FAQ

What is ALLDATA Community?

ALLDATA Community is an online community that allows automotive technicians to share vehicle diagnosis and repair issues with each other. Members can post questions, or search for existing verified repairs and answers.

Who has access to ALLDATA Community?

The community is available to ALLDATA Repair and ALLDATA Collision customers.

What kind of questions can I ask here?

ALLDATA Community is for the professional automotive technician.

Your questions or answers should generally cover:

  • automotive problems or solutions
  • emissions testing, technical service bulletins, recalls, campaigns
  • collision repairs, body, frame, and paint
  • specialized tools commonly used by automotive technicians

Please search to see if your question has already been asked - you might find an immediate answer.

It's okay if you answer your own question! If you've found your own answer for an issue, go ahead and post your own repair. You'll be helping other members in the community.

What kind of questions should I NOT ask here?

  • Chatty, open-ended questions
  • Non-automotive or non-forum related questions
  • Harassing, abusive or inappropriate questions
  • Rants or abuse disguised as questions/answers
  • Questions/answers that have no automotive repair value
  • Questions containing SPAM or advertising not directly related to automotive repair 

Please contact ALLDATA Support if you have questions about the following:

  • ALLDATA account managers, billing, delinquent, or new accounts
  • ALLDATA customer service representatives
  • ALLDATA updates, webpage problems, navigation
  • ALLDATA Repair, Market, Manage, or any other ALLDATA product
  • ALLDATA product development, software engineering, or networking

What happens when I post a question?

  • When you post a question, other members will almost immediately see it and try to provide good answers. This often happens in a matter of minutes, so be sure to check back frequently when your question is still new for the best response.
  • If your question needs clarification, you will see comments in smaller type below your question.
  • If other members ask you for more information in the comments, edit your question or add a comment to provide more information. Providing clarification promptly will help get you the best answers.
  • As you see new answers to your question, you can click the icon to either verify the repair or if the answer is helpful you can click the icon to "like" the repair.
  • Answers are sorted by verified repair, then the most recommended answers are displayed next.
  • When you receive an answer that has repaired the vehicle, mark it as the Verified Repair. This lets other members know that you have received an answer that has repaired the vehicle. The community has taken the time to help solve your issue, it is important to fully participate by verifying repairs.

Why can't I post a new question?

  • Once five of your questions have received answers, you will be unable to post additional questions until you verify if the suggested answers were effective or not. This is designed to make the community stronger for everyone who would like to know if the suggested answers were effective!

How can I update the email notifications I receive from ALLDATA Community?

  • You can update your profile page to receive email notifications about activity on your questions, answers, and comments. To do this click your member name in the top right navigation. This will take you to your profile page. Click on user tools in the top middle of the page and select email notification settings.  Here you can change your email address and your email notification preferences.

Do I need to sign in or create an account?

A separate ALLDATA Community account isn't needed. As long as you're signed in to ALLDATA Repair or ALLDATA Collision you can get to ALLDATA Community. However, you will need to provide a valid email address in your community profile in order to receive notifications on your questions and answers.

Is ALLDATA Community moderated by automotive technicians?

Yes. ALLDATA Community is moderated by a team of expert technicians ready to help respond to your diagnostic or repair questions. ALLDATA Community moderators are active from 7:00am - 3:00pm pst Mon-Fri.

Can I bookmark ALLDATA Community?

Yes and no. You must be signed in to ALLDATA Repair or ALLDATA Collision in order to access ALLDATA Community. If your ALLDATA Repair or ALLDATA Collision session expires, you must sign in again to gain access to the community.

Why was my question deleted?

Questions that aren't a good fit for the community may be closed by experienced members. Closed questions cannot be answered, but are eligible for improvement (and eventual re-opening) through editing, "liking", and commenting. 

Common reasons a question may be deleted include:

  • Exact Duplicate
    This question covers the same content as earlier questions on this topic; its answers may be merged with another identical question.
  • Off Topic
    Questions are expected to relate to automotive repair and diagnosis. Consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement if you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope.  
  • Not Constructive
    As it currently stands; this question/answer is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect questions/answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question/answer will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion and create a distraction.
  • Not a Real Question
    It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and therefore cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. Some rants or comments are disguised as questions/answers only providing an opinion or statement. Just because there's a question mark on the end does not make it a question.
  • Too Localized
    This question is unlikely to help any member; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet.

May I promote products or websites?

You can recommend products or websites that are directly related to the question or answer but be careful, because the community frowns on overt self-promotion or promoting non-automotive related websites. Post good, relevant answers, and if some (but not all) happen to be about your product or website, so be it. However, you must disclose your affiliation in your answers. If a large percentage of your posts include the mention of your product or website, you are probably here for the wrong reasons.