Oceanside Auto Repair

  A recent customer brought this 2013 BMW X3 from their home in Carlsbad into our BMW repair shop in Oceanside, CA, 92058 and mentioned that there was a loud grinding noise coming from the car, accompanied by a burning smell all while the car will not drive with a Check Engine Light on. After performing our free vehicle health inspection, we confirmed the vehicle does not drive freely, and there was definitely a hard grinding noise present when attempting to move the vehicle. Inspection/Findings We put the vehicle on and drove on rack, we were able to recreate the concern. After removing the vehicle’s under panels, we found the front differential had failed entirely and there was a big hole in the side of the casing. This is all resulting in a massive grinding noise when it is engaged. Cause It’s hard to say what the cause was… Whatever happened, it wasn’t good. Initially we thought it might have been caused by blunt f ... read more

  Are you experiencing smoke coming from the engine of your BMW? This could be happening for a number of reasons. This article is specifically referring to smoke coming from the engine bay of a car, if there is smoke coming from the tailpipe or another area, please click here: why-is-my-bmw-smoking to learn more! Engine Smoking symptoms can be a sign that one of your car’s fluids, such as oil or coolant, is currently leaking. When the leaking fluid encounters something hot such as an exhaust or part of your engine, it will burn off, evaporate, and release smoke. If your car is smoking from the engine bay, this is a sign that something is wrong and should be inspected by a professional as soon as possible. If you are experiencing smoke, this might mean that an ongoing problem has progressively gotten worse and now requires immediate attention. In our experiences, we have found that smoke coming from a BMW engine bay can, in most cases, relate back to an oil leak or a coola ... read more

A wheel bearing is an important part of your car’s driveline that connects the axle to the wheel and tire. As your car drives down the road, the wheel bearing allows your wheels to spin without friction. WHAT IS A WHEEL BEARING? A wheel bearing is held together by a metal ring and consists of metal balls that spin and allow the wheel on your car to spin as it should. A good wheel bearing keeps your wheel intact, a bad wheel bearing will allow your wheel to wobble. The wheel of your car connects to a hub, the hub connects to the axle and/or suspension. The wheel bearing is a metal sleeve with ball bearings on the inside that allows the wheel to connect to the hub, but still spin freely. CAN YOU DRIVE WITH A BAD WHEEL BEARING? Short term, maybe. Long term, no! A bad wheel bearing will result in loud noises and can cause dangerous driving conditions. If you sense that you have a bad wheel bearing, the best thing to do is to find a Good Mechanic ... read more

We have heard of this message occurring after an oil change, or at random times with various Audi models. A Drain Oil Light On could be happening for a number of reasons. Drain Oil Light On Causes If you have a problem with your oil level sensor, the car could be reading at inaccurate levels even if your oil level is where it should be. Secondly, if your Audi has either too much or too little oil, this could also be triggering the Please Drain Oil light. We have heard stories of this light coming on right after an oil change. Often it turns out that the shop they used had simply added too much oil – just enough to where it was triggering the light. For some Audi owners who see this light right after an oil change, there is a chance that the Change Oil light will go away after continuing to drive the car. Another cause of the Please Drain Oil Light would be if your car’s service interval indicator was not previously reset during or at the time of a servi ... read more

Mercedes-Benz has a few unique names for their services that are expected at factory service intervals. One of these services is the Mercedes-Benz Service A. Do I need Mercedes Service A? A car manufacturer will set certain factory recommended service intervals for the cars that they build. The factory service intervals are based on the ‘best practice’ scheduled times to service or replace certain components on your vehicle. The reason for servicing these car parts is to make sure that they are getting fixed and refreshed before they have a chance to break. Hence the importance of service and maintenance, rather than a repair. Service A and Service B are Mercedes’s scheduled service intervals to ensure that your Mercedes stays in optimal condition. According to the factory, a Mercedes ‘Service A’ should be performed at approximately 10,000 miles or at the first year of ownership. Service A Items A Mercedes Service A consists of a few important service ... read more