Car Diagnostic Testing: A pro-active approach to maintaining your car

If a warning light appears on your dashboard, an engine diagnostics check can help identify the problem and troubleshoot potential issues before more serious damage occurs.

However, you don’t have to wait for a warning light to appear to get your car checked over. A diagnostic test can be done at any time as part of a pro-active approach to maintaining your vehicle.

How does car diagnostic testing work?

Most modern cars have an on-board computer called an Engine Control Unit (ECU). This unit monitors the performance of your vehicle.

It does this with sensors, which report into the ECU. These sensors will pick up on problems such as any rises in engine temperature or any reductions in fluid levels. If an issue is identified, the ECU generates an error code, and the appropriate warning light will appear on your dashboard.

As you can imagine, there are lots of different error codes. These can be read with specialist diagnostic equipment, and further diagnostics checks can then be undertaken to identify the cause and extent of the issue.

Take early preventative measures

Car diagnostic testing can highlight issues before a warning light appears, saving you money by tackling the problem before it gets worse.

If you feel that something doesn’t seem right when you’re driving your car, it’s worth getting a diagnostic test done. Technicians can run a series of tests on specialist diagnostic equipment. They’ll be able to decipher the fault codes and advise if any repairs or maintenance is necessary.

Early identification of a problem can help you to avoid costly component failures.

Get a diagnostic check when you’re buying a used car

If you’re buying a used car, you can ask to have a diagnostic check run on it before purchasing. This is a useful way of determining if a vehicle is likely to develop faults.

Buying a car is a significant purchase. Running diagnostic tests can give you the reassurance that your investment is a sound one.

Foster & Heanes offers a fast and effective car diagnostics service for all makes and models of car

At Foster & Heanes, we’ve invested extensively in car diagnostics as their daily use in our service centres is critical to being able to perform successful repairs at cost-effective prices.

We use the latest auto-diagnostic testing software in our service centres to enable us to quickly identify and assess problems that may negatively affect the normal operation of a vehicle.

We also offer cursory physical checks. But if the problem isn’t obvious, then auto-diagnostic software tests can be performed to identify the cause of the issue. The software is extremely accurate in pinpointing faults as well as providing solutions.

If you’re experiencing problems with your car, pop-in and we’ll run a computerised diagnostic check that will flag up any issues. We can provide an estimate for work the same day if it’s required. For further information on the services provided by Foster & Heanes, please visit www.fosterandheanesltd.co.uk