Of the products featured in the pages of PTEN, diagnostic scan tools rank among the top products we receive requests on for more information. And, diagnostic tools have traditionally been the product category that sees the most development and change year-over-year as tools in this category become more comprehensive, provide more vehicle coverage, get faster and, seemingly, become more intuitive to use.
But just like consumers in the 1980s fretting over the “user friendly” nature of personal computers as they became more mainstream, or the trepidation of texting on your smartphone even today, there can be a lag behind the introduction and actual adoption of new technologies.
Believe it or not, there are some shops out there who don’t complete a lot of – if any–diagnostic work. I talked with a shop owner recently outside of State College, Pa. He confirmed they don’t regularly use a scan tool in the shop, instead outsourcing this work and focusing on mechanical repairs. While this approach is increasingly becoming the exception versus the rule, he’s certainly not the only one.
When something is seemingly complicated, it can be intimidating. The first step to understanding your scan tool is to acknowledge the complexity of this tool – or more like, the vast array of possibilities this tool can provide.
According to the 2016 PTEN Purchasing Study, 89 percent of shops and technicians own a scan tool. Rather than owning a really expensive code reader, techs need to understand the full functionality of that tool, and how it can provide freeze frame data, bidirectional controls and information on numerous control modules of the vehicle for the right repair and diagnosis. Get training from tool manufacturers. Don’t be afraid to ask other techs/colleagues about their familiarity with a tool. That scan tool should be used for every vehicle that enters the shop.
I don’t want to downplay the necessity of having a mechanical background – and I’ve heard from a number of shops that young techs fresh out of school sometimes lack the skills to test general mechanics of the vehicle – but the advancements on today’s vehicles require a scan tool sometimes just to replace a vehicle’s battery or when replacing any of the vast array of sensors on a vehicle.
Diagnostic tools will continue to become more prevalent in aftermarket shops for diagnosis and repair, especially with the next phase of the Right to Repair mandate taking effect.
Beginning with 2018 vehicle makes, OEs must make accessible vehicle diagnostic and repair information to consumers and the automotive aftermarket. While a standardized format among all vehicle manufacturers remains to be seen, this mandate should, in theory, make it easier to diagnose a vehicle issue by having all the necessary information.
You’re not likely to see these vehicles in your shop anytime soon (unless you complete collision repair too), but this means they’ll be on the road by the end of this year.
Not to mention, some OEs have agreed to provide retroactive information for model years as early as 2007.
With this information at your fingertips, it’s more important than ever to understand how to get the most out of your aftermarket scan tool. From a competitive standpoint, you’ll be able to offer more thorough service and repairs to customers. The question is, will you?
