All About Diagnostics

The topic of diagnostic time is always an interesting one. By definition, a diagnostic test is an examination, procedure, or assessment used to determine the presence, severity, or cause of a symptom.

Put simply, diagnostics = testing

Diagnostics is not hooking up a scanner or code reader. Pulling a check engine code is a good starting point, but there are times that a check engine light (CEL) can lead an amateur mechanic astray - such as an O2 sensor code. How does the amateur mechanic start to troubleshoot a vehicle if it has produced no CELs?

To accurately and completely test the vehicle systems, the technician must fully understand how all systems communicate and interact with each other. How do you begin to diagnose a CANBUS issue if you don't know what it is? No scanner in the world is going to help you here. This is where knowledge and experience come into play, and that is not something any technician learns overnight. If your fleet mechanic doesn't possess a multimeter, smoke machine, or have access to dealership-level wiring diagrams, how much hope should you have that your problem will be fixed?

The two most common questions we get asked about diagnostics:

1. Why is there a separate diagnostic fee per issue?

   A simple question with a simple answer. When issues are not related, they are treated as separate issues. By spending time diagnosing an airbag issue, we did not get any closer to diagnosing the suspension clunk in the rear. Today's vehicles are complex, electronically-controlled, computers on wheels. Each issue requires it's own unique approach to solving or testing the symptoms.

   
   

2. If you do the repair, will you waive the diagnostic fee?

   Many shops will offer "free diagnosis with repairs." We do not approach business this way for one very good reason: No games.

   
   

   Automotive shops don't work for free. That's right, we need to eat too. Imagine if we gave away years of our experience, training, and knowledge on free diagnostics? When a shop mentions a "free" diagnostic with repairs, the cost of the diagnostic is getting pushed into the cost of the repair. That $500 repair may have just turned into $700. This is a game that Grease Gun Mobile doesn't play. We don't move money around making it look like you're getting a freebie.

   
   

What's the point of all this?

The point is to repair the issue(s) that you're vehicle is experiencing. A diagnostic is the first step to identifying the culprit to your vehicle issues. Don't guess - Test it.