Huntington Beach Auto Repair

The 4th of July is more than just a US holiday; it is an iconic symbol of pride, joy, and freedom. Every year, many Americans take this holiday to celebrate with their loved ones. Whether you plan to stay in town or travel far and wide, we want you to be careful this Independence Day. With high volumes of traffic, you need to follow these steps to stay safe: Avoid Distractions - From cell phones, and loud passengers, to the radio, there are many distractions that you need to zone out from this holiday. Out of all of these, your phone is the most dangerous of all. If you have an incoming text or call, wait until you’re away from the wheel to handle it. Time Your Travel Better - To lower your likelihood of being stuck in traffic, we recommend that you plan ahead. It has been shown that it is better to get on the highway early in the morning over the busy traffic times of 3-8 PM. Follow the Law - You know the rules: no speeding, no texting and driving, buckle up, and don’t ... read more

Photo by zgrills.com.au on Unsplash Tailgate Recipes To Get You Ready For Independence Day Have you got your plans figured out for Independence Day yet? You don’t need to do anything fancy to make some great memories with families and friends. All you need is your tailgate, good music, and some great food!   Tailgating is an excellent and easy way to enjoy the Huntington Beach weather. It’s also an opportunity to show off your cooking skills. There are tons of cooking hacks to keep your food hot and fresh, whether you’re preparing it at home or on a small grill in the parking lot! Hot dogs and burgers are an easy classic, but don’t let that stop you from getting creative. Here are some of our favorite recipes for tailgating in 2022:   Bacon Jalapeno Macaroni and Chee ... read more

Photo by Anja on Unsplash Summer’s Here; Time To Check Your A/C We’re pretty lucky here in Huntington Beach: we experience paradise like temperatures year-round. Summer in Cali has arrived, and it’s making things pretty warm. We’re only halfway through the summer, so it might be time to check the status of your A/C.    Maybe you’ve already taken your summer road trip, or you’ve got a few coming up. Things will only get hotter, and if you’re a Huntington Beach local, you know the Summer goes on and on. It’s a pain to drive around with a broken A/C, and sometimes minor fixes prevent you from needing more significant fixes down the line. You should bring your car in right away if:   There’s no airflow through your A/C. Something is wrong if you turn your fans all the way up and the air isn't coming through.  ... read more

Photo by Deniz Demirci on Unsplash Why Detailing A Car Is So Important When was the last time you gave your vehicle a little TLC? Many of us have a weekly cleaning ritual, where we scrub out the fridge drawers and make sure to dust all the mantels. However, so few of us do the same for our cars, and we’re in them every day! Adding your car to your next cleaning ritual will have numerous benefits for you and your vehicle. What Detailing Means in Terms of Your Vehicle  Detailing is just a fancy term for getting into your car and doing a deep clean, the same way you might your kitchen or bathroom. It does mean "clean", but in a sense, it means much more. Think about how you may “detail” your home: maybe you don’t clean the oven or scrub the baseboards every weekend, but these are still essential tasks that need priority every once and a while. Clea ... read more

Photo by Mira Kireeva on Unsplash Your Alignment FAQs Answered Your car's alignment is one of those things–when it’s off, you can just tell. Some people realize that their vehicle has some alignment issues as soon as they pull out of the driveway, especially if they’re in the vehicle every day. However, even though you can feel that alignment being off, you may not know what this means and how high of a priority it is for your vehicle. The Basics of An Alignment  Many auto shops will use the terms alignment, tire alignment, and suspension alignment interchangeably. Regardless, your alignment is going to adjust the suspension of your vehicle. If these are out of alignment, you put pressure on other joints and points of your car. That’s one of the reasons alignment is so important: an improperly aligned set of wheels can affect every other part of your c ... read more

Photo by averie woodard on Unsplash A Cheat Sheet To Prepping For Road Trips Roooooooad trip!   Are you and your family headed out on the road to enjoy California's fresh air and beautiful views? Are you going even further? This will be a great experience, but make sure you have everything you need before heading out.    We highly suggest a checklist that includes essentials, needs, and wants for your road trip. What does this look like? Well, it’s essential you have your medications, toothbrush, and contact solution. This should go on the top of the list and be double, then triple-checked before heading out. Every person in your family will likely have a different list! You need clothes for each day of your trip, so don’t forget them! And you likely want a book or your headphones. These are things that you could also buy on the road.  The Es ... read more

We've all seen that scene in a car racing movie. The one where both drivers look at each other during the countdown, as they press their foot down on the accelerator. The anticipation builds as the camera switches to their dashboard as the needle approaches the red before they finally speed off. Haven't you always wanted to know what that meant? Well, let's find out. RPM is an acronym that stands for Revolutions Per Minute. It is unit used to measure the rotational speed of an object around an axis. In the context of cars, it represents the number of rotations that an engine's rotary components makes within a minute. This consists of the crankshaft and piston. An engine's crankshaft is the center of rotational power as it converts the vertical movement of the pistons into rotational movement. The piston is a component that initiates the vertical movement in order for the rotation to happen. A car's RPM can be seen on the tachometer, which is usually next to th ... read more

Photo by athree23 on Pixabay How We Process Your Feedback At HB Auto, we do feedback a little differently.   It’s one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of running our own business. We want everyone to have the best experience they’ve ever had at HB Auto, and we train our staff to provide that experience. We are filled with gratitude when our customers hop on Google, Yelp, or any other website to tell us what we are doing right (or wrong!).  Feedback Provides US New Opportunities To Grow  We take everyone’s feedback seriously. HB Auto is not a mechanic shop that will get defensive or tell the customer they’re wrong. Instead, we take every opportunity to learn from any negative experiences a customer has, change our standard operating procedures to reflect their concerns, and make things right with the customer.    ... read more

Photo by tortugadatacorp on Pixabay Time For A Tire Check  STOP! You have reached a tire checkpoint. Are your wheels doing okay?   Summer is a hazardous season for car tires, though we might not think about it that way. We worry about our tread during the winter, where slick roads may make our cars slide around. But the summer is notorious for scorching hot asphalt and long road-trips. As you can imagine, scorching hot asphalt is not ideal for already worn tires. Checking Your Own Tires  You’ll want to bring your car to a professional if your tires are worn. But how will you know? Here are four tips for checking your own tires:   Look for wear and tear. If you have visible wear and tear on your tires, this should be your sign to immediately go to a professional. A nail sticking out of your tire isn’t going to get any better. Chec ... read more

Photo by Ninofficialphotography on Pixabay Understanding Your Modern Automobile Air Conditioner Are you sweating during your morning commute?    It’s hard enough to get to work some mornings. Don’t let the drive over be another factor in an already busy day. If you’re at your wit's end with your car’s A/C, you might be surprised to find that modern automobile air conditioners are a little different than the ones you learned about when you first hit the road. What’s changed the most about your A/C system over the years is its refrigerant: freon isn’t used anymore! No More Freon Freon is a refrigerant previously used in vehicle ACs, and some vehicles may still be running on it. The EPA has required vehicles made after January 2020 to use R410A, colloquially named Puron. But vehicle manufacturers stopped using ... read more