Engine Diagnostics

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Engine diagnostics can be frustrating, that little light appears on your dash to let you know there is something wrong but what could it be? The simple answer is lots of things. From issues with brakes to a timing issue with your engine.

How will I find out? It is easy to find out what has caused the engine light to come up, but not always so simple to find out why. Plugging a diagnostic code reader in is one thing, understanding that information and finding the cause is another. That’s where our years of training and expertise come in. Reading and interoperating the information is key to a successful diagnosis and fast and cost-effective repair.

We spend lots of time and money on training and the latest technology to keep up to date with the ever-increasing technological advances in today’s modern cars to enable us to be able to provide our customers with the knowledge and expertise to help when it comes to diagnosing faults and finally getting rid of that annoying light on the dash.

Modern cars are very good at ensuring that a small problem is identified early enough to not cause a huge problem, with hundreds of sensors onboard cars are checking things thousands of times a minute and passing that information back to the ECU (the car’s on-board computer) if an anomaly is detected it will advise the driver by putting the engine management light on. Therefore, it’s vital that you get this checked as soon as possible. Often early detection is key to getting things resolved quicker and cheaper than leaving them to develop into something worse.

Diagnostic Heath Checks

At Car Friend we deal with all makes and models of vehicles. Some more modern cars have lots of sensors and will show an issue as soon as it happens whereas some makes, and models will only display an engine management light for certain issues. This is where a routine engine health check can be useful. We can plug the diagnostic machine into your car and give you a full report of codes that have been reported, codes that are pending and sometimes codes that have been deleted. Particularly useful if a car is new to you and you want to check if it has anything hiding in the background that could cause potential issues further down the line.

What is a car diagnostic check?

A car diagnostic is a reading of all the sensors on the vehicle. We plug the computer in and pull as much information that the car has stored, and this will produce a report to show any error codes. A diagnostic check is separate from any repairs that may be required.

What are car diagnostic codes?

Our advanced diagnostic tool can pull codes from your car’s onboard computer (ECU) and advise what the code relates to. It’s then up to our highly trained technicians to read the data and determine what and why the code has been presented.

When should I get a car diagnostic check?

Check your owner’s manual if you are unsure what a warning light may mean, most cars will advise there is an issue with a red or amber warning light. Red usually means there is a serious issue and will require attention immediately, amber warning lights can indicate a less serious issue but should be checked as soon as possible. Often these lights can put the car into Limp mode. This will restrict the engine capability to minimise any potential further damage

Car Friend in Cannock hold the Motor Ombudsman Accreditation and were “Highly Commended” in their Garage Star Awards in 2020. We are also a Servicesure Autocentre meaning we are regularly audited and inspected, giving customers peace of mind when choosing us for the first time. In addition, we provide flexible payment options to help you spread the cost of unexpected vehicle repairs.

To find out more about Engine Diagnostics in Norton Canes, Cannock, get in touch online or call us directly on 01543 27 60 60

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