Akey Brakey Auto Repair Tire & Smog

Smog Check Near Me

About Auto Repair and Tire Service

Akey Brakey Auto Repair is Agoura Hills’s favorite auto repair, tire and STAR Certified smog shop. Honesty and integrity are the two words we have built our reputation on. Locally Family owned and operated, we’ve been providing affordable quality auto repairs since 1993.

Auto Repair neighbors

Every business claims to be the best. We just are the best. Our satisfied customers speak for themselves, in saying we have exceeded their expectations and continue to provide amazing service beyond just a tune up or tire rotation. Read the reviews and testimonials from your Agoura Hills, CA, Calabasas, CA, Westlake, CA, North Ranch, CA, Thousand Oaks, CA, Newbury Park, CA, Encino, CA neighbors. Also, take a moment to check out all the auto repair services we can assist you with. If by now you aren’t convinced that we are the best tire and auto repair company, then call, click, or stop by, and see how our friendly staff will go above and beyond to help you with your auto repair needs.

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Motor oil: Motor oil has a tendency to thicken in cold weather, making it harder to circulate to upper engine parts at startup. If you haven’t ever used synthetic oil Driving in the winterbefore, this might be a good time to start. The flow properties of synthetic oil are a lot more consistent, meaning it doesn’t thicken in sub-freezing temperatures or thin out when it’s hot outside.

Wipers: Even the best windshield wipers only last about a year. If your wipers are showing cracks or chips or losing strips of rubber, go ahead and replace them. Don’t forget to refill your washer fluid reservoir…you’ll need it once the weather gets bad.

Cooling system: If you can’t remember the last time your coolant was changed, it’s pretty easy for a technician to test its condition. Remember that coolant, a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and distilled water, prevents freeze-ups in wintertime as well as boilovers in hot weather.

Heater and defroster: Since the heater is part of the cooling system, a flush of the system will help remove any scale or corrosion that may have built up in the heater core.

Tires: Make sure your tires are in good shape, with plenty of tread depth, and check the inflation. Remember that air expands when hot, so be sure to check tire pressure when the tires are still cold. That also means they’ll lose a couple of pounds of air pressure when the temperatures are really cold.

You can’t do much about winter weather, but you can at least up your chances of getting through it unscathed when your car’s in good shape for winter driving!

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Instead, these vehicles come equipped with an inflation kit and/or a can of sealant.

Sealant is a gooey substance in an aerosol can that’s designed to coat the inside of the tire due to centrifugal force once you get rolling again, hopefully sealing the puncture. These products, such as Fix-A-Flat, have been on the market for decades and tend to work pretty well on a minor puncture. They’re not a permanent fix, however. Your speed should be limited after using Fix-A-Flat type products, and you should see about getting the tire repaired or replaced as soon as possible. In addition, most of these products freeze at temperatures below 32 degrees and may not be usable in cold weather.

The other alternative on new vehicles is an onboard compressor which usually plugs into the cigarette lighter. These little compressors actually work quite well and can refill a tire in a few minutes’ time, getting you back on your way again.

This is all well and good, but…

Many times, a tire which fails at highway speed is going to be shredded by the time you can get off the road, or at least permanently damaged and ruined. No inflation kit or can of sealant can help you in that case.

No tire can be repaired if it has a hole in the sidewall or the shoulder. In that case, you’ve got no other choice but to spring for a new tire.

You can always invest in a spare tire and a jack if you’re really concerned about it, but in many new vehicles, there’s not even space for a spare. As if that weren’t enough…if you do have a spare in your vehicle, remember spares can lose air over time and can even dry rot if they’re never on the ground. Most experts now agree tires have a life expectancy of about six years before dry rot, ozone, and the sun’s UV rays degrade them.

The upshot? You might want to just make sure your AAA membership is paid up!

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It’s always a good idea to get a mechanic to look over any prospective purchase, but there are things you can get a look at yourself before you spend the money for a professional inspection. These are things which will give you a pretty good idea of the kind of use and maintenance a vehicle has seen before you got it.

— Put your head against a fender and sight down the side of the vehicle with one eye. Look out for ripples or irregularities in the sheet metal which could point to a collision and body work. Look closely for mismatched paint on body panels, or paint which has an orange-peel texture.

— Closely look at the carpeting, upholstery, and pedals. The condition of these can tell you a lot about how a vehicle was cared for.

— Pop the hood and look for leaks anywhere on the engine. Start the engine, let it warm up to operating temperature and sniff carefully for unusual smells such as burning oil, burning transmission fluid or leaking antifreeze (all of which have a distinctive smell).

— With the engine running, vehicle on level ground and transmission in Park, pull the transmission dipstick and get a close look at the fluid. The fluid should be magenta colored with a slightly sweet smell. Fluid that’s darker or has a burnt toast smell means that the transmission has been overheated, poorly maintained and/or run with a low fluid level. Avoid.

— Take the vehicle for a test drive. Listen for clunks or thumps while going over bumps. Get a good feel for how it handles; a pull to one side on the highway or a tendency for the steering wheel to not center itself could mean front-end problems. Accelerate sharply and listen for any unusual noises. Does the vehicle have enough power and run smoothly when driven hard? Hit the brakes hard. Does the vehicle pull to one side while braking, lock up any of the wheels or have a pulsation through the brake pedal?

None of these constitute a detailed inspection, of course. They’re all common-sense measures you can take, though, to pre-screen a prospective used car before calling a professional in for a thorough pre-purchase shakedown.

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— Directional tread has a pattern of grooves and chevron shapes, all pointed in one direction. This design makes it easy to direct water away from the tire’s contact patch and prevent hydroplaning in wet weather, and also offers low noise and great road manners. The directional design means tires can only be rotated front-to-rear and not side-to-side or diagonally.

— Symmetrical tread patterns feature grooves or herringbone designs that are extremely uniform across the tire’s tread face. Symmetrical designs are popular for touring tires due to their quiet ride, long wear and ease of rotation, making them a very versatile tread pattern.

— Asymmetrical tread patterns are a bit of a compromise. They’re typically designed with a mix of tread patterns, often with a section at the middle and inside edge of a tire that’s designed for wintry or wet-weather traction. The outside edge, on the other hand, has aggressive tread blocks for optimum cornering ability. Asymmetrical tires are marked with “outside only” and “inside only” on the sidewalls to preserve proper handling qualities.

— Directional/asymmetrical tires are the best of both worlds. They’re usually designed with a V-shaped tread to direct water away from the footprint, and an asymmetrical section for dry-weather traction and handling. Directional/asymmetrical tires should be rotated in the same pattern as directional tires.

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— While newer vehicles have come a long way in terms of driver and passenger ergonomics and an abundance of cubbies and cupholders, you can use a simple shower caddy across the back of a seat and make it easier for back seat passengers to keep toys, snacks, and other stuff within easy reach.

— Doesn’t it always seem like you have way, way too many plastic grocery bags? Keep them organized by stuffing them into an empty Kleenex box…empty grocery bags are very handy for trash, diapers and other assorted stuff.

–Everyone has had the experience of pawing through the glove-box for something they really need, and not being able to find it. Personal-sized portfolios of folders can be very handy for keeping insurance papers, receipts and other important documents organized and easily ‘get-at-able’ in the glove compartment.

— Do you travel with a dog sometimes? Consider rigging up a hammock or sling by fastening the corners of a blanket or comforter to the front and rear seat headrests, keeping Fido comfortable and keeping pet hair and dirt from muddy paws off your upholstery.

— A simple purse organizer can provide plenty of space for your wallet, change, sunglasses and other odds and ends, conveniently placed between the front seats.

— Find a tote with multiple compartments … they can be great for organizing Legos, crayons, snacks, Hot Wheels cars and all the other stuff that naturally seems to be in a minivan or SUV.

First step? Thoroughly clean out your car. Get everything out of there, figure out what things you really need in a vehicle and then it’ll make it a lot easier to come up with the best ways to organize!

Tubeless tires debuted in the 1950s, and tire design continued to evolve with improved rubber formulations, better tread patterns and a variety of new tire designs such as the all-season tire, UHP tires, grand touring tires and other newer developments. Today, things like the run-flat tire and tire pressure monitoring systems have made tires more reliable, safe and long-lasting than ever before!

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In the 19th century, carriages and wagons used steel strips for “tires” on their wheels, with the punishing sort of ride that you’d expect. In later years, they were shod with strips of natural rubber, which was an improvement but was still problematic. Solid rubber still rode pretty rough, and the natural, uncured rubber would get gummy in hot weather and shrink and harden in cold temperatures. Charles Goodyear was able to help with the invention of vulcanized rubber, but the modern tire was still several years off.

By the 1880s, the bicycle was becoming much more popular, and in 1888 Scottish engineer John Dunlop was watching his son struggle with the bone-shaking ride of his tricycle. He then devised the first-ever air-filled pneumatic tire, and a few years later Edouard Michelin developed the first “clincher” pneumatic tire, easily removable for repair.

These advances coincided with the development of the horseless carriage, of course, and soon speeds were starting to pick up and more was expected from tires. Things like inner tubes to hold air and grooved tread patterns for tires soon followed. By the 1910s, engineers were designing tires with angled layers of cotton cord beneath the rubber surface, adding durability and strength, and the bias-ply tire was born. Bias-ply tires would soon become the industry standard and would remain so until the 1960s.

The next big step forward in tire design was Michelin’s radial tire, which featured steel belts and fabric plies that were set at a right angle to the tread instead of layers which crisscrossed at angles. Radials offered longer wear, better handling and road manners and soon became the standard in Europe, but they didn’t really catch on in the US until the 1970s.

Tubeless tires debuted in the 1950s, and tire design continued to evolve with improved rubber formulations, better tread patterns and a variety of new tire designs such as the all-season tire, UHP tires, grand touring tires and other newer developments. Today, things like the run-flat tire and tire pressure monitoring systems have made tires more reliable, safe and long-lasting than ever before!

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Fortunately, some automotive fluids are dyed different colors to make this a little easier to narrow down.

Does it appear to be water? Were you recently running your A/C? Chances are that’s just condensation from the A/C system, which drips out through a rubber tube and is perfectly normal. No worries there.

For years, antifreeze was dyed a bright green to make it easy to identify. Today, other antifreeze formulations can be colored pink or orange, but it’s still not hard to figure out — antifreeze has a sweet-ish, unmistakable smell due to its ethylene glycol content.

Gasoline is a pale yellowish or orange color, and also has a distinct smell that you’ll recognize right away. Gasoline evaporates quickly and may feel cool on your finger if you dip it into the puddle. It’s also, of course, very flammable!

Motor oil is honey-colored or perhaps darker, depending on how long it’s been in the engine, and is slippery when rubbed between thumb and forefinger. Transmission fluid has the same slippery feeling as motor oil, but is dyed a magenta color and may have a somewhat sweet smell.

Power steering fluid is clear and often may feel more slippery than motor oil. Brake fluid is also very slippery and may have a more hazy yellowish color.

What To Do About A Leak

If you regularly see a puddle under your vehicle that’s bigger than an inch or two across, slide a sheet of cardboard under the engine and between the front wheels when you park it in the evening.

Leaks can be difficult to pin down on a vehicle that’s already grimy and oily underneath (especially since the path of the leak will be blown backwards while driving). One way to isolate the source of a leak is to safely lift and secure the vehicle, get underneath it and clean the bottom of the engine and transmission with brake cleaner or a similar solvent. Spray the entire area with foot powder, which should then clearly show where the leak is originating.

Leaks can be troubling, but older vehicles with high mileage tend to have gaskets and seals which dry up and shrink, causing at least minute leaks. Got any concerns? Make an appointment with us and let us track down that leak and fix it!

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Compressor
Condenser
Receiver/dryer
Thermostatic expansion valve
Evaporator
Refrigerant
Blower
The good news is most automotive A/C systems have become very robust and reliable compared to cars from a generation ago. Most of the time, poor performance is due to low refrigerant levels due to leaks in the system around the O-rings, gaskets, seals, and lines (which can all dry out and shrink). Low refrigerant can mean other problems though. Since refrigerant contains oil which lubricates the compressor, low levels of refrigerant can mean an overheated compressor sending tiny shards of metal through the rest of the system to wreak havoc.

These are sure signs of problems:

A/C that’s barely cooler than the air outside
A/C only blows cold while car is moving, not at idle
Metallic clicking under the hood, as the compressor’s magnetic clutch cycles the compressor on and off
Musty, “dirty socks” smell from air vents
Volume of air from vents is never enough
Obviously, all these components can potentially fail…but often they fail due to low refrigerant levels, and even a late model vehicle can lose five to ten percent of its refrigerant over a year’s time. Why take chances? Recharging the system with refrigerant is easy and inexpensive, and should be part of your A/C system’s (and your car’s) routine maintenance!

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Flats vs Blowouts

If you get a blowout, you’ll know about it right away. Sometimes the tire can fail dramatically, with a bang as loud as a shotgun going off. Other times, it might just be a loss of air and a sudden change in your car’s handling, followed by vibration, noise and a pull to one side. If it’s a front tire that fails, your car might be a real handful to drive until you can get to a stop.

In either case, your first job is to pull off the road as quickly (but safely!) as you can. Don’t jam on the brakes or make any sudden moves, just get over to the shoulder and the flattest, hardest surface you can find.

Turn on the emergency flashers and set the parking brake. Locate the jack and tire wrench, remove the wheel cover and break loose the lug nuts with the wrench. Find the proper spot for jacking the car and raise it no higher than necessary to remove the tire and install the spare. Put the spare on, tighten the lugs, lower the vehicle and tighten the lugs the rest of the way once the vehicle is on the ground. If your vehicle is equipped with a space-saver or temporary spare, keep your speed at 55 mph or lower and replace it with a standard tire as soon as possible.

Often it’s not possible to safely jack the vehicle up and change the tire yourself — in which case you should just take advantage of your AAA card and call for help. Also, you may as well kiss that failed tire goodbye — even if it survives the flat without shredding the sidewall, chances are that the heat and low inflation have destroyed it internally.

Preventing a Flat

Check your tires’ condition regularly and look out for foreign objects, dry rot on the sidewalls, bulges or cracks, tread separation or uneven wear.

Rotate your tires regularly — every 5,000 miles — to ensure even wear patterns.

Keep your front end aligned properly to prevent premature wear.

Probably the most important…check your tire inflation regularly! Under-inflated tires mean more rolling resistance, more heat buildup and more wear, which will lead to tire failure.

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