CHECK LIGHTS! TO OUR CUSTOMERS: THE STORY WITH CHECK ENGINE LIGHT DIAGNOSTICS ARE SIMPLE... OR NOT! SOMETIMES THEY ARE EFFORTLESS TO FIGURE OUT, BUT OFTEN TIMES BECOME A CHALLENGING TASK. A QUICK HISTORY - THE COMPUTERS IN MODERN CARS SELF-MONITOR THEMSELVES AND OUTPUT TROUBLE CODES WHEN THEY SEE AN INPUT OR OUTPUT SIGNAL OUTSIDE THE PARAMETERS THE ENGINEERS HAVE DESIGNED INTO THEM. ALL CAR MANUFACTURERS DESIGNS ARE SIMILAR YET DIFFERENT… SO WHAT SETS A CODE IN ONE MANUFACTURERS VEHICLE MAY SET DIFFERENTLY, OR NOT AS QUICKLY, IN ANOTHER MANUFACTURERS VEHICLE. AN EXAMPLE, A MISFIRE CODE IN A 2005 AUDI MAY SET WITHIN FIVE SECONDS OF AN EPISODE HAPPENING, WHEREAS A 2005 FORD MAY MISFIRE FOR SEVERAL DAYS BEFORE SETTING A TROUBLE CODE. THAT BEING SAID, CHECK LIGHTS CAN BE EASY OR DIFFICULT TO REPAIR. MANY MODERN CHECK LIGHTS CAN COME ON FOR OVER 100 DIFFERENT REASONS. REMEMBER, THERE IS NO WAY FOR US TO KNOW ANY OF THIS UNTIL WE LOOK INTO THE ISSUES WITH OUR DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT. AND SPEAKING OF DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT - - OUR SHOP OWNS APPROXIMATELY $40,000 WORTH OF SCAN EQUIPMENT THAT COSTS THOUSANDS PER YEAR TO UPDATE.... AND BECOMES OBSOLETE EVERY FEW YEARS. ONCE WE HAVE RETRIEVED TROUBLE CODES WITH OUR EQUIPMENT THEN WE ARE ABLE TO START LOOKING INTO THE ISSUES. SOME TESTING AND ANSWERS MAY ONLY TAKE SEVERAL MINUTES, WHILE OTHER PROBLEMS CAN TAKE HOURS OR DAYS TO SORT THROUGH ACCURATELY. WITH THE ECONOMY REMAINING STAGNANT, WE HAVE FOUND PEOPLE RUNNING THEIR CARS MUCH LONGER THAN BEFORE, OFTEN IGNORING THE CHECK LIGHTS AS WELL AS OTHER NEEDED MAINTENANCE. IT IS AT THIS POINT WE SEE THE VEHICLES WITH A MULTITUDE OF PROBLEMS, AGAIN MAKING DIAGNOSTICS A LENGTHY AND COMPLICATED PROCESS. (THIS EQUALS EXPENSIVE... REMEMBER, TIME IS MONEY IN BUSINESS.) SO... WE INVARIABLY TRY TO DIAGNOSE YOUR VEHICLE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE IN ORDER TO SAVE YOU MONEY, BUT THAT DOES NOT ALWAYS WORK OUT! OFTEN THE PROBLEMS LIE DEEPER THAN THE CODES SHOW AND REQUIRE ADDED PARTS AND REPAIRS TO GET IT CORRECT. THIS IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT ONCE CERTAIN CODES SET IN THE VEHICLES COMPUTERS, THEY QUIT MONITORING OTHER PARTS OF THE SYSTEM BECAUSE THEY KNOW THE DATE COULD BE SKEWED. THEREFORE, IF WE FIX SOMETHING AND THE LIGHT COMES BACK ON, IT MAY HAPPEN BECAUSE IT IS MONITORING EVERYTHING ONCE AGAIN AND DETECTS YET ANOTHER FAULT THAT MAY HAVE OCCURED WHILE THE COMPUTER WAS NO LONGER MONITORING THE WHOLE SYSTEM. SOUND COMPLICATED? IT IS. ALSO REMEMBER ALL VEHICLES ARE SIMILAR YET DIFFERENT, SO THERE ARE MANY, MANY SYSTEMS WITH WHICH TO BECOME FAMILIAR. WHEN OUR SERVICE MANAGER SCHEDULES YOUR APPOINTMENT FOR A CHECK LIGHT DIAGNOSIS OR REPAIR, IT IS ALWAYS BEST TO ARRANGE TO LEAVE THE VEHICLE WITH US. SOMETIMES WE MAY NEED SEVERAL DAYS TO COMPLETE THE DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR. IF IT DOES, WE WILL CERTAINLY NOTIFY YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO YOU MAY MAKE NECESSARY ARRANGEMENTS. ~~ ALSO, WE NEVER RELY ON ANOTHER SHOPS DIAGNOSIS FOR REPAIRS. WE UNDERSTAND THAT SOME PLACES, SUCH AS AUTOZONE, WILL READ YOUR TROUBLE CODES FOR FREE. REMEMBER, NOTHING IS FREE! THEY ARE SIMPLY RETRIEVING A CODE IN THE HOPE THAT YOU WILL PURCHASE A PART FROM THEM... THAT MAY OR MAY NOT FIX YOUR VEHICLE. THEY ARE IN BUSINESS TO SELL PARTS... NOT FIX CARS! THE REALITY OF THIS IS THAT CODE READING FOR THEM IS A BUSINESS TOOL TO HELP THEM, NOT YOU! AS I CLIMB OFF THE SOAP BOX, PLEASE KNOW THAT WE WILL DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO BE FAIR, HONEST, AND DIAGNOSE YOUR VEHICLE IN A TIMELY MANNER. LEAVING YOUR VEHICLE WITH US IS THE BEST WAY. IF EVER YOU MUST WAIT FOR THIS SERVICE, BE AWARE THAT THE FIRST TRIP MAY NOT PRODUCE THE DESIRED RESULTS THAT WE WERE HOPING TO ACHIEVE! HAPPY MOTORING! J & K PRECISION AUTO CARE, LLC
Posted on: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 21:07:08 +0000
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