As vehicles today inch closer to autonomy, new intelligent systems are being developed daily with the power to greatly improve the driving experience. Your car’s features are becoming increasingly advanced and it is more important than ever to keep your car’s systems running as intended.
WHY GET YOUR CAR SCANNED?
To take care of evolving safety features, you need the most up-to-date technology. Because of their training in all things ADAS, our Protech team can assist repair shop service technicians when it comes to staying ahead of the curve and on top of advanced vehicle systems. Ultimately, our diagnostic scanning and corresponding calibrations are the only way to ensure a vehicle’s most important safety features are working correctly. That’s because cars made after 1996 have computer systems with issues that cannot be detected in any other way. In newer vehicles, these issues often stem from ADAS sensor malfunctions that you won’t be aware of just by driving the vehicle.
Most vehicles have a reporting capability called an on-board diagnostics (OBD) or OBD-II port. This feature allows a repair technician to determine the status of various systems by way of Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) through plug-in scanners. In the past, OBD simply illuminated a dashboard light but gave no exact answer as to what was wrong with the vehicle. Today, it provides real-time data and allows technicians to rapidly identify and remedy the malfunction.
Since today’s cars are often described as “computers on wheels,” understanding issues goes beyond simply popping the hood—it requires testing both hardware and software.
Let’s look at some examples of the electronic systems scanning can diagnose.
- Airbag Deployments
- Advance Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS)
- Safety Systems (Drivability Systems)
- Wire Repair/Replacement
Each of these systems plays a large role in keeping you safe, and if they’re not working properly, can be the cause of a serious accident.
WHEN SHOULD I GET MY CAR SCANNED?
- Your car starts making strange sounds
- Your car begins to drive erratically (slowing down or speeding up at random)
- Any drivability problem (engine turning over, car dying)
- You are in an accident of any kind
It’s important to stay informed about the maintenance of your vehicle. When you understand why and when you should get your car scanned, you’ll stay safer. Giving you the information you need is just one of the ways our Protech team works to give lives the all clear.