Professional vehicle diagnostics save you time and money.
The automotive industry has changed drastically with diagnostics. You probably remember that old carbureted Mercedes or VW that just needed to be adjusted and ‘tuned up’. Nowadays modern vehicles demand computer savvy technicians to perform a proper diagnosis. Anyone can go down to Napa Auto Parts or O’Riley Auto Parts and purchase a code reader for $50, plug it in and read a code that says P0172 System Too Rich. But it takes a technician with trained skill from Steve’s Imports to understand how the system is being affected and what is causing it to run rich.
Why should a technician diagnose your vehicles?
A while back, a customer came in and said, “I want my coil replaced”. We asked the customer why and they proceeded to tell us that AutoZone had diagnosed their BMW by plugging a code reader into their vehicle and finding a fault for p0301 (Misfire Cylinder 1). The customer was told that it must be a coil because when the coil fails it throws this code. We proceeded to explain to the customer that p0300, p0301, p0302, p0303, and so forth can very well be caused by a coil, however, there are other components that can also fail and cause the same fault.
A code scanner will never replace the technical knowledge of an ASE certified technician.
The same is true for knock sensor fault or p0171, or a p0128 coolant temperature sensor fault. These are just a few of hundreds of faults that can be misleading if not properly diagnosed. The customer respectfully declined any diagnosis charges and decided to take his chance on the coil replacement. Long story short, the customer was very disappointed to find out that the misfire issue was still there, even though he had just paid several dollars to replace unneeded coils. He proceeded with having our trained technicians use our sophisticated scanners to accurately diagnose the problem, which ended up being an issue with camshaft correlation.
| We at Steve’s believe that there is a big difference between a technician and a parts replacer. That’s why we employ very knowledgeable and certified diagnostic technicians. |
|
|---|---|
| – ASE Certified Technicians | – Scanners for all German, Swedish, British Vehicles |
| – State of the art diagnostic equipment | – Various electrical, fluke meters, scopes, and leak testers |
| – Scanners for all Japanese vehicles | – Exhaust analyzer for Emissions/DEQ testing and repair |
You need more than an OBD diagnostic test.
It is very common to get what are called ‘Generic Fault Codes’ from a code reader. We strive to stay on the cutting edge of diagnostic equipment, allowing us to go deeper than just ‘generic fault codes’ and to actually pull live data with factory fault codes and descriptions for accurate diagnostics and repairs. Thus saving the customer the hassle and expense of guessing on a repair. Here are a few common codes we see, that are often mistakenly ‘diagnosed’ on forums.
- P0128 Coolant Temperature Sensor
- P0300 Random Multiple Cylinder Misfire
- P1123 and P1124 Long Term Fuel Trim Bank 1 System Too Rich/Lean
- P0016 and P0017 Cam and Crank Sensor
- P0455 and P0442 Evap Leak
- P0441 Incorrect Purge Flow
- P1115 Coolant Sensor Plausibility
- P2096 and P2270 Oxygen (02) sensor
- P1083 and P1084 Fuel Mixture Control
- P1145 Mass Air Flow Volume
- P1313 and P1317 Camshaft Plausibility
- No Communication Faults
- P1125 and P1126 Long Term Fuel Trim Bank 2 ” ”
- P1158 Manifold Absolute Pressure
Contact us today and get a fast accurate auto diagnostic test in Portland.
It is very important to find a shop that has knowledgeable technicians and that understand how to properly use modern diagnostic equipment. Our ASE certified technicians accurately interpret faults and test each component necessary to make an accurate recommendation on what to replace in order to remedy your vehicles issues. Tools are just that. It takes an expert to correctly interepret they provide. Come in today and get a diagnostic reading from the professionals.
Call Steve’s Imports at (503) 771-6701