Thao Auto Repair Auto repair & auto body · San Diego
Service desk(619) 640-4606 Book a slot
Bring this in Oil change $45 · full synthetic $60

Bring this in

Oil change

Conventional$45up to 5 qt
Full synthetic$60up to 5 qt

Plus sales tax and any disposal fee, itemized on your invoice. Not an out-the-door price.

  • New filter, every time
  • Multi-point inspection on the lift
  • Tire pressures set, tread measured
  • Fluids topped to the correct spec
Expires 12.31.26 Thao’s Auto Repair
(619) 640-4606 Call

Expires December 31, 2026. One vehicle per visit. Most cars and light trucks.

Quarts beyond five, diesel engines, and European engines that require a specific manufacturer approval are priced separately — the extra cost may be substantial. We tell you before we start, never after. Some engines must have full synthetic; if yours is one we will say so rather than put the wrong oil in it.

You get a written estimate and you authorize it before any work is done. If the job changes, you get a revised figure to approve.

Home / Services / Heating & A/C

Heating & A/C

An air conditioning system that is low is low for a reason. Topping it up without finding the leak sells you the same repair twice.

RefrigerantR-134a and R-1234yf
Leak testIncluded
ChargedBy weight
Heating & A/C
RefrigerantR-134a and R-1234yf
Leak testIncluded
ChargedBy weight

We find the leak first

Dye, electronic detection and a pressure hold. Refrigerant does not get used up — if it is low, it went somewhere, and that place is the repair.

Charged by weight, not by feel

The system is evacuated and then charged with the exact weight of refrigerant on the underhood label. Overcharging cools worse than undercharging and can damage the compressor.

Heat too

No heat is usually coolant level, a thermostat stuck open, a blend door or a plugged heater core — and those are four very different bills. We identify which before quoting.

Tested and measured, not just topped up

Air conditioning that has lost its charge has lost it somewhere. Refilling without finding the leak sells you the same job again next summer, so the system is leak tested first, then evacuated and recharged to a measured weight rather than by feel.

Thao Auto Repair is on El Cajon Blvd in North Park, San Diego, and has been family run for over forty years — started by Le’s father and run by Le ever since. Most of the cars that come through are from the neighborhoods around the shop: North Park, University Heights, Normal Heights, South Park, Hillcrest and City Heights. All makes, domestic, Asian and European. Repair, auto body and a full machine shop are on the one site, which is why a job needing two of the three never leaves the building.

Book a slot

Tell us the symptom. We will tell you the next opening.

The chat narrows the symptom down with you so the call is short and the desk knows what to pull before you arrive. It will not diagnose your car in a chat window, and it does not book for you — the last step is a phone call, to a person.

Call (619) 640-4606

Where we are

3400 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104

Mon–Fri · 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM

Get directions

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Other services

Everything else we do.