Diagnostics · mobile service
Check engine light on in Chattanooga? Let's find out what your car is actually saying
Price
$59
every accessible module scanned, scanner's digital scan report emailed to you
Mobile service
I come to you
Serving Chattanooga and surrounding areas
The light came on Tuesday. It's been on since, and it's sitting in the back of your mind every time you start the car.
Here's the one thing that light tells you for certain: a computer in your vehicle saw something it didn't like, stored a code, and switched the light on. Everything beyond that — how serious it is, what it will cost, whether you can keep driving — is in the data.
What's actually stored in the vehicle
When a fault sets, the module that controls the engine (the PCM) writes more than a number. It records the trouble code, a freeze frame — a snapshot of the engine's readings at the exact moment the fault occurred — and a status for that code.
That status matters, and here's what each one is:
- Pending — the vehicle has seen the fault once but hasn't confirmed it. Often the earliest warning you'll get.
- Stored — the fault has been confirmed. This is what turns the light on.
- Permanent — a hard code that only clears when the vehicle's own tests pass after a drive cycle. You cannot make this one go away by clearing codes.
Which leads to the honest part: unplugging the battery doesn't fix anything. It can clear stored and pending codes, and it may reset the vehicle's readiness monitors — which is exactly the wrong thing to do if you're about to have the car inspected. And a cleared code is not a repaired car. If the cause is still there, the light comes back.
Why the free code pull at the parts store isn't a diagnosis
A free scan feels like a gift. Here's what you're actually getting:
- One module read — usually the engine. ABS, airbag, transmission and body codes stay hidden, and those are often the ones that matter.
- No live data. Nobody watching what your sensors are doing while the engine runs.
- No freeze frame, no history, no idea whether the fault is current or months old.
- A number with no context from your vehicle.
- Frequently, a counter recommendation that happens to match a part on the shelf. That's the business model — and it's why so many codes end with a pile of new parts and the same light still on.
What you get from me
If you want the codes explained in plain English — what the fault is, what it means for how your vehicle runs, and what your next step should be — that's the Code Interpretation & Next Steps add-on, $40, on the same visit.
You keep the digital scan report: the codes found and every module that reported them, generated by the scanner as-is. Something you can hold on to, act on, or hand to whoever does the repair.
What a diagnosis is — and isn't
I'm honest about this up front, because it's your money: diagnosis identifies electronic faults. It does not guarantee that a mechanical repair will resolve them, and it doesn't include the repair. What it does do is stop you guessing, and stop you buying parts on a hunch. This business is electronic diagnostics, coding and resets — not engine or transmission repair — and if the data points somewhere I don't work, I'll say so plainly.
Compatibility is verified first
Diagnostics work on virtually every vehicle with an OBD-II port, but the codes and the data available vary by year, make and model. I verify your vehicle and confirm the price before I come out — and if there's nothing I can usefully read on it, you'll hear that from me before you spend a dollar.
Where to go next
I verify compatibility and give you the price before we schedule — if I can't deliver, you don't pay.
The price is flat — one price, confirmed with you before I come out. No travel fee within 10 miles of Chattanooga. Beyond 10 miles, a travel fee applies at $2 per round-trip mile, quoted up front before booking. Anything over 30 miles is outside our service area. Compatibility varies by year, make and model and is verified before any appointment. This is an electronic diagnostics, coding and reset service — not mechanical repair. No dealership or manufacturer affiliation.