When your car speaks in a foreign language…

For those of us who aren’t trained mechanics, it can be confusing and difficult to understand the inner workings of a vehicle. Gone are the days of lifting the hood and doing a bit of tinkering when things go wrong. In fact, most people don’t realise they have a problem until the car begins to run badly or the dreaded engine warning light turns on. The modern car is a complex engineering system that requires the skills of a qualified professional to diagnose and restore.

The modern car features an engine control unit (ECU). This closed-loop control system performs millions of calculations each second and is responsible for everything from deciding on the best spark plug timing to determining how long the fuel injector is open. It gathers data from dozens of sensors, manages emissions and fuel economy, and even knows coolant temperature and the amount of oxygen in the exhaust. When something goes awry with this intricate control system, your car may experience some of the following:

• difficulty starting
• loss of performance
• poor fuel efficiency
• engine misfires or overheating
• illumination of the ‘check engine’ light.

While these are the visible signs that something is amiss, your car’s ECU has probably been trying to communicate these warning signals for some time in what is known as engine code – the language of your vehicle diagnostics system. Don’t speak engine code? Don’t worry; when it comes to vehicle diagnostics, the team at Steve Sorensen Mechanical has you covered.

Steve Sorensen Mechanical offers full electronic vehicle diagnostics among its comprehensive suite of vehicle maintenance services. Their technicians use the latest diagnostic equipment and scan tools to provide real-time diagnostics and troubleshooting data. This specialised equipment listens directly to you car in its own language which is then translated by the expert technicians who will talk back to the on-board computer and adjust the programming. This allows the team to narrow down potential causes for problems and offer the best and most cost-effective solutions to ensure you get back on the road sooner.

To stay ahead of the game when it comes to the latest in vehicle maintenance services, the team at Steve Sorensen Mechanical frequently attends specialised training programs. This means you’ll always receive the most cutting edge service available to your vehicle, no matter the make or model.

If your car is acting strangely, running rough, making unusual sounds or just not driving the way it felt before, leave vehicle diagnostics to the experts. Chat to the team at Steve Sorensen Mechanical today.