When your car breaks down in the Puget Sound area, or just needs some routine service, it can make you a little nervous. Because your car's so important to your life, you need to be back on the road as soon as possible. And, with the problem fixed right the first time.
We've been checking into some of the training our technicians receive, and we're very impressed. It's amazing how much knowledge and skill goes into diagnosing and repairing a modern car. So it's not like when your uncle worked on his hot rod over weekend.
Today there are four cylinder engines that make more power than the V-8's in luxury cars 20 years ago. A new V-6 Toyota Camry could beat Sonny Crocket's Ferrari in a race to 60 mph.
Our engines are more and more powerful and at the same time their fuel economy keeps inching up. And they're so reliable. This is all due to engineering. But the advances come at the price of simplicity. Modern cars are so much more complex from a mechanical standpoint that it makes your head spin.
Then there's the electronics. Some cars in the local area have several networked computers controlling most of the engine functions and many other vehicle functions as well. We take all of this sophistication for granted - but somebody has to fix it when it breaks.
It's a real challenge for your local technicians to keep up. It requires a high level of commitment on the part of the auto technician and the service center as well. In addition to the training, there's the financial commitment to purchase the diagnostic and repair tools as well.
So where do technicians go for training? There're many sources. It's usually a combination of formal classroom training, training provided in the service center by parts and equipment manufacturers, on-line courses and home study courses. There are many independent certifications available all the way up to Master Technician.
And AutoNetTV produces monthly training for service centers called The Pro Channel. If you were to watch the Pro Channel segment on re-flashing the engine control computer, you'd be amazed at how much is involved: special software, hardware interfaces and a tremendous amount of knowledge and skill.
Service centers in have a lot of other resources available as well. No one can know everything, so service centers like subscribe to data services, technical libraries and even on-line communities that can help them with they run into a difficult problem.
It's like those medical diagnosis shows on TV. Here are the symptoms - what's the diagnosis and treatment. Diagnosis is every bit as much an art as a science. As consumers we want everything to be simple, straight forward and cheap - and sometimes it just isn't.
So, be more relaxed next time you take your car in. You really should trust your service advisor at . You're in good hands. The more you know, the more comfortable you can be with your automotive service decisions. Visit AutoNetTV.com to see more great auto tips videos about many service topics.