Questions

You record the noise your car is making and answer two questions: when it happens and where it seems to come from. Mechd then suggests the likely cause, what else it could be, how urgent it is, and a rough estimate of what a UK garage might charge.

Mechd is for iPhone, running iOS 15 or later. It’s free to download from the App Store.

There’s no Android version yet.

No. Download it and start recording. There’s nothing to sign up for.

No. Only use Mechd when the car is parked. If the noise only happens on the move, ask a passenger to record it. Read about using Mechd safely.

Record while the noise is happening, with your phone close to where it seems to come from, for 5 to 10 seconds. Turn the radio off and keep other noise down. Keep your hands and phone clear of belts, fans and hot parts.

Yes. The sound is checked on your phone, but working out your result needs a connection. If you lose signal, your recording and answers are kept so you can try again.

Mechd gives suggestions, not an inspection, and it can be wrong. Different faults can sound alike, and background noise or a poor recording can mislead it. Use the result to understand what might be going on and to talk to your garage, then let a mechanic check the car.

“Book in when convenient” means a garage should look at it, but it doesn’t sound urgent. “Get it checked soon” means book a garage soon rather than leaving it. “Don’t drive” means it could be dangerous: leave the car parked and call a garage or your breakdown service.

None of them is a safety check. If the car feels wrong, don’t drive it, whatever the result says.

No. It means Mechd couldn’t match the recording to a likely fault. That can happen with a quiet or unclear recording, or with a fault that doesn’t make much noise. Try recording again closer to the noise, and if you’re still worried, have a garage look at it.

They’re rough estimates of what a UK garage might charge, based on your car if you add its make, model and year, to give you an idea before you call a garage. They’re not quotes: real prices depend on the garage, where you live and what they find.

Yes. Tap “Share with my garage” on the result screen to send a short summary by message or email.

It’s free to download, and your first result is free (one per iPhone). After that, each result uses one credit: £1.99 for one or £4.99 for three. Share a recording after a paid result and tell us what your garage found, and you get a free credit. No subscription, no adverts and no account.

Each result costs us money to produce, so there’s a limit on how many you can get each day. It keeps Mechd available for everyone. When you reach it, the app tells you when you can try again.

Not unless you choose to share it. Mechd checks the sound on your phone. To work out your result we receive your answers, your car’s details if you add them, and measurements of the sound, not the sound itself.

After a paid result, the app asks whether you’d like to share the recording to help improve Mechd. It’s off unless you turn it on, and you can delete a shared recording at any time.

We don’t store your results on our server, unless you choose to send us feedback or share a recording. Read the privacy policy.

Your Yes or No is sent to us with the suggested cause and your answers, to help us check Mechd’s suggestions are right. It’s optional, and it doesn’t include your recording.

If you also give your email address, we’ll email you once, about a week later, to ask what the garage found, and delete your address within 2 months of that email. How we use your feedback.

No. It sets no cookies and has no analytics, tracking or adverts.

Yes, please. We’re looking for independent garages to record car noises before fixing them. Find out about partner garages.

Email info@mechd.co.uk. We’re a small UK company, Mechd Ltd, and a real person reads every email.

Email info@mechd.co.uk and we’ll reply within a month. We hold very little: there are no accounts, and the app doesn’t send us your recordings.