Hear the problem. Fix it fast.

Mechd provides guidance based on the sound your car is making and the symptoms you describe. It's not a professional mechanical assessment and should not be treated as one. Use it to understand what you're dealing with before you visit a garage - always confirm with a qualified mechanic, especially for safety-critical faults.

No. Audio is analysed on your device using frequency analysis - the microphone listens for car sounds, not voices. The recording is never stored or transmitted. Only a text label describing the sound type is sent to the AI alongside your symptom answers.

Any make and model. Mechd doesn't require an OBD connection or any specialist equipment - just your phone and the noise your car is making. Cost estimates are calibrated by vehicle tier, so a Fiesta and a Range Rover return appropriately different figures.

The on-device frequency analysis works best in a quiet environment close to the noise source. Background noise — traffic, radio, wind — reduces the quality of the audio signal, which lowers the confidence score in the result. If the audio quality is too low, Mechd will tell you and weight your symptom answers more heavily instead. For best results, record with the phone within 20cm of the sound source with the engine or road noise as the dominant sound.

Intermittent noises are one of the harder cases for any diagnostic process, including a mechanic's. If the noise won't reproduce during recording, Mechd still generates a suggestion based on your symptom answers and vehicle details alone — the audio input becomes less relevant, and the confidence score will reflect that. Describing when and where the noise usually happens gives the suggestion its best chance of pointing in the right direction.

Try recording when the conditions are right — cold start, specific speed, after a certain manoeuvre. If you cannot capture it at all, use the symptom questions as your primary input and describe what you heard as accurately as you can. The result will be based on your symptom pattern rather than the audio, which is still useful as a starting point before speaking to a mechanic.

Mechd suggests the most likely cause based on the available information — it is not a confirmed fault. Results can be wrong, and the confidence score reflects how strongly the evidence points in one direction. The result is a starting point for a conversation with a mechanic, not a replacement for one. If you act on a Mechd result, always have a mechanic physically inspect the vehicle before any work is carried out. If you are unsatisfied with a result, see our Refund Policy.