What is a Car Diagnostic Test & How to DIY?

 

You know your car well. You drive it daily and know how it should appear, sound, and smell. 

However, if something goes wrong, like your check engine light comes on or you hear an unusual sound from below the hood, you may not find your car ideally familiar. That's where a diagnostic test can be useful. Nothing better than a free car diagnostic test. 

 

 What is a Car Diagnostic Test? 

 

A car diagnostic test can ascertain whether your vehicle has issues with its engine, exhaust, transmission, ignition coils, oil tank, throttle, and more. 

Car diagnostic tests are usually done by mechanics in dealer shop or centers for car repair in California, while you can also do it by yourself at home. Though sounds difficult, a car diagnostic test could be done within a short period of time and at a low cost by yourself. 

 

How Frequently Do You Need a Car Diagnostic Test? 

 

It’s a common issue that when we only take our vehicles to the mechanics for diagnostics like, say free check engine light diagnostic, we will wait until there’s a major fault or breakdown, as it’s time-consuming and relatively costly.  

If you know about the simple diagnostic test on a car by yourself, you can do it regularly and avoid major problems from happening, as you can observe minor problems and fix them with easy repairs long before it’s become a major issue and cost hundreds or even thousands. It’s undeniably a more efficient and cost-effective approach instead of taking your vehicle to the mechanic till it’s broken down. 

 

How Do I Do a Car Diagnostic Test at Home? 

 

Although sounds challenging, car diagnostics is not difficult as you might think. Check every part of the car and precisely find out what might be faulty. Practically, a car diagnostic test consists of steps that could be done at home without the professional knowledge of an expert. All you need to do is read the (Onboard Diagnostic) OBD2 Codes and interpret them. 

A car diagnostic test always starts with reading the Diagnostic Trouble Codes, AKA Onboard Diagnostic Codes (OBD Codes). The Onboard Diagnostic system was introduced and made compulsory for all vehicles sold in the United States since 1996, setting up a trouble code manual of all self-diagnostic results. So, for all cars sold post-1996, you can apply a standard OBD2 scanner/reader to do the car diagnostic test.  

With the OBD2 Scanner, you can go through the diagnostic trouble codes/ check engine light codes from the vehicle computer, and have a list of codes that suggest where the problems may originate from. It doesn’t prompt you what the issue is precisely, but you can avail of information about what the issue could be, and how to diagnose and fix it.  

There are a lot of OBD2 scanner/car code readers in the market, and there’s a complete purchasing guide of the OBD2 scanners about the major types, how to choose and how to use them.