Decoding the Common Engine Codes

When we visit the dealership or the repair shop, we get to hear some codes the mechanics and experts use among themselves about your car, and you don’t know what they actually mean. To let you out of this situation we are making an attempt to decode some these codes, so that in near future, things appear with more clarity, when mechanics would be discussing about the issues that are wrecking its performance.

The Background of These Codes

We came to know from the GMC dealer Lemon Grove, that during the decade of the mid-’90s, the automotive industry was going through a massive revolution in which one of the steps taken by the leaders of the industry was forming the Society of Automotive Engineers who decided to come up with some standards for vehicles and will create some codes to ease out the process of communication between the people who are working at its mechanical units. Some of the codes that were built at that time came out to be vehicle specific, while others were made universal for all the countries, especially for the United States of America, Europe and Asia.

Why These Codes

The codes are generated to establish a stronger communication regarding the mechanisms, their manufacturing, repair and replacements as well as diagnosing the problems when a consumer brings his car in the shop.

This is basically a way to save the time that was usually required to explain things between the mechanics in and out of a place. These codes being used across the globe made it much easier for all the mechanics to interpret and communicate the issue to the team members. With each code used to denote an area to be addressed, all the mechanics will automatically know what has to be done.

This saves the time of guesswork and explanation, leaving little scope for any miscommunication.

Few Common Codes Explained

Here are few codes that are most commonly used under the shades of automotive industry and these are the codes that makes the process of diagnosis and repair easier. Once you too know a few of them will help you further to understand your car better.

  • The Alphabet P stands for powertrain that includes engine, transmission and emissions
  • The alphabet B is indicative of the body of a vehicle that includes climate control, airbags,lighting,and so on.
  • The letter C talks about the chassis that will include all the troubles related to steering, antilock brakes, vehicle stability control andelectronic suspension.
  • The alphabet U denotes anything related to the network communications that will also cover any issue in relation to the controller area network wiring and its modules, and this code is generated and used for the vehicles after the 2006 released vehicles.

As shared by the experts of the GMC Lemon Grove dealership, there are also some common engine codes that are indicative of poor drivability, poor fuel economy,rough running, or increased emissions. These common codes that are applicable for many vehicles, are in the need of making the right call about the diagnosis as well as troubleshooting an issue while designating a team of experts for the said parts.