Work order line DX
That darn check engine light, read properly
That check engine light, read properly: ignition timing, sensors, crank and cam position, transmission and ABS faults. Vehicle programming available.
Chapter 01
What the light is trying to say
The check engine light is not there to annoy you. It is the car telling you that something it measures has drifted out of range, and on a modern vehicle there is a lot being measured. Ignition timing, engine RPM, air and coolant temperature, the position of the crankshaft and camshaft, the condition of the air control valves, sludge building up inside the engine: all of it feeds the computer, and the computer turns on the light when the numbers stop making sense.
The same computers watch more than the engine. Transmission behavior, chassis systems and the ABS brakes report to them too, so a light on the dash can point at a part of the car you would never have guessed. Ignoring that cry for help can cost real money later, because a small problem that goes unanswered tends to snowball into a bigger one.
The light does not tell you how urgent it is. A steady glow and a flashing one are very different conversations, and neither one is something a code reader from a parts counter can fully explain.
A handheld scan tool on a car's driver's seat, cabled to the diagnostic port under the dash
A computerized analysis, then a person who reads it
With today’s vehicles you need current diagnostic equipment, and we run a thorough computerized engine analysis when a car does not feel, sound or smell right. But the scan is the start of the job, not the answer. Our technicians interpret the results together and work through the cause, because a code names a symptom and the repair has to fix the thing behind it.
That approach is what customers describe. One driver brought in a truck that was shifting strangely. After a full inspection the shop found the transmission was fine and the real problem was the timing chain and cam phasers. Another wrote that the team worked hard on figuring out what the issue was and kept them informed through the diagnosis and the repair.
Erick Lutchman, an ASE certified technician with more than 17 years behind the wrenches, and Kris Palmer, with more than 15, are two of the people reading those results. Ryan Roth has been in the bays since 2008.
Chapter 03
Older cars, newer cars, and a plain-spoken estimate
Even a vehicle from before the onboard computer age can benefit. Computer diagnostics are still a useful tool for hard-to-find problems on older cars, so if yours has a quirk nobody has been able to pin down, let us hook it up and check it out. For modern cars, vehicle programming is available as well, so a module that needs to be set up does not become a second trip somewhere else.
Diagnosis comes before parts. We find the cause, explain the repair in simple terms, and tell you how long it will take once we know what the car needs. How long depends on what the scan and the inspection turn up, which is why we do not guess a time before we have looked.
The shop is at 5900 Oakwood Drive in Urbandale, open 7 AM to 9 PM on weekdays and 7 AM to 6 PM on Saturdays. Call (515) 270-2096, tell Nick Kindred what the light is doing, and the car can be on the schedule before you hang up.
“They worked hard on figuring out what the issue was,” wrote Lisa Grudecki in a 5 star Google review.
What the scan looks at
The ticket lists what computer diagnostics at this shop can detect. Bring in the car with the light on, or the one that just feels off, and this is where we begin.
- Where
- 5900 Oakwood Dr, Urbandale. NAPA AutoCare Center.
- When
- 7 AM to 9 PM Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 6 PM Saturday. Closed Sunday.
- Ask first
- Call (515) 270-2096. A free vacation car check comes with any service.
Other work from the same bays
- BrakesPads, shoes, rotors and fluid, plus ABS, traction control and electronic parking brake service, road tested before you leave.
- EnginesOverhauls done the long way: pulled, torn down, inspected, resealed with new rings, valves and bearings, then tested. Replacement when that makes more sense.
- TransmissionsService and overhauls on manual and automatic transmissions, all makes and models, in bays big enough for RVs and buses.