Poor, misunderstood trouble codes! Too many people labor under the misapprehension that diagnostic codes tell us what is wrong with their cars. Maybe the fact that lots of the big chain parts stores advertise that they'll read the codes for you for nothing is partly responsible. This inevitably leads to scenarios in which the store employee reads, say, an oxygen sensor-related code, then clears the code and sells the customer an oxygen sensor. Said customer scampers off and changes the oxygen sensor, only to have the same code come back. How could that be??
A trouble code is only a symptom. Each code has a diagnostic procedure associated with it. The correct way to repair a car with codes present is to perform the diagnostic procedure the car's manufacturer specifies for those codes. This prevents replacing good parts, and insures repairing the actual cause of the problem. Seems like it takes a little more time, but in the end maybe not! Not to mention the wasted money on replacing good parts with other good parts.
I go into more detail on this, and other, topics in my book, Carma - be kind to your car. Just ask, and I'll give you a copy.
Thanks for your time!
Dave
DOC Auto
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