What is a diagnosis, anyway?

According to the Marrium-Webster dictionary, a diagnosis is an investigation or analysis of the cause or nature of a condition, situation, or problem. In other words, the act of figuring something out. Many people believe that a diagnosis is connecting a special computer to their car that can tell the technician all that is wrong. From leaking water pumps to the abs warning lamp, nothing escapes the all knowing diagnostic machine. Truth be told, there is no such machine. No matter what is portrayed on tv or advertisements, there is no instantaneous way for a technician to diagnose a vehicle problem without some testing. So what about when your “check engine” light comes on and the friendly guy at the parts store tells you that you’ll need new spark plugs because he connected a scanner to your car and read a p0300 code? Isn’t that a diagnosis? The short answer

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