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Rant: I chose a cheap scan tool over a real one for my buddy's truck
It gave me a code for a bad O2 sensor, but after I replaced it, the real problem was a $15 vacuum line behind the engine. Anyone else get burned by trusting a basic reader too much?
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jamesc7917d ago
Hold up, you're blaming the tool? That cheap scanner did its job, it gave you the exact code it found. The real problem is skipping the basic checks. If you get an O2 code, your first move should be looking for a vacuum leak or exhaust crack before buying parts, not after. Even @emeryo58's bad feeling comes from jumping to a fix. A code is a clue, not a shopping list, and that's on the mechanic, not the scanner.
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stella11117d ago
Ever think the real issue is how we read the codes, not the tool itself? A cheap scanner gives you the raw data, but it can't tell you what's most likely. That O2 sensor code could have been from the engine running lean because of the vacuum leak. I've learned to always check for simple stuff first, like listening for hisses or checking lines, before I even trust the code number. It turns a cheap tool from a guess into a starting point.
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