Determine Possible Causes

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

Compare the confirmed symptoms to the diagnostic symptom indexes to find the right diagnosis procedure.

If the confirmed symptoms cannot be found on any symptom index, determine other possible causes.

Analyze the system diagrams and list all possible causes for the problem symptoms.
Rank all these possible causes in order of probability, based on how much of the system they cover, how likely they are to be the cause, and how easy they will be to check. Be sure to take experience into account. Consider the causes of similar problems seen in the past. The list of causes should be ranked in order from general to specific, from most-likely to least-likely, and from easy-to-check to hard-to-check.