Diagnostic Procedure Overview

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2008 Mercury Sable, 2008 Ford Taurus X, and 2008 Ford Taurus. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

Qualifying the symptom by the particular sensation present can help narrow down the cause. Always use the "symptom" to "system" to "component" to "cause" diagnosis technique. This diagnostic method divides the problem into related areas to correct the customer concern.

Verify the "symptom".
Determine which "system(s)" can cause the "symptom" using the diagnostic tools described in this article.
After determining the possible "system(s)", refer to the appropriate article to identify the worn or damaged "components".
After identifying the "components", identify the "cause" of the failure.