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Lexus Hybrids
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Why buy a Lexus Hybrid first? If you are going to spend the money for a Lexus and you care about the environment, than one has to consider a Lexus LS Hybrid. At Francisco’s Auto Repair we recommend the Lexus Hybrid.
In March of 2007 LS Hybrids nearly sold out with 18,500 pre-orders placed months before they even came out on the market. In October 2007 Lexus sold 6,093 LS 600h’s worldwide. Most people don’t really care for hybrids but let me tell you why they are a great choice.
The Lexus LS 600h has an 8 speed, 5.0 V8 engine, 438 horsepower, 20 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway. This vehicle is all wheel drive. The Lexus LS 600h also contains adaptive variable air suspension, and super low emissions. This vehicle has won more than 5 awards, including the "Top Ten Least Polluting Luxury Cars."
This hybrid has outstanding safety features. It comes with a pre-crash and rear pre-crash safety system to help you avoid accidents more efficiently. The dash will turn infrared if it detects a crash is near. The brakes will start to stop on their own; steering will adjust and speed will adjust depending on incoming impact speed. If it detects you are going to be hit from the rear, the headrests adjust to cradle your head to prevent whiplash or any other damage to your head.
You can also adjust the transmission setting. The Lexus 600h has a unique, three mode power switch to control torque output from normal, power, and snow mode. This vehicle also contains an EV mode for quiet driving on full electric power!
In the executive class vehicles like the Lexus Hybrid, the passenger seat also offers a Shiatsu and shoulder massaging ottoman. Only the Lexus hybrid is equipped with LED headlights, leather trimmed dashboard, two tone leather seats and multi-zone climate controls with infrared body temperature sensors.
If you are interested or looking for a Hybrid this is a great choice.
Please call us with any questions! (714)375-2661
At Francisco’s Auto Repair we offer a 3 year 36,000 mile warranty.
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Ford 5.4 Spark Plug Warning!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
At the start I, Francisco at Francisco's Auto Repair, want everyone to know I like Ford vehicles. I have owned them and have worked on them for many years. A problem has come up that can be very costly to consumers if no proactive measures are taken. Here is the warning I give to anyone with a 2004 and newer Ford vehicle with Triton 5.4 engine. Get your spark plugs replaced way before the recommended mileage shown in the maintenance manual. For some reason, the manufacturer is using a new style spark plug; a two piece plug! I am sure there is some reason for it, but it does not matter. When left in the engine for the recommended time frame, there is a strong possibility of only being able to remove one half of the plug. The second part will be seized the head. This second part will need to be broken out, tapped and extracted. Unfortunately this leads to a big expense to remove the broken half safely. In some cases the cylinder head or the engine may have to be removed to properly perform the repair. My advice is to have the spark plugs removed and replaced at 30,000 miles to avoid a huge expense down the road. Many shops now will refuse to replace the plugs because of this problem. If you drive one of these Ford 5.4 Triton powered vehicles, check your service records and consult with your mechanic now. Hopefully Ford will develop a new style spark plug to eliminate this occurring in the future. If you have any concerns and wish to discuss this with me, feel free to call. Francisco Francisco’s Auto Repair (714) 375-2661 www.franciscosautorepair.com
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Tips for New Car Purchase
Friday, February 20, 2009
What Kind Of car should I buy?
My name is Francisco, Francisco's Automotive repair located in Huntington Beach Ca. Today I want to talk to you about purchasing an automobile. It amazes me how little time some people spend when researching what kind of car to purchase and less time buying on one.
I started my automotive career in 1975 helping manage a shop approximately in 1978. By early 1980, I was running a shop, by 1985 I was off on my own, I have bought and sold cars since the late 70s. I used to buy gas hogs in LA and Orange County and resold them in Mexicali Mexico. I then bought VW's in Calexico California (this side of the border of Mexicali), bring them back to Huntington Beach then resell them. I also owned a opened a used car lot in 2004 and ran it for a few years.
LETS GET TO BUYING CAR
First, determine what kind of car do you want or need. Is it for basic transportation, is it a weekend car and is money is no object (not likely today). Either way one needs to do their car buying homework.
I have a friend that has bought both a fun car and a transportation car in the last few years and I admire the way he did both.
FUN CAR
For fun car he bought a Nissan 350z (good choice) he 1st did his homework on the auto. He liked the looks, historically reliable and priced right. He then found several dealers that had the car he wanted and went to deal with them. If you do not have the patience to negoitiate with a new car dealer, get a company to do it for you. There are several out there;
I personally like Fox Auto in Huntington Beach, CA.
TRANSPORTATION/ECONOMY CAR
For an economy car, he again did his research. He checked out Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Chevrolet and Ford. Ford Fusion won for overall consideration. Ford Fusion for the price, ride room and ratings, the Fusion ranked on top for him. So far gets 27mpg+ on the street and almost 40mpg on the highway (better some hybrids). Then he looked in the newspaper for a the loss leaders every week until he found his car. 4 door Fusion auto power door locks and windows for about $13,000. It is hard to find USED Toyota Camry or Hondas for that price. Remember he got a new car, low interest rate and for the 1st 36,000 miles all the maintenance costs are minor. It sure is nice to get that 3 year 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty.
Call me with any questions you may have whether buying a new or used car. I will be more than happy to help you. (714) 375-2661 or visit me at www.franciscosautorepair.com
Francisco Fonseca
Francisco's Automotive
http://www.FranciscosAutoRepairHuntingtonBeach.com
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Buy Used Ford vs. Toyota Truck ?
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Welcome to Francisco’s Auto Repair blog. I am Francisco, owner of Francisco’s Automotive Repair. I run a 10 bay auto repair shop located in Huntington Beach. Today I want to talk to you about advantage of buying a used Ford vs. a used Toyota Truck. It is commonly known that Toyota trucks have higher resale value than Ford Trucks. However, when it comes to future repair expenses, once they get over 60,000 miles, they are not far from each other. With this repair expense consideration you can get a lot more for your money when you buy a used Ford vs. buying a used Toyota truck. It is very important that you do your homework on both. Have a professional inspect any vehicle that you are considering before you make a purchase. At Francisco’s Auto Repair in Huntington Beach, we will test drive any vehicle that you are evaluating before purchasing, lift it up and perform a visual inspection at no charge to you. I have over 30 years experience in the automotive repair industry. I have bought and sold not only Ford and Toyota trucks, but also have owned a used car lot. This experience allows me to focus in on potential problems each vehicle may have. So if you live or work in Fountain Valley, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach or any other Orange County city and you are looking to purchase a Toyota or Ford truck and wish to seek any advice on a potential purchase, please give us a call at 714-375-2661. You may also visit us at our website www.franciscosautorepair.com REMEMBER IT IS A BUYERS MARKET Francisco FonsecaFrancisco's Automotive http://www.FranciscosAutoRepairHuntingtonBeach.com
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Automotive Electrical Repair and Information
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Welcome, I am Francisco and am owner of Francisco’s Auto Repair in Huntington Beach, CA. As an owner and mechanic, I have been involved in automotive electrical repairs for the past 28 years. In the past, auto electrical repairs revolved around basic lighting, starting/charging systems and blowers or fans. Everything was nice and simple. Not much wiring or electrical parts to diagnose. What evolved was due to demand for creature comfort and convenience. Probably the first items to go electric were the power windows and door locks, generally beginning in the mid 1960’s. Although having a lot of wiring and crude motors by today’s standards, these systems were still fairly basic having switches, motors and wiring to connect them together. Easy to diagnose. On a late model car today, electric windows have electronic modules to control operation of the motors and direction of them; auto up, auto down, partial down for those cars having windows that must be down to open the doors and a variety of switches. The window modules and wired to the body control module for control and diagnostics. This type of system today requires digital meters, labscopes and up to date repair information. For the engine, manufactures have had to go to individual fuel injectors and ignition coils to each cylinder. A Ford V10 obviously will have 10 coils and 10 injectors along with the necessary wiring. Emission control is the bottom line reason for individual injectors and coils. There are also a multitude of electrical sensors and actuators for engine management. As an example more and more vehicles do not use a throttle cable any more. Commonly known as drive by wire, the throttle pedal sensor sends signals to the engine computer and the engine computer evaluates the signal along with other engine signals and talks to the brake system and other systems the engineers have wired in and finally sends the go a head for the throttle actuator to open the throttle plate for acceleration. Again for emission control and stability control. Your vehicle may have full adjustable heated and cooled power seats, wipers for the headlights, security systems, navigation, automatic climate control and on and on. All the computers for these systems talk to each other for everything to work properly as designed. I do not know if the engineers created the demand by building these systems or the demand truly came from consumers. One thing for sure when everything is working normally all is great. All this boils down to a serious need and understanding of electricity and electrical circuits. Without this knowledge and experience someone doing an electrical repair can get lost quickly and easily. Times have changed for sure becoming more complex, hopefully so has your mechanic and auto repair shop. Francisco Fonseca Francisco's Automotive http://www.FranciscosAutoRepairHuntingtonBeach.com
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Automobile Air Conditioning Basic Service Information
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Automotive Air Conditioning Required Maintenance Information
Our shop, Francisco’s Automotive, does quite a bit of automotive air conditioning service and repair. We feel that we see too many air conditioning systems not working efficiently or having catastrophic failures. We have been performing automotive air conditioning service and repairs since the mid 1980s and have found more frequent failures with the introduction of R134a refrigerant. It was not widely known then that even a 10% undercharge would promote damage to the air conditioning system. We discussed this while attending the regular Mobile Air Conditioning Society shows and seminars. R134a was difficult to contain when first introduced. When we ask why there is so many failures now, the biggest answer is lack of regular service or maintenance. Unfortunately when there is no listed scheduled service interval in the owner handbook or listed on 30,60,90k services, the air conditioning maintenance is neglected. Most drivers assume that if they are kept cool while driving that the air conditioning system is working properly. And it may be. However, when we perform an air conditioning service, we often find the system is low on refrigerant charge. This is not good. First, the system may not be cooling as well as it should be. People get used to a gradually warmer temperatures until it becomes too warm. Or on a real hot day the air conditioning may not cool at all. The vehicle is then brought in, checked out and low refrigerant charge may be found and corrected. Second is the problem that a low charge does not carry lubricating oil properly to the air conditioning compressor. This is bad! Just like the engine, when it is run low on oil damage occurs. Either case may be a slow gradual death. And like engine repair, air conditioning repair can get expensive quickly when major damage occurs. No, you do not change the oil in an air conditioning system like you do in your engine, but loss of oil can be corrected. During a service where the refrigerant was found to be low, usually oil leaked out also. When the air conditioning system is properly recharged, specific oil is added to make up for the loss. All automotive air conditioning shops must carry a wide variety of ac oils as each system is designed for a specific type and weight of oil. An automotive air conditioning service performed correctly should always include a full check out. Are all the blower speeds working correctly? Does the air distribution function direct the air properly? Does the heater work? Does the rear air conditioning work normally if equipted? All these areas must be addressed for a full evaluation of the automobiles’ air conditioning system. Most of the above functions are electronically controlled on newer vehicles. When any of them are not working correctly as they should, electrical work is required to diagnose and repair the problem. Do yourself a favor and have your automotive air conditioning system serviced on a routine basis. We recommend at least every 18 months to be on the safe side and to help avoid a big expense. Maintenance pays for itself more than one way to avoid premature compressor failure. Francisco Fonseca
Francisco's Automotive
http://www.FranciscosAutoRepairHuntingtonBeach.com
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