How we make our guides
Repair advice is only worth anything if you can trust where it came from. Here is how these guides get written, what we check, and the things we will not print.
Who publishes this
Innova Repair Guides is published by Innova Electronics, the company behind the Innova and CarMD OBD-II scan tools. Innova has been building diagnostic tools for more than 30 years and has sold over 7 million scanners.
Where the information comes from
Every guide starts from AskFixy, Innova's AI repair assistant, asked about the exact trouble code and vehicle the guide covers. The technical content (what the code means, the likely causes, the checks and steps, the parts and the costs) comes from AskFixy's answer, which we keep on file.
Because repairs are often vehicle-specific, each guide says which year, make and model it is written for instead of pretending one procedure fits every car.
How a guide is built
- It starts from AskFixy. We ask AskFixy about one trouble code on one year, make and model, and keep its answer on file.
- It's written up plainly. AI writing tools turn that answer into short, plain steps. They can reword it, but not add to it: before anyone reviews the guide, every sentence is checked against AskFixy's answer.
- A person at Innova approves it. Nothing goes live until someone at Innova has reviewed the guide and approved it, confirming any part numbers and prices for that vehicle.
- Diagrams show where the parts are. Where we have a diagram of the system involved, it highlights the part and notes that exact positions vary by model.
What we will not publish
- No invented numbers. Any “X% of readers found this helpful” or star average on our pages is counted from real reader votes, and we hide it until enough people have voted for it to mean anything. We never publish a rating we made up.
- No fake reviews, testimonials or reviewer names. If a named expert reviewed a guide, that page says so. If it does not say so, nobody has — we do not decorate pages with credentials they have not earned.
- No fake freshness. An “Updated” date changes when the content actually changes.
- No dressing up a stub as a guide. A page goes live only once it has a full, reviewed guide behind it; until then it says the guide is coming soon. Only published guides are listed in our sitemap and llms.txt.
Our commercial interest, stated plainly
Innova makes money selling scan tools, and these guides recommend using one — usually ours. That is a real commercial interest and you should weigh it. What we do not do: take payment from other brands to appear in a guide, or shape a diagnosis to sell a part. No guide on this site is sponsored.
Corrections
If something here is wrong, tell us and we will fix the page and change its updated date. Email support@innova.com or use our contact page. If we have not covered your problem at all, ask us to write the guide — we count every request.
Working on your car safely
These guides are general repair information, not a substitute for your vehicle's service manual. Procedures, torque specs and fastener sizes vary by model and year. Support a vehicle on stands before going underneath it, keep sparks away from fuel vapour, and stop and ask a professional if a step is beyond the tools or space you have.