Fleets and dealers
How often should the vehicles in a fleet be checked?
The baseline is each vehicle manufacturer's maintenance schedule and your country's mandatory periodic inspection, which set intervals by mileage, hours or time. In between, a code scan at every service, before every inspection and whenever a warning light comes on catches early what the driver does not notice; with remote diagnostics, those scans do not require moving the vehicle.
Reviewed by Daniel Morales, founder of Reprorace SL, on
What sets the minimum schedule?
Each manufacturer's maintenance schedule, by mileage, engine hours or time, whichever comes first, and on some vehicles a variable interval based on use. In a mixed fleet, each vehicle has its own.
The mandatory periodic inspection where it applies (the MOT in the UK, state inspections in some US states), with intervals that depend on the vehicle type, use and age. Delivery and transport vehicles often have shorter intervals than a private car.
What is worth adding between services?
A scan of every control unit that responds at each service and a few days before each inspection, with the readiness monitor status and the battery voltage.
For heavily used vehicles, a short periodic scan, monthly for example, helps spot pending codes that have not turned on any light yet. Adjust the frequency with your own data: if nothing ever shows up, space them out.
What should happen when a light comes on during a route?
Do not wait for the next service: read the vehicle and decide whether it can keep going, whether a service function is enough or whether it has to go to the shop, and with which part.
A red light or a brake, steering, oil or temperature fault is different: the driver stops as soon as it is safe.
Where does remote diagnostics fit in?
With an ECO-LITE in each vehicle, your shop runs those scans remotely when the vehicle is at the depot or near the driver's phone, and keeps them in each vehicle's history. The driver authorizes each session with the device's button.
The physical inspection is still needed: brakes, tires, leaks and wear cannot be seen through the OBD port.
The devices are in pre-production or presale: figures may be adjusted after validating the first units. Whether a given tool, program or make works depends on that tool, program or make.
Read more
On this site
- Fleet remote diagnostics: decide before you take a vehicle off the road
- Will your car pass its MOT or inspection with the engine light on?
- Car symptoms: what they mean and what to do
Step-by-step guides
- If you manage a fleet
- Live dashboard, service functions and battery test
- Reading a vehicle and sharing the report
Solutions
The devices to do it
One ECO-LITE per vehicle, €129 · US$129 in presale with no subscription: your shop reads each vehicle remotely and keeps the scan history in the fleet account.
ECO-LITE · Presale price: €129 · US$129. No subscription.
Presale: no stock and no delivery date yet. Reserve your unit in the shop.
Frequently asked questions
Is there one frequency that suits every fleet?
No. It depends on the manufacturer, the use and each country's rules. Start with the manufacturer's schedule and tune the scans in between with your data.
Does reading codes replace the shop inspection?
No: it complements it. Mechanical items are checked at the shop.
Does the vehicle have to stop to be read remotely?
The device only needs to reach a known Wi-Fi network and the driver to press the button. For some tests the shop may ask for the engine to be running.