Car Owner's DIY Library: 6 Repair and Diagnostic eBooks Worth Reading on Google Play Books
Most car trouble starts the same way: a warning light on the dash, a temperature gauge creeping up, a strange click when you turn the key, or a car that simply will not start. Knowing what to check first saves time, money and stress. ChatStick Team has published a run of short, practical DIY guides for exactly those moments, and this reading list, Car Owner's DIY Library, brings six of them together, from decoding a check engine light to keeping a 200,000-mile car on the road. All six are English-language eBooks on Google Play Books, published in July 2026, and each has a free sample.
For every book you will find what it covers (taken from its official description), its length and who it suits best, followed by a suggested reading order.
1. Check Engine Light Decoded
When the amber engine light comes on, most drivers either panic or ignore it. This code-to-action playbook sits sensibly in between. It works through the 50 most common OBD-II trouble codes, including P0420, P0171, P0300, P0455 and P0128, with step-by-step actions for each, and adds a four-tier severity system to help you decide whether the car is safe to drive or needs a tow. It also covers misfire swap tests, fuel trim, EVAP leaks, catalytic converter efficiency, choosing an OBD2 scanner, diagnostic trees for several systems and DIY-versus-shop repair cost comparisons.
At a glance: 80 pages · published July 2026 · around US$2.99. Best for everyday drivers who own, or are about to buy, a basic code reader.
2. OBD-II Diagnostics Mastery
Reading a code is only the first step; this book is about what comes next. It goes deeper into your car's computer with bidirectional scan tools, live engine data, fuel trim analysis, freeze frame data and Mode $06 results, then adds OEM drive cycle procedures for Toyota, Honda, Ford and GM, basic oscilloscope waveforms and CAN bus U-code troubleshooting. Ten diagnostic case studies tie it together, and the methods are presented as working with scanners from BlueDriver and OBDLink MX+ up to Autel, Innova and Snap-on.
At a glance: 82 pages · published July 2026 · around US$2.99. Best for confident DIYers and apprentices ready to move beyond simple code reading.
3. Automotive Multimeter Techniques
Electrical faults are where many home mechanics give up and start replacing parts at random. This step-by-step guide teaches the measurements instead: using a digital multimeter properly, voltage-drop testing, reading wiring diagrams, tracking down parasitic battery drains, and testing sensors such as MAF, ECT, TPS and O2 as well as relays, actuators and ground circuits. Its subtitle promises the 20 measurements that solve 90% of faults, and the publisher pitches it as a way to diagnose most electrical problems in under 20 minutes.
At a glance: 79 pages · published July 2026 · around US$2.99. Best for DIY mechanics, hobbyists and apprentice technicians who own a multimeter but rarely use it with confidence.
4. Cooling System Repair
Overheating can turn a cheap fix into a ruined engine, so this guide insists on testing before replacing. It shows how to diagnose with tools such as pressure testers and combustion block testers, then covers radiators, cooling fans, thermostats, water pumps and head gaskets, bleeding air from the system, heater cores, hoses and coolant chemistry. An overheating triage flowchart and a frank discussion of when an engine repair is worth the money, and when it is not, round it out.
At a glance: 90 pages · published July 2026 · around US$2.99. Best for DIY owners, automotive students and backyard mechanics watching a rising temperature gauge.
5. Keep Your High-Mileage Car Alive
This is the money book of the set. Its argument is simple: keeping an older car running well is usually cheaper than a monthly car payment. It is a step-by-step manual for vehicles past 150,000 and even 250,000 miles, built around mileage-band playbooks, with sections on high-mileage oil, cooling system care, suspension refreshes and transmission fluid decisions beyond 200,000 miles. It also looks at common engine failures for Honda, Toyota, Ford, Subaru and GM, and includes a fix-or-drive decision spreadsheet for the repair-or-replace question.
At a glance: 79 pages · published July 2026 · around US$2.99. Best for owners who want to keep a paid-off car on the road for years.
6. Roadside Repairs and Emergency Fixes
The one book here that is not written for mechanics. It is a driver-focused roadside safety guide with a symptom-first approach and instructions designed to be followed from the driver's seat. It covers the first minutes after a breakdown, building a low-cost emergency kit, no-start, clicking and ignition problems, protecting the engine when it overheats, changing, jacking and patching flat tyres, winter driving (ice skids, ditch recovery and extreme cold) and deciding whether to tow or drive on.
At a glance: 68 pages · published July 2026 · around US$2.99. Best for new drivers, commuters and road-trippers, and a practical gift for anyone who has just passed their driving test.
Suggested reading order
Just want to know what that warning light means? Start with Check Engine Light Decoded, and keep Roadside Repairs and Emergency Fixes on your phone for the day something goes wrong far from home.
Ready to diagnose like a technician? Move on to OBD-II Diagnostics Mastery for live data and drive cycles, then Automotive Multimeter Techniques for the electrical faults a scanner cannot pin down.
Temperature gauge climbing? Cooling System Repair is the focused guide to overheating, from a stuck thermostat to a suspected head gasket.
Driving an older car? Keep Your High-Mileage Car Alive pairs well with any of the others. For a more structured troubleshooting method, add our earlier pick Automotive Diagnostic Strategy.
Who this reading list is for
Car owners who would rather understand a fault than pay for guesswork; DIY mechanics and weekend tinkerers; automotive students and apprentice technicians who want compact, focused references; and drivers of older or high-mileage cars who want to keep them running safely. Because each book runs 68 to 90 pages, the whole library can be read in about a week of evenings, and each one also works as a quick reference to open when a specific problem appears.
Our take
These are compact, practical playbooks rather than model-specific workshop manuals. Their strength is method: each one turns a common problem (a trouble code, an electrical fault, overheating, ageing components, a roadside breakdown) into a clear sequence of tests and decisions, and several put real numbers on the repair-or-replace question. The trade-off is depth for any single vehicle: for torque specs and exact procedures on your model you will still want a factory service manual, and bigger jobs such as head gaskets may be better left to a professional. As an affordable starter library for car owners who want to diagnose before they spend, the set is easy to recommend. Open the free sample of the book that matches the problem in front of you and start there.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I buy these car repair books?
All six are sold as eBooks on Google Play Books for around US$2.99 each (local prices vary by country). Each book page has a free sample, and you buy with your Google account.
Can I read them on an iPhone?
Yes. Install the free Google Play Books app on iPhone or iPad, or read in any web browser at play.google.com/books. Android phones, tablets and supported e-readers work too, so you can keep a guide open beside the car.
What language are they in, and how long are they?
All six are in English and were published in July 2026. They range from 68 pages (Roadside Repairs and Emergency Fixes) to 90 pages (Cooling System Repair), roughly one to one and a half hours of reading each.
Who is ChatStick Team?
ChatStick Team publishes accessible eBooks on cars and EVs, AI and technology engineering, film and music legends, world history, mythology, and science and nature. You can browse the full catalogue on Google Play Books.
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