That's where OBD-II scanners come in, giving enthusiasts and everyday drivers a window into their vehicle's diagnostic systems. If you're chasing down the cause of a check-engine light, ensuring peak ...

The world of car diagnostics has changed a lot over the last 50 years. Back in the '70s and earlier, a mechanic's most valuable diagnostic tools were usually their eyes and ears. You could figure out ...

The second iteration of on-board diagnostics, OBD II, has been required tech on all new cars sold in the U.S. since 1996. That means that anyone who uses or works on cars less than three decades old ...

Antuan started out in the automotive industry the old-fashioned way, by turning wrenches in a driveway and picking up speeding tickets. He now has nearly 20 years of expertise and experience behind ...

Automotive diagnostics have come a long way since the “idiot lights” of the 1980s. The current version of the on-board diagnostics (OBD) protocol provides real time data as well as fault diagnostics, ...

OBD-II diagnostic device BlueDriver interprets engine error codes to suggest what might need fixing, and lets you know if your car is ready for a smog check. Wayne ...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. If you own a car built in 1996 or later for the U.S. market, the odds are overwhelming that it has an OBD port. You may have even noticed its ...

It is obvious—painfully so, to some—that vehicles have become considerably more dependent on electronics. We are all aware that performance gains on our new cars often aren't as easily obtainable as ...

OBD II requires that a vehicle's computer system indicate when components have failed, resulting in the emission of pollutants at 1.5 times the accepted level. Another requirement of OBD II is that ...