Some people in Willoughby Hills OH are confused by charges for diagnostic services for a vehicle repair, even though many other services in life include diagnostic fees – things like computer service and appliance repair in Willoughby Hills.

Even when we go into the doctor for a medical problem, we’re paying her to diagnose our ailment and of course for the tests that go along with it. So receiving a diagnostic charge for a tricky automotive problem shouldn’t be a surprise.

Automotive diagnostics can cover quite a range. If you hear a noise in your brakes, a quick visual check is usually enough to know what needs to be done. If you’re having an intermittent problem with your engine, diagnosis may be much more involved.

Some think that when the check engine light comes on, the engine computer tells the technician exactly what the problem is. The reality is much different. The trouble code just tells your Willoughby Hills technician what engine parameter is out of range, not what’s causing it. Your Willoughby Hills technician at Willoughby Hills Auto Repair needs to determine the underlying problem that’s causing the symptom.

As you can imagine, some automotive diagnoses are quick and easy. Others are more involved and difficult. Of course, we at Willoughby Hills Auto Repair want to figure out what’s wrong with your vehicle and get you back on the road as quickly as possible.

Give us a call:

Willoughby Hills Auto Repair
34801 Chardon Rd
Willoughby Hills, OH 44094
440.585.1691

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Check Engine Light

The following Check Engine Light video is presented by Willoughby Hills Auto Repair:

The following Check Engine Light animation is presented by Willoughby Hills Auto Repair:

When your check engine light comes on, you may be torn between utter panic and just wanting to ignore it and hope it goes away. That’s perfectly understandable. That same check engine light could come on for anything from a serious engine or transmission problem all the way down to a loose gas cap.

There’s a very common misconception that the trouble codes stored in your engine computer when your check engine light comes on will specifically identify a problem. It’s really more like pointing to the symptoms of a problem.

Call Willoughby Hills Auto Repair at 440.585.1691 for help with your check engine light.

Think of taking your temperature. Say it’s 101. Your heat sensor – the thermometer – tells you that your temperature is out of the normal range. But it doesn’t tell you why you have a fever. Is it the flu or a sinus infection? You need more information; more tests.

For any given trouble code, there could be a number of causes. So your trained technician takes the trouble code as a starting point and begins a diagnostic process to determine the cause of the problem. And some problems take longer to solve than others.

When your engine management system logs a problem and illuminates the check engine light, your Northeast Ohio service technician at Willoughby Hills Auto Repair will plug in a scanner, download the trouble codes and go to work tracing the cause of the problem.

That’s just the first step. That’s when your technician’s training, equipment, databases and skill get put to work diagnosing the problem and fixing it.

If your check engine light is flashing it means that the problem could lead to serious damage. You should get to Willoughby Hills Auto Repair as soon as possible to get the problem solved. If it’s on but not flashing, you have some time to get in at your convenience.