About MotorLogic

MotorLogic is a reference for ordinary car owners in the United States. The premise is simple: when something goes wrong with your car, you are usually trying to answer three questions before you talk to anyone. What is it. Is it safe to drive. Roughly what will it cost. Most of the internet answers the first question at length, the second vaguely and the third not at all.

So the site is organised the way a diagnosis actually works rather than the way a blog archive works. A symptom leads to its likely causes, each cause leads to the diagnostic step that confirms or rules it out, and each confirmed cause leads to the repair and what it costs. Warning lights connect to the diagnostic codes behind them, codes connect to the problems that set them, and problems connect to the maintenance that would have prevented them.

Everything is written for someone who does not already know the vocabulary. We will tell you what a torque converter is before we tell you yours is slipping.

MotorLogic is written and edited by a small editorial team working from manufacturer service documentation, technical service bulletins, government sources such as NHTSA, and industry bodies. We are researchers and writers, not working technicians.

The editorial policy explains the review-status labels you will see on every article and what each one is actually promising you.

• We do not replace a physical inspection. Nothing here is a diagnosis of your specific car. A page can tell you which three things cause a symptom and how a shop tells them apart. It cannot tell you which one you have.
• We do not publish a number we cannot source. If there is no defensible published cost range for a repair, the page says so and shows nothing. You will see this on several pages. It is intentional.
• We do not sell parts, take referral fees from repair shops, or accept payment for coverage. If that ever changes it will be disclosed here first and on every affected page.
• We are not affiliated with any vehicle manufacturer. Where we quote a manufacturer's bulletin or maintenance schedule we cite it and link it.

We will. Automotive information dates quickly, bulletins get superseded and our own reading of a source can be wrong. If you find an error — especially a cost figure, a safety statement or a manufacturer recommendation — please tell us. See contact. Corrections to substantive claims are made in the article and the updated date changes.