San Carlos & Valley Springs Auto Repair

At Toole’s Garage in San Carlos we understand how important it is to keep your Honda Pilot running smoothly. Have you recently heard any strange noises from your Pilot, or noticed any issues? Our nationally ASE certified technicians can get to the root cause of the problem and get your Honda Pilot healthy again. The Honda Pilot, known for its reliability and spacious interior, requires regular service and maintenance to ensure peak performance. Regular engine oil change, coolant levels checks, and tire rotations are essential. Some model years need to be watched for known issues, for example, 2003-2008 models often face transmission issues, while 2009-2015 models may experience power steering problems. Newer models (2016-2019) are known for electrical glitches, particularly in their infotainment systems. Some Honda Pilot services and repairs we perform at our San Carlos auto care facility: ● Transmission Service ... read more

Honda vehicles provide long term value, reliability and efficiency. To keep you Honda in top shape, bring it to Toole’s Garage in San Carlos. We offer convenient appointments, free digital vehicle inspection with service or repairs, and cutting-edge technology used by nationally ASE certified mechanics to ensure that your Honda serves you well for many years. Whether it’s a performance problem, unusual noises, or the check engine light comes “on”, brake warning light, or spark plugs, catalytic converter replacement major engine problems, any other issue your Honda may exhibit, our technicians certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) will diagnose the issue and let you know how it can be repaired. Most repairs can be completed the same day, and carry a 3 year / 36,000 miles warranty. Toole’s Garage in San Carlos can service and repair your Honda – no matter what ails it. We offer, literally, hundreds of Honda maint ... read more

CarMD.com released its annual study of check engine light-related repairs for 2023. Not surprisingly, catalytic converter replacement and oxygen sensor replacement made the top of the list – high cost of precious metals makes catalytic converter theft a lucrative pastime. Oxygen sensor often gets damaged during the theft, hence it’s 2nd position on the list. Here is the list with additional information about the components on the list: Catalytic converter replacement – with no moving parts, catalytic converters rarely fail. A vast majority of catalytic converter replacements is due to theft. Oxygen sensor replacement– oxygen sensors often are damaged during catalytic converter t ... read more

When your vehicle’s onboard computer turns “on” the brake warning light, it’s a potentially serious situation. Unless your vehicle happens to be parked, and releasing the parking brake makes the light go off, you have no way of telling how severe is the problem. It is best to err on the side of caution, and to call your trusted auto repair professionals right away. At Toole’s Garage in San Carlos we recommend regular brake inspections, to keep the brake system performing as designed. While some vehicles may turn on the brake warning light to indicate burnt out brake light bulb, or the need to replace brake pads, it is usually difficult to ascertain the severity of the brake warning light without professional knowledge, experience and tools. So if you are concerned about your vehicle’s brake system, we recommend having the car towed to our San Carlos auto repair facility. Our technicians, certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Exc ... read more

Even though Ford discontinued the Mercury brand in 2010 and ended production in 2011, there are still hundreds of thousands of Mercury vehicles on the roads and plenty of Mercury fans. At Toole’s Garage in San Carlos we offer comprehensive Mercury service and repairs, whether you drive a Mercury Grand Marquis luxury sedan, a Mercury Mountaineer SUV, or a classic Mercury Cougar. We have the skills, diagnostic equipment, and trusted parts sources to keep your Mercury in great shape for years to come. As your Mercury ages, regular oil changes and service become crucial. Not only because fresh oil extends engine life, but also because each visit gives us an opportunity to perform a complimentary digital vehicle inspection and spot any developing problems. When we catch the problems early, it allows us to correct them at a much smaller cost then when the problems manifest with outright breakdowns or malfunctions. Often we can alert you to upcoming maintenance / repair needs so you ca ... read more

Prius vehicles continue to be some of the most popular cars on the Bay Area roads. Well-known for their reliability and longevity (300,000 miles for a well maintained Prius is not unusual). However, with that longevity come some repairs – in the case of a typical Prius it may mean inverter replacement. Prius inverters have not been trouble free - Toyota did issue a recall for Prius inverter related problems. Some vehicles suffered thermal damage to the system which may result in inverter failure. In addition, on older Prius vehicles, the inverter can simply fail due to age. Typical symptoms of the inverter problem is your Prius going into neutral, and hybrid system warning and power steering warning coming “on”. This could indicate that inverter replacement may be a necessity. To be sure, and to avoid blindly “throwing parts” at a problem, we recommend taking your Prius to a professional mechanic who specializes in hybrid vehicles. Our San Carlos auto ca ... read more

Toole’s Garage in San Carlos is the premier hybrid vehicle care center. We provide comprehensive hybrid services and repairs, including Prius head gasket replacement. Prius vehicles are well known for their reliability and longevity, but with advanced age may come the need to replace a blown head gasket.   Symptoms of head gasket failure: One of the symptoms is that the onboard computer illuminates the “check engine” light. The good news is that the check engine light can come “on” for a wide range of problems – so it does not have to indicate head gasket replacement.   Rattling noise and shaking is a symptom of misfire – this can accompany a blown head gasket because it allows coolant to seep into a cylinder, which causes misfires. This symptom may go away after 20 seconds or so, but will return when a cold engine is started again. Both of these symptoms indicate serious problems, so even though they may not mean a head gasket ... read more

Water pump replacement is one of the likely repairs your Prius will undergo during its lifetime. Fortunately, Toole’s Garage offers San Carlos Prius water pump replacement, as well as a full gamut of Prius services and repairs. We back our work with a nationwide 36 months / 36,000 miles warranty. Prius vehicles last a long time, and they have multiple water pumps, so there is a very high probability that at some point your Prius will need a water pump replacement. Fortunately, our nationally ASE certified technicians can get the pump replaced and put your Prius back on the road in no time. Toole’s Garage in San Carlos offers full range of automotive service, including everything your Prius may need – from brake repair to hybrid battery replacement. We are a Hybrid Shop and have extensive experience working on hybrid vehicles, including handling high voltage batteries. So if your Prius needs service or repairs, our technicians have the experience and the latest digit ... read more

Honda popularity never seems to diminish, as Honda continues to make highly reliable and fuel efficient vehicles. But even the best made vehicle needs regular service and occasional repairs. At Toole’s Garage in San Carlos we offer comprehensive Honda maintenance services and repairs. Our nationally ASE certified technicians have decades of experience working with Honda vehicles, and we equip them with the latest digital diagnostic tools so they can talk to Honda onboard computers. Our family owned San Carlos auto care facility offers complete range of Honda care, from oil changes, to brake pads replacement, check engine light diagnostics and repairs, transmission fluid replacement, shocks and struts and other suspension repairs, Honda electrical system repairs, transmission problems, and engine tune-up and repair, including Honda head gasket replacement. For your convenience we offer local Uber/Lyft, so you can get back home or to the office, while our highly skilled technicia ... read more

Living in the Bay Area we all have heard about catalytic converter thefts, as the Bay Area favorite, Toyota Prius, is the prime target of the thieves. Now Carfax, a company where repair shops report auto repair data, estimated that in 2022 over 153,000 vehicles were targeted. Insurance companies reported only 52,000 claims for stolen catalytic converters – so why the discrepancy? We thought about it and looking at the data at Toole’s Garage in San Carlos, we come to the conclusion that Carfax is right. We see a lot of vehicles with stolen catalytic converters that are older vehicles, without comprehensive insurance, so the owners pay out-of-pocket for the repairs – hence there is no report to the insurance company, but Carfax gets to count such cars in their statistics. If you take into account that catalytic converters are often on back-order, meaning one has to wait for the manufacturer to deliver new ones, it makes sense that the number of catalytic converter the ... read more