alive and well at our San Carlos Auto Repair, Toole's Garage. We know that your day to day can be filled with errands, school, shopping, school sports, commuting, cooking, going to the gym, and oh yeah....work! Well, at Toole's Garage, we have very low cost rental cars, shuttle, and even concierge service! That's right! Concierge service! Many of our clients have so much on their plate, that we will come and pick up their vehicle from the home or office, perform the work they need, and return the vehicle back to them! This is a service that we have been doing for some time, but have accumulated more demand for. All you have to do is give us a phone call, email, online appointment, text, Tweet, or Facebook post! Whether you drive a Honda, Acura, Nissan, Infiniti, Toyota, Scion, Lexus, Hyundai, Mazda, Subaru, Prius, or any Hybrid, when you are ... read more