Frequently asked questions

Yes. Moraga Motors is open 5 days a week and our ASE certified technicians are available to offer full-service repairs during all hours of operation. Shops that advertise longer hours or open on Sundays may have limited services available since their technicians are not always working.

A diagnostic service is the process a technician performs to determine the root cause of a problem. It requires expensive, sophisticated testing equipment and specialized training. That labor time is separate from, and mutually exclusive of, the labor required to actually fix the problem. Diagnostics are also specific to the issue you're experiencing — for example, diagnosing a hesitation at a certain speed would not uncover an unrelated air conditioning problem.

A diagnostic service requires sophisticated testing equipment and specialized training. An inspection is a physical or visual check that does not require that equipment. A typical example is a brake inspection, where a technician removes the wheels and visually checks the brake parts.

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer — the exact same parts supplied to the manufacturer when your car was built. Aftermarket parts are made by other companies. Some aftermarket parts actually exceed the OEM design and carry longer warranties, even lifetime. Others are lower quality with reduced warranties at a lower price. Moraga Motors only uses OEM or aftermarket parts that meet or exceed the manufacturer's specifications.

Rebuilt restores a part to its previous state before failure and only replaces the faulty components. Remanufactured replaces all of the components of the part to a like-new condition.

Have your alignment checked if you notice excessive or uneven tire wear, the steering pulling left or right, steering that feels loose or wanders, an off-center steering wheel, or any shaking, vibration or shimmy while driving. Always check that each tire is at the proper air pressure first.

Always follow your manufacturer's recommendations in your owner's manual. Typically, check your tires for uneven wear every 10,000 miles or at least once a year. There's no fixed lifespan for an alignment — even hitting a single pothole can knock a vehicle out of alignment.

Most manufacturers recommend replacement at 60K or 90K miles depending on the vehicle. If no interval is specified, the industry standard is 60K. On some vehicles, if the timing belt breaks while the engine is running, there is a good possibility of engine damage.

Always follow your manufacturer's recommendations as outlined in your owner's manual. And note: more coolant is not better. You should never use a mixture of more than 60% coolant, because protection from boiling over or freezing actually goes down beyond a 60% coolant / 40% water mix.

Maybe, maybe not. The check engine light illuminates for many different reasons — a loose gas cap, a bad sensor or computer, a vacuum leak, a bad fuel pump, a fouled spark plug, a plugged fuel filter, or a damaged wire. The vehicle must be rechecked to determine the actual cause. We document the codes and reasons on your repair ticket so it's clear whether a new light relates to the original repair or is a completely new issue.

Gray or black smoke typically means the engine is running rich (too much fuel, not enough air), often a fuel injection system issue. Blue smoke means the engine is burning oil, which can point to worn pistons, rings, or cylinder walls. White smoke is a sign of a coolant leak or coolant being burned in the cylinders, often from a faulty head gasket, cracked head, or broken cylinder wall.

These parts break down over time from moisture, oil, grease, and under-hood temperatures of 550 to 700 degrees. Worn components force the ignition system to produce higher and higher voltage, which breaks down insulation and weakens modules, coils, and computers, leading to intermittent and premature failure. If your vehicle has over 60,000 miles and these haven't been replaced, you may experience drivability problems that are difficult and costly to diagnose.