Monitor Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) in real time with Motive to prevent breakdowns, cut repair costs, and keep your fleet running safely and efficiently. Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs), also known as fault codes, are alerts generated by a vehicle’s onboard diagnostic (OBD) system to identify malfunctions. Understanding how DTCs work and how Motive captures them helps you maintain fleet health, prevent breakdowns, and reduce repair costs.
Overview
Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) are essential for fleet managers to detect and resolve vehicle issues early using real-time data from Motive’s vehicle gateways. Monitoring these codes helps prevent minor issues from becoming major repairs, keeping your fleet running efficiently and cost-effectively.
- Early problem detection: By monitoring DTCs, fleet managers can identify potential mechanical issues early. This allows for timely intervention, preventing costly repairs before they escalate.
- Proactive maintenance: DTCs provide valuable data that helps schedule maintenance or repairs before breakdowns occur. This proactive approach reduces the likelihood of unplanned downtime.
- Minimized downtime: Addressing issues promptly based on DTC alerts helps minimize downtime. This ensures that vehicles stay operational and productive, reducing fleet disruptions.
- Improved safety: DTCs help identify critical vehicle issues that could compromise safety. Resolving these issues quickly improves both driver and cargo safety on the road.
Basics
Fault codes are standardized codes generated by a vehicle’s OBD-II system when it detects a malfunction. These codes help pinpoint issues such as engine, transmission, or emissions problems.
Integrating DTCs in Motive:
Motive seamlessly integrates Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) into its system, capturing them in real time through the vehicle gateway. This ensures fleet managers receive instant, actionable data to address vehicle issues as soon as they arise.
- DTC detection: The vehicle's OBD system detects a malfunction and generates a DTC to pinpoint the source of the issue, such as engine or transmission problems.
- Real-time data capture: Motive’s vehicle gateway captures the DTC instantly, ensuring that fleet managers receive up-to-date information for quick decision-making.
- Automatic transmission: Once captured, the DTC is automatically transmitted to the Motive Fleet Dashboard, where it’s instantly available for review.
- Immediate alerts: Fleet managers receive real-time notifications of any detected DTCs, enabling them to take immediate action and prevent issues from escalating.
By tracking fault codes in the Motive Dashboard, fleets can move from reactive to predictive maintenance, improving reliability and lowering repair costs.
Viewing vehicle fault codes
- Log in to the Fleet Dashboard, and go to Fleet View > Live.
Select any vehicle with the Malfunction indicator lamp icon.
Click View Details to get a detailed view of the fault codes.
- You will get a complete list of all Fault Codes for the selected vehicle.
Click View Report to view and export a report of the listed fault codes.
- Click Save to add this report to the saved reports folder for easy access.
Click the three-dot menu and select Export as PDF or Export as CSV to download the report.
FAQs
What is a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC)?
A DTC is a code generated by a vehicle’s onboard diagnostic system to indicate a specific malfunction, such as an engine or emissions problem.
How does Motive capture DTCs?
The vehicle gateway connects to the OBD port and automatically sends detected codes to the Motive Dashboard in real time.
Will I be notified when a DTC is detected?
Yes. Real-time alerts are sent whenever a new DTC appears so you can respond promptly.
Can I view DTC history for a specific vehicle?
Yes. You can view current and past codes in the Maintenance Diagnostic Codes section of the Motive Dashboard.
Do all DTCs require immediate repairs?
No. Some codes are warnings, while others require urgent attention. Review the details for each code to decide on the appropriate action.
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