Check engine light

There’s a reason we use the word “diagnose” when we talk about fixing cars in Chicago. If your check engine light is on plan on calling Triangle auto. Figuring out what’s wrong with your vehicle has a lot of similarities to figuring out what’s wrong with someone who is ill. Vehicles are a mass of complex systems that can produce a variety of symptoms when something goes wrong. Even a check engine light will not pinpoint a vehicles problem. As with human diagnoses, a specific symptom may be indicative of a number of problems, and figuring out the specific cause takes training and experience.

Check Engine Light

Check engine light

Sometimes the diagnosis of your vehicles trouble comes down to a matter of trial-and-error.  This can be frustrating for Chicago car owners because time and money are on the line.  You may feel you should only be paying for repair work.  Of course, you only want to pay for the right repair – and a proper diagnosis is part of getting it right.  Like at the Chicago doctor’s office — some of what you pay for is the doctor’s time and effort to figure out what’s wrong with you, not for the actual cure.  A check engine light will get us in the right direction, but input from the driver is a huge help.

The good news is that Chicago auto owners can do a lot to help out their honest Triangle Auto Service, service specialist in figuring out what’s wrong with their vehicle, with or without a check engine light.  Again, the medical office is a good analogy.  The more information you can give your doctor about where it hurts, when it hurts and how it hurts, the more quickly he will be able to help you.  In the same way, the more you can tell your Chicago service technician about when the problem occurs, what is sounds like, how often it occurs, where it occurs, etc., the more efficiently he will be able to get you back on the road.

Full Service Auto Repair

Good auto advice: learn how to talk to your Chicago service specialist.

If fluid is leaking from your vehicle, you should note the color of the fluid, where under the car the puddles form, and when they form (e.g. only when it’s parked for a while, only if the engine’s hot, when the weather turns cold, etc.).  Leaking fluid will not usually cause a check engine light to come on.  For example, if your vehicle is making an unusual sound, you should indicate where the sound is coming from, what kind of sound it is, and when you hear it (again, be very specific).  The more details you can give, the more helpful you will be.  “I hear the sound when I turn left” is more helpful than “I hear the sound when I turn.” After a few conversations with your Triangle Auto Service tech, you should get a feel for the kind of information he needs.

If you drop your car off, leave a detailed note describing information about your vehicles problem.  A quickly scrawled “Making a funny noise” or check engine light is on will only lead to frustration for both your technician and for you.  Good communication leads to better car care for Chicago motorists.

If your vehicle is occasionally stalling or sputtering, you may need a little more patience than with other types of car trouble because these types of problems are intermittent.  In order to fix the trouble, your service specialist often finds it helpful to reproduce the symptoms.  And if the problem is intermittent, it may take a while to do so.  Stalling or sputtering will usually cause a check engine light to come on.

In these cases, specific information can be invaluable, as it can significantly reduce the time it takes for your honest service professional to get your vehicle to misbehave.  For example, if you can tell your technician that the vehicle only acts up after it’s been driven for 20 minutes and over 50 mph, it will allow him to quickly reproduce your problem, greatly reducing the time it will take for a car diagnosis in Chicago and then get it corrected. Or if the check engine light came on then went off.

Good preventive maintenance goes a long way to keeping your car out of the Chicago repair shop, but if you need to get it fixed, good communication will get you back on the road quickly.  If your check engine light comes on, make Triangle auto your first call.  Please feel free to call us, Ask for Bryan or Paul. Triangle Auto Service 4060 N. Elston Chicago, Illinois 60618. 773-539-5858