10 Tips And Tricks To Get Your Car To 200,000 Miles On A Budget
By Paulo Acoba
8. OBD2 readers. What are they and how can they help you.
If your check engine light comes on, it would behoove you to clear that light by reading the codes pulled and taking the appropriate actions to correct that code properly.
You can thank the Environmental Protection agency for this popular diagnostic tool gaining popularity as a must-have for any weekend garage mechanic and a prerequisite if you want to get your car to 200,000 miles.
Back in 1966 the State of California required vehicles sold in their state to have emission controls systems on all 1966 model cars (OBD-1). The federal government mandated those controls to be added to all cars by 1968. The Clean Air act established the EPA as we know it and gave them power to establish a standard for emission controls as well as adopt a universal connector plug and set of diagnostic signals to monitor those controls. In collaboration with the Society for Automotive Engineers, OBD2 was born and has been used on every brand new car since 1996.
The same codes that service and smog technicians can pull, you also can pull legally. You just need an OBD2 reader to do so.
OBD2 readers are cheap and plentiful and while you can hop on over to your local auto store to buy one, you can easily buy one online as well. We’ve listed a couple of links below that you can trust.
- Autel MaxiScan MS300- $16
- Goliton Bluetooth OBD2 reader– $15 (can be paired to your smartphone.)
- BAFX OBD2 Reader– $24 (also can be paired to a smartphone.)
All an OBD2 reader will do is give you a set of symptoms. From there, it’s your job to determine what’s exactly wrong (if something is wrong.) For example, a common code that pops up is P0420 which indicates “catalyst efficiency below threshold bank 1.” That often means either a new O2 sensor after your catalytic converter or a new catalytic converter altogether will be needed. If you don’t know how to test the resistance of your o2 sensor you can start with the cheapest part first and work your way up to the most expensive. That means a new o2 sensor, and if that doesn’t work, a new catalytic converter.
Being able to read your own codes and diagnose them yourself will help you avoid the dealership and being stuck with a higher priced bill.
Next: Internet forums and Facebook groups are your friends.