What is a car diagnostic check?

A car diagnostic check is used to investigate the cause of warning lights or any hidden concerns within your vehicle. Similar to us going to the doctor if we feel something’s wrong, a car diagnostic check will give your car’s main components a thorough once over. We use state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment to highlight any potential issue or fault, long before it becomes a costly problem. As all vehicle owners appreciate, identifying issues early on really is the best thing to do.

As most modern cars are computerised, the inner workings of your vehicle can thoroughly checked with diagnostic tests to ensure your vehicle’s optimal performance for longer. Car diagnostic checks scan the components within your vehicle, as well as the integrated systems within it, for potential malfunctions long before they become a real issue.

Signs your vehicle needs a car diagnostic check

Signs your vehicle needs a car diagnostic check are:

  • Dashboard signs, such as ‘check engine’
  • Error codes and fault codes (OBD on board diagnostic codes) being visible
  • Warning lights illuminating, such as the service light illuminating
  • DPF warning and Emission control warnings

As always, this isn’t an exhaustive list and as a vehicle owner, it’s crucial you are aware of your driving ‘norms’ and recognise anything different as early as possible.

How is a diagnostic check carried out?

If you have a warning light showing on your dashboard, or if you feel that your car is behaving as it should then we'll need to investigate.

Our trained technicians and diagnostic testing will help to pin point the root cause of your concern, saving time and money and get you back on the road as soon as possible.

If your fault is intermittent, we can carry out live data logging tests whilst on the road to help capture any faults as they occur.

Will this fix my fault?

We never know what is causing a fault without a proper investigation. "Plugging the car in" to our equipment is not a magic bullet to find all faults.

The use of our equipment in experienced hands is the most cost effective way to resolve your concerns.

All too often we see people who have had a "diagnosis" and have started replacing expensive components as this is what the computer told them.

Often it can be a faulty sensor or faulty component, however the same warning light can be cause by a bad connection, faulty wiring or even mechanical damage.

​Benefits of a car diagnostic check

There are many benefits to taking your car in for a diagnostic check. The over-arching benefit is maintaining vehicle health and saving you expensive repairs in the future.

Other benefits include:

  • Early detection of issues, errors and problems going forward – prevention is better than cure!
  • Saving you from avoidable car accidents, saving your health and those you travel with
  • Peace of mind, knowing your vehicle is driving with the optimum safety and security
  • Thorough checks of the vehicle’s onboard computer system, which includes reviewing any stored information. This data then informs the technician on how to provide the most accurate, thorough repairs for your car.

Seacroft Mablethorpe can help

What ever your concern we can help diagnose your concern and guide you the the most cost effective solutions.


Book Today

Call our service team today on 01507 472333 .