One of the joys and challenges our team will face is in the arena of vehicle diagnostics. While diagnosing an automotive problem can sometimes be difficult, it is a necessary part of being a full-service automotive repair center; is also the reason why we hire the automotive industry’s best local talent when it comes to automotive troubleshooting. This article we thought we would take a moment to reflect on some of our favorite “adventures in diagnostics” that we have… (clearing throat) survived through over the years.
The Test Drive
Sometimes, in order for us to properly diagnose an automotive problem, we need to have the customer duplicate the problem on a test drive. I recall one test drive where a customer complained of a vibration coming from their car which warranted a test drive with the shop foreman. Apparently the vibration was felt when taking a tight right hand turn at 40 miles an hour; but we didn’t know that until the customer demonstrated the vibration. Feeling like he was in a NASCAR road race pulling 2 g’s in the corners; the shop foreman, holding on for his dear life, actually was able to narrow the problem down to a tie rod. As a result, we did learn to ask a few more questions before going on test drives with customers who think they are a racecar driver.
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Can you hear it now?
One particular automotive diagnostic adventure was with a certain female customer that had a 2003 Honda with an intermittent sound coming from the front of the vehicle. After three separate service visits where the shop foreman and technician test drove the vehicle, we were never able to duplicate the noise that she described. Then one day I get a phone call where she said that she was hearing the noise and wanted me to hear it over the phone: before I could tell her that “I can’t pinpoint a noise over the phone”… She had put her cell phone out the window at 55 mph. I heard a noise all-right, the noise of wind blowing past a cell phone at 55 mph! Needless to say the phone call did not help me narrow down the problem. Still a regular customer, we often joke about it; today it’s one of our favorite “adventures in diagnostics”.
The Mystery Blue Light
One perplexing diagnostic adventure was a customer that continued to bring in her car for a blue light that was flashing on her dash. When asked what shape the light was, she simply said it was a dot; not a picture (like a check engine light would be). This brought about an even larger question because there was no blue light set up on her dash as a warning indicator. Insistent that the problem was there, she would mention it at every service visit hoping that we would eventually be able to diagnose the mystery illumination. Late one Friday afternoon as we were fixing to close she pulled into the service drive wanting me to see the illusive light: yet when I look at the dash, I saw no light. With her sitting in the driver’s seat (my leaning into the driver’s window)… I finally discovered the source of the mystery blue light! She had a Bluetooth earpiece that in certain shadowed circumstances would reflect against her eyeglasses making it appear that there was a blue light on her dash! Now it is a classic for our “adventures in diagnostics” scrapbook.
Trust your Local Auto Repair Experts
Needless to say that our staff has been serving the automotive community long enough to have some “adventures and diagnostics”. These adventures: however, do illustrate our desire to work with the customer to find the problem, if it can be found. Our dealer trained, ASE Master certified technicians use their skills and training as well as the latest technology to track down diagnostic problems and get you back on the road safely. Whether your needing and simple oil change or a major engine rebuild we can handle it all big or small.