In the spirit of April Fools’ Day, three of our Tech Tips are true … and two are pranks. But which two? Find out by clicking each one to unlock the true Tech Tips, or the pranks. Ultimately, we know there’s no foolin’ around when it comes to OEM-direct, tech-verified automotive mechanical repairs.

Stellantis Ventures, the automaker’s corporate venture fund, has invested in SteerLight — the developer of a new generation lidar sensing technology. Employing silicon photonics technology, which combines a universal semiconductor material with the speed of photos, SteerLight’s lidar senses the surrounding environment in 3D with higher resolution and precision, and at a lower volume production cost, than other lidar systems, according to a news release from the companies.

The Car Care Council encourages the automotive repair industry to support National Car Care Month this April. Here’s how to get involved.

Three new laws went into effect Jan. 1 to address the theft of catalytic converters in California. One makes it illegal to remove a VIN from a catalytic converter, among other provisions. Another requires dealerships to have the catalytic converter engraved with the VIN before a new or used vehicle is sold. The third redefines what constitutes an automobile dismantler and creates criminal penalties for anyone acting illegally as an automobile dismantler.

New research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found drivers who use advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) grow more comfortable with the technology over time---sometimes too comfortable. After weeks of using ADAS, attention to driving tended to drop. However, these drivers also used ADAS more when highway demands were lower.

2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 with a parasitic draw

Mario Rojas, ( aka Super Mario Diagnostics) has been repairing cars since 2013, and, for the last five years, has been sharing his repairs on YouTube. Fitting to his username, he primarily focuses on diagnostics and troubleshooting – and he’s garnered quite a following doing so. He currently has over 47 thousand subscribers on YouTube and over five million total video views.

Staffed by a team of ASE-Certified Master Technicians, ALLDATA Tech-Assist is a diagnostic hotline that saves shops time by providing advanced diagnostic troubleshooting and step-by-step repair assistance.

Have you heard of ALLDATA Tech Assist®? It’s our diagnostic hotline staffed by our team of Master Techs, who can help with anything from advanced diagnostic troubleshooting to step-by-step repair assistance. Plus, we offer live video-streaming so they can show you the solution while you talk to them.

If there is one thing that freaks out drivers, it’s when one or more of their brakes seize up or fail. Understandably, they get really upset when the car won’t stop, swerves abruptly, or stops unexpectedly. 

Independent contractors, marijuana users, and those with criminal records are a few of the human resource issues collision repair shops need to pay attention to in 2024, according to Cory King, Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete partner.

King spoke during a meeting of the Collision Industry Conference in Palm Springs, California on Wednesday.

How many of your customers declined service on their brakes, tires, fluid exchange, or other recommended repairs/maintenance in the past couple of months? And how many said, “I can’t afford that right now, I will save and come back.”?

The U.S. Auto Tech National Championship shines the spotlight on the best of the country’s automotive repair professionals. ALLDATA and AutoZone are proud sponsors of this event. Congratulations to First Place winners David Borer (professional) and Yanick Tanguay (student).

Have an engine misfire or lack of power? Confused by Variable Valve Timing (VVT) codes? The car may also have cam sensor, crank/cam correlation codes and fuel trim problems.

So you’ve taken the plunge and decided to buy a Digital Storage Oscilloscope (DSO). Congratulations! This is a great diagnostics asset to have in your belt. But now you may be wondering what exactly you can do with your new tool. Here are five tips so you can take full advantage of your DSO.

Auto Beauty Center in Independence, MO, started out offering quick services like alloy wheel restorations and paintless dent repair. It later bought a mobile business offering detailing and minor collision repair, and brought those services into its retail location, along with mechanical repair.

Using Freeze Frame data as a diagnostic tool - Diagnostic Digest Volume 5

In the west Texas town of Midland, football is the town’s number one activity. Ranking a close second is oil exploration. The refineries turn the crude into cheap gasoline and Diesel fuel that moves the Midland population. This is not Austin: a Google Maps view of the Tesla Supercharger on Antelope Trail shows one lone Model Y taking on electrons next door to the Love’s Travel Stop.

Every manufacturer has a different way of categorizing and displaying their repair information, and ALLDATA standardizes this information without altering the sources. Using powerful indexing and search algorithms, ALLDATA translates the manufacturers’ glossaries into a format that is familiar to most technicians. Here are some tips on how to find the repair information you are looking for – even if it isn’t where you think it should be.

TechForce Foundation’s new technical education campaign, “Grab the Wheel,” launches this Labor Day to usher 1 million new entry-level automotive, collision, and diesel repair technicians into the industries over the next five years to meet the looming workforce demand.

Diagnostic Digest Volume 4

As the lead instructor of a community college automotive technology program, Ben Breedlove often found himself with the unenviable task of fixing students’ mistakes. Ten years ago, he was the shop foreman of a Toyota dealership service department. At least once a week, he had to rescue a dealership technician from the aftereffects of a misdiagnosis or a botched repair procedure.

A recent New York Times article focused on the ever-increasing costs of vehicle collision repair has caught the attention of the industry.

Shared several times by our readers, the article reported by The Times says that the average cost of repairs has soared 36% since 2018 and could top $5,000 by the end of this year, according to Mitchell International. And increased repair costs mean increased insurance premiums too, which according to the article, increased 17% between May 2022 and May 2023.

How many parts get replaced that didn’t fix the customer’s complaint because a technician made guesses instead of an accurate diagnosis? Often those inaccurate diagnoses are a result of not being able to see a complete picture of the reason for the problem.

ALLDATA has joined forces with parent company AutoZone, national account partner Monro, and other industry leaders to sponsor the U.S. Auto Tech National Championship.

Diagnostic Digest Volume 3

Native Californian Noah Waite built up a solid automotive service business over the last 15 years in the California coastal community of Huntington Beach. Unofficially known as “Surf City USA”, Huntington Beach is famous for its waves. Although the Beach Boys were from Hawthorne, they certainly sung about the main attraction of the town.

Slow connection to the internet, weak Wi-Fi signal, and dead spots in Wi-Fi coverage are all common problems in many shops. With sources of electromagnetic interference and lots of metal surfaces, a shop can be a Wi-Fi nightmare. Since so much of what we do in automotive repair requires reliable internet access, here are some ways to improve existing Wi-Fi coverage or add new service.

A recent New York Times article focused on the ever-increasing costs of vehicle collision repair has caught the attention of the industry.

Shared several times by our readers, the article reported by The Times says that the average cost of repairs has soared 36% since 2018 and could top $5,000 by the end of this year, according to Mitchell International. And increased repair costs mean increased insurance premiums too, which according to the article, increased 17% between May 2022 and May 2023.

Diagnostic Digest Volume 2

Father’s Day was a few days away at the Kempt Garage. Kyle contemplated the new tie his kids would almost certainly give him; ties were something he only wore at weddings and funerals. As the busy owner of a garage that bore his last name, he was thankful that neither of those events was occurring this week. The temperatures were ramping up and the number of heat-related diagnostic cases increased commensurately. A local mom and high school teacher, Heidi Hagan, had dropped off her 2016 Chevy Truck Equinox SUV earlier that day with a complaint of “air conditioning not working.”

In this MotorAge article, Chris Farley describes how “blindly approaching a fault is like jumping into an empty pool … you may quickly get to the bottom of it but it’s probably going to hurt.” For a rear-ended 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee with multiple indicators illuminated and numerous DTCs, he uses ALLDATA to identify connector locations that revealed the cause of the issue.

How to test a 2002 Thunderbird
instrument cluster that’s not backlit

Mario Rojas, known as Super Mario Diagnostics on YouTube, has been repairing cars since 2013. Fitting to his username, he primarily focuses on diagnostics and troubleshooting – and he’s garnered quite a following doing so. He currently has over 39 thousand subscribers on YouTube and nearly 4 million total video views.

June is ASE Automotive Service Professionals Month

The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) has designated June 2023 as Automotive Service Professionals Month.

ASE encourages industry members to use Automotive Service Professionals Month as a way to thank service professionals and conduct recognition events, special programs, and other celebrations.

Kyle was hoping for a quiet Friday afternoon at the Kempt garage. He was still recovering from a bad sunburn and the aftereffects of overeating incurred during the recent Memorial Day weekend. Any hope of a quick and peaceful end to the workweek ended when a local farmer, Ben Gleaner, drove up in a 2011 Ford Super Duty truck with a 6.7L Turbo Diesel. 

Always check OEM info for one‑time‑use parts

One-time-use parts (aka non-reusable parts/single-use parts) are parts that manufacturers have designed to be used only once. Therefore, when a one-time-use part is removed, it should be replaced versus being reinstalled.

As technology continues to evolve, Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) have become increasingly common in vehicles, providing drivers with enhanced safety features and driving assistance that have made roads safer for us all.

ADAS: What you don't know CAN hurt you!

In this video from ALLDATA, MotorAge’s Pete Meier talks about the growth of ADAS over the years, how performing other repairs can affect these sensitive systems, and why using OEM information helps protect your shop from potential liability issues.

In March, Hyundai released collision repair information for 20 Hyundai and Genesis models, including 2019-2023 models. ALLDATA Collision now includes these new structural repair procedures, material guidelines, and more for all 20 vehicles to enable shops to repair them safely and accurately.

In the spirit of April Fools’ Day, three of our Tech Tips are true … and two are pranks. But which two? Find out by clicking each one to unlock the true Tech Tips, or the pranks. Ultimately, we know there’s no foolin’ around when it comes to OEM-accurate, tech-verified automotive mechanical repairs.

What happens to a hybrid or electric vehicle’s high-voltage (HV) battery or battery pack at the end of its life? Do they get recycled or tossed into a landfill? The good news is, HV batteries can be recycled, but you must do so using explicit steps and safety procedures.

How ALLDATA Inspections streamlines your workflow

When your customers come in for repairs, is your shop still handwriting vehicle check-ins and inspections? If so, you’re not alone. It is estimated that about 25% of shops or more still do. But that’s changing!

Northside Collision Paint & Body Inc. in San Antonio, TX, was established in 2001, when Mark Gutierrez - a longtime Allstate agent with no collision repair experience - purchased a small body shop, determined to set a higher standard for collision repair in the area.

New add-on product for ALLDATA Repair provides OEM labour times for accurate estimates

COLOGNE, Germany – Feb. 1, 2023 – ALLDATA Europe GmbH, an affiliate of ALLDATA LLC, an AutoZone company, has announced ALLDATA Labour Times, a new add-on product for ALLDATA Repair^® that provides quick access to OEM labour times.

Interview with President Satwinder Mangat, Part 2

In January, we published Part 1 of our interview with ALLDATA President Satwinder Mangat, which featured a look back at 2022 highlights as well as the trends and technologies affecting the repair industry in 2023.