alt Hacker Newsthe check engine light tells you there's an OBD code available to be read. you can buy a reader for $20 on amazon, or your local hardware store, or i've even seen them at gas stations. you don't need "specialist proprietary equipment" that "gatekeepers charge a fat premium" for. this isn't magic.
most people take it to a mechanic instead, because that's what they'd rather do.
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MrGilbert • yesterday at 4:11 PM
Even if I get the DTC codes out of the OBD - and then? Without the manufacturers service manual, I'm lost at interpreting the codes. For older cars, these manuals are somehow "obtainable" through "sources", but do not expect the manufacturer to help you out if, in fact, you are interested in fixing your own car.
So yes - it’s the industry that got us screwed.
Not entirely correct. OBD only mandates emissions information to be made available in a standardized way.
There are plenty of proprietary codes that might set a malfunction light and not show up on an OBD reader, or not be interpreted by it.
(there are tools that reverse-engineer the proprietary protocols that can show those codes, but they aren't $20 - more like $200 and up)
I really don't see why you're defending hiding information. Even for someone who doesn't want to mess around and would just take it to a dealer, making the information available without the need for a code reader will not hurt in any way.