In recent years, vehicles and the field of automotive maintenance have experienced rapid growth in computerized systems both within automotive vehicles and in computerized diagnostic tools that identify maintenance issues with the vehicles. For example, most modern vehicles include one or more computer systems that are often referred to as an electronic control unit (ECU). In some vehicles, the ECU controls and monitors the operations of numerous systems including, but not limited to, the engine, steering, tires, transmission, brakes, fuel delivery or battery level monitoring, and climate control systems. Some vehicles also include numerous sensors that monitor various aspects of the operation of the vehicle. The ECU receives the sensor data and is configured to generate diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) if the sensors indicate that one or more systems in the vehicle may be failing or operating outside of predetermined parameters.
Many vehicles use a controller area network (CAN) vehicle bus to transmit data between the ECU and the onboard sensors, components, and systems in the vehicle. The CAN bus, or other equivalent data networks in a vehicle, provides a common communication framework between the ECU and the various sensors and systems in the vehicle. Additionally, the CAN bus or equivalent network enables communication between the ECU and external diagnostic tools through a port that is typically accessible from within a cabin of the vehicle near the driver's seat. The ECU and the diagnostic tools interfaced therewith often use an industry standard protocol, such as a version of the on-board diagnostics (OBD) protocol, such as the OBD-II protocol.
In response to determining that the ECU of a vehicle has generated one or more DTCs, a technician may refer to instructions for resolving the issue that has caused the ECU to generate the DTC. Some technicians, particularly technicians that are new to the industry, may be unfamiliar with the procedures described in the instructions and, therefore, may be unable to resolve the issue on their own. In other situations, instructions for resolving the issue that caused the ECU to generate the DTC may be locally unavailable, again leaving the technician unable to resolve the issue. Accordingly, further developments in the area of vehicle diagnostics and repair are desirable.