Vehicle Coding

Car Coding Reading

Car Coding Readin

Vehicle Coding

A number of people may be familiar with vehicle coding especially those of you who may think of yourselves as petrol heads however, the vast majority of people will not know what this may involve or that even car coding as a service was even possible. It's a relatively new thing so not a common phrase yet in car parlance. However at Mobile Mechanic Reading we try to keep a breast of most  car enhancement options so that we can provide car coding in Reading to our customers if required.

Most people will assume that some of the features on their car are fairly fixed based on the model they have. Whilst programmes such as 'pimp my ride' have made many people aware that a vehicle can undergo many alterations and additions lets just say most of the examples seen in such programmes are not the most subtle. Increasing tyre sizes, fitting a lighting system inside and out of the car would be classified as modifications. Vehicle coding is much more subtle than this in primarily focuses on the electronic interface of your vehicle and how it interacts with some of the existing parts or functionality of your car. Some enhancement may also require some modifications too which we'll cover in a little more detail below.

CALL US

Car Coding

Car coding predominantly focuses on making alterations or adjustments to the initial factory settings of you particular car model. Alterations to the software can change how reacts and interfaces with other components or visual displays . Some of your cars initial settings may be related to local regulatory requirements but many others will be to do with the model you have. Most of you will be aware that a particular model will have a different name, letter or number to distinguish a combination of engine size and vehicle specifications. Some older examples are, L, GL, Ghia, GT others such as Audi have A4, S4, RS4,  and more recently you may come across a mixture for a particular model such as the Vauxhall Crossland where there are the SE, Griffin, SRi Nav, Elite, Elite Nav, Ultimate Nav. Across these different model you would be hard pressed to spot the difference until you get inside. You will probably see that the most basic model the SE will have a number of blank buttons whereas the Ultimate Nav will have non. You will be paying for different extra features in the Ultimate Nav which are not available on the SE model.

A simple analogy for car coding is taking your SE and upgrading it to a Ultimate Nav.

CALL US

Car Coding near me

Call or complete our website form 24/7 with your vehicle details

Coding Car Options

So hopefully you have a better appreciation of what vehicle coding is all about what sort of changes can you make?

Whilst you may already have some ideas base on what a friend or partners car can do and yours can't - currently but there may also be some aspects of your car which you may find slightly irritating or annoying and just wish it could be changed.

One example of changing a software setting is altering your automatic Start/Stop function. Whilst the default is to always start of as ON you can change this to always start of as OFF.

We can make changes to the defaults on your touch screen and warning alerts, so changing the sound setting for noise or duration.

You may be a little frustrated with the factory settings for your lights and wish they would not be on so often in clear daylight which will reduce their longevity and require replacing earlier (sometimes you may suspect that the manufacturer's default settings are motivated to encourage purchasing spare parts more frequently rather than safety?!).

More practical or safety enhancements could involve tweaks to the wing mirrors allowing them to fold in when the ignition is off or lowering when the car is put into revers to help with rear visibility. Adding a warning sound if you car rolls backwards is a good safety feature. Another aspect related to electronic hand brakes is to remove the auto-hold setting which many drivers struggle with.

You can set the car doors to auto lock when a certain speed is reached. Adjust the warning signals relating to seatbelts, especially if you are someone who uses your rear seats for transporting heavy items and your car constantly thinks you have a passenger in the back seat.

Allowing all your windows to close with a double or long hold of your remote key is a popular choice as is the changing the default for lights coming on when locking or unlocking the car.

If you have a digital display this also enable more changes to be made such as adjusting your speed to be the actual speed rather than the slightly inflated default. Fuel consumption settings, when gear change settings kick in in different drive modes, how incoming calls are shown and prioritised and what you see on your dashboard screen in relation to your driver screen.

Whilst not ever option is listed here, those that are may not be possible for you particular vehicle. However we can discuss these with you. Simply enter you details in our contact form including your registration number and we'll come back to you with possible options.

CALL US

Need help?

Frequently Asked Mobile Mechanic Reading Questions including Car Coding

  • What automotive makes do you do car coding for:

    We can explore the coding for almost any car which was made after 1996. Our most popular makes of car for coding are some of the German manufacturers where we carry out:

    • mercedes coding
    • audi coding
    • vw coding

  • How can I tell if my exhaust needs replacing?

    There are a number of signs to indicate your exhaust system needs repair or replacement - some will be more obvious than others.

    One of the trickier symptoms to spot is a reduction in fuel economy. A poor performing exhaust burns more fuel in order to provide you with the same power output. However, If you notice your acceleration is slower than usual this will make this aspect a little more obvious.

    The next set of indicators are much more noticeable: if you can hear noises from your exhaust or bottom of your car whether it is a knocking, growling, rattling or banging sound each is a hint that something is wrong with some aspect of your exhaust. If you then have a look and upon visual inspection see that your exhaust is hanging lower than usual there is definitely a problem. Another clear sign is a strong smell of gas or a burning smell each signalling a failure of gases to pass through your catalytic converter properly. 

    If you notice any of these symptoms be sure to get in touch to get the root problem identified and fixed before further damage to your vehicle occurs. 

  • Is car remapping worth doing?

    Absolutely - carrying our a car remap will improve what your car is able to achieve both in terms of fuel economy and in power BHP output. So you'll have the best of both worlds in terms of improved car performance.

  • When should I change my timing belts?

    If you still have your vehicle's manual it will normally provide some indicative mileage of when to change your timing belt. Often this will range between 60,000 to 100,000 miles.  Will many things car relating there can be a temptation to try and eke out a replacement for as long as possible. However, if the timing belt brakes whilst driving it is likely to cause your engine some serious damage which will be much more costly than a timing belt replacement. The following list could be indicators that your timing belt is nearing its end and you should not delay in getting it replaced: vibrations of the vehicle, a loss of engine power, issues starting, noises coming from the engine area near the belt, engine light warnings - including overheating

    Contact us to arrange a check or replacement of your timing belt to ensure you can continue to drive your vehicle safely.

  • How frequently should I book a car service in Reading?

    Clearly, it doesn't really matter where you live to how often you need to get your car serviced. Historically the rule of thumb was every 12,000 miles or every 12 months whichever came first. For vehicles, over 10 years this is still a good guide and will help ensure your car stays in good running order and importantly will help keep a more costly car repair from occurring - prevention rather than cure approach. 

    However, for more modern cars with improvements in components, materials and lubricants you should be fine following manufacturers guidelines. If you've not got your manual this information should be relatively easy to find online. For many vehicles now guidelines of 20,000 miles are becoming more common but don't be tempted to stretch things further as there will be certain procedures and replacements of parts are certain service intervals which are important to follow to ensure you get the best performance from your vehicle.

  • What are the most common car issues?

    Lists compiled from motoring organisations often have the main car issue being related to the gearbox.  Whilst not easy to detect - poor gear changes can cause extra stress and strain on a gearbox which can cause costly damage to repair.

    Close behind gearbox problems is electrical issues., which isn't that surprising when you see how many more items of a vehicle are being monitored by a computer. Hardly any new car will have a manual front window, gone are the oil checks with dipsticks and an oily cloth. Even tyre pressure monitoring is now under the watchful eye of the car computer. However, clearly, this is not without its problems as quite often a warning light will be displayed when no fault exists. Fortunately, the reverse of this is a much rarer occurrence but some electronic systems will prevent the driving of the vehicle if a certain fault is detected - which can clearly be infuriating if there is no fault. 

    In closely behind electrical issues in the third position are clutch problems. For older vehicles this is a more common occurrence as simply more driving will lead to wear of the clutch causing slipping and eventual burnout.

    If you suspect any of these problems why not bring your vehicle by and we can run some diagnostics along with some old fashioned visual checks to see if you have an issue, or potential issues, looming...

  • How do I know I need wheel alignment?

    If you start to feel your vehicle pulling to one side or notice that while you are driving in a straight line that your steering wheel isn't perfectly straight these are the two main indicators that your tracking is out. The most common cause of wheel misalignment are potholes - especially the deep ones which will give your car a jolt. Similarly, harsh driving across speed bumps can also start to cause misalignment.

    If you don't get this repaired this will impact your tyres as they will wear unevenly, which will also have some effect on your fuel efficiency - both of which will end up costing you money. More importantly though it can negatively impact braking performance especially on ABS brakes so it is advisable to get your wheel aligned as soon as you notice one of the above signs

  • When should I regas my aircon?

    It's quite simple to have an idea of when your car's air conditioning may need a regas: if you notice that your air conditioning is just not as effective at cooling as normal then a recharge is most likely the reason. Of course, we will check that this is the reason and if so, simply topping up your aircon system with additional recharge of refrigerant should get your air conditioning working back to normal along with any air or pollen filters, which may also need cleaning.

  • What areas can you carry out car coding?

    We can cover some basic coding changes such as start/stop settings and mirror folding. Other areas include the setting relating to your headlights and dashboard display setting and warning signal coding.

Share by: