I’d actually like to hear from you top 250 and 20 contributers on the entire subject of diagnostic codes. As we all know, often they are extremely general (my favorite: misfire in cylinder x) but even when they do point to a specific system the parts list is extensive.
I know the issue of diagnostic code information sharing is the subject of several lawsuits pitting anti-trust arguments against patent protection.
In your opinion, are car dealers better equipped in diagnosing these problems, or are there specialists out there that do a better job? The reason I ask is that, I agree with you that this can turn into one long part-changing fishing expedition. It seems to me that the dealers should have more experience at least, but also that they may get better information from the diagnostics than would AutoZone or a local mechanic.