On board diagnostics drive cycle advisor

1. A method of completing an incomplete drive cycle test on a vehicle resulting from an incomplete vehicle monitoring process for testing the operation of a vehicle operating system, the method comprising the steps of:

establishing a communication link between a portable electronic device and a vehicle computer;

receiving initial diagnostic data from the vehicle computer using the portable electronic device;

analyzing the initial diagnostic data to identify the incomplete vehicle monitoring process and a driving procedure for resetting an incomplete vehicle monitor associated with the incomplete vehicle monitoring process;

receiving live data from the vehicle computer while the vehicle is in motion using the portable electronic device to track progression of the vehicle through the driving procedure;

receiving subsequent diagnostic data from the vehicle computer while the vehicle is in motion using the portable electronic device; and

analyzing the subsequent diagnostic data while the vehicle is in motion to determine whether the status of the incomplete vehicle monitoring process has transitioned to complete.

2. The method recited in claim 1 , further comprising the step of displaying, on a display screen, a driving procedure associated with the incomplete vehicle monitor.

3. The method recited in claim 2 , wherein the portable electronic device used in the establishing step is a diagnostic dongle, the communication link being established by connecting the diagnostic dongle to a diagnostic port on the vehicle.

4. The method recited in claim 3 , wherein the display screen used in the displaying step is implemented on a handheld communication device.

5. The method recited in claim 3 , wherein the display screen used in the displaying step is implemented on a handheld diagnostic scan tool.

6. The method recited in claim 1 , further comprising the step of displaying, on a display screen while the vehicle is in motion, information regarding the tracked progression of the vehicle through the driving procedure.

7. The method recited in claim 1 , further comprising the step of accessing a conditions database and identifying a pre-condition associated with the driving procedure.

8. The method recited in claim 7 , receiving live data from the vehicle computer using the portable electronic device and analyzing the live data to determine if the pre-condition is satisfied.

9. The method recited in claim 7 , further comprising the step of displaying the identified pre-condition on the display screen.

10. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the driving procedure includes at least one driving parameter, the method further comprising the step of displaying the at least one driving parameter on a display screen while the vehicle is in motion.

11. The method recited in claim 10 , further comprising the steps of:

comparing the received live data to the at least one driving parameter while the vehicle is in motion to determine if the received live data meets the at least one driving parameter; and

providing an alert on the display screen while the vehicle is in motion when the received live data does not meet the at least one driving parameter.

12. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the step of analyzing the initial diagnostic data includes identifying a complete vehicle monitor, the method further comprising the step of displaying the complete vehicle monitor on the display screen.

13. A diagnostic system for use with a handheld electronic device and a vehicle having a vehicle computer to complete an incomplete drive cycle test on the vehicle resulting from an incomplete vehicle monitoring process for testing the operation of a vehicle operating system, the diagnostic system comprising:

computer readable instructions downloadable onto the handheld electronic device for configuring the handheld electronic device to:

receive initial diagnostic data from the vehicle computer at the handheld electronic device;

receive live data from the vehicle computer at the handheld electronic device while the vehicle is in motion to track progression of the vehicle through a driving procedure associated with the incomplete drive cycle test;

receive subsequent diagnostic data from the vehicle computer at the handheld electronic device while the vehicle is in motion; and

analyze the subsequent diagnostic data while the vehicle is in motion to determine whether the status of the incomplete vehicle monitoring process has transitioned to complete.

14. The system recited in claim 13 , wherein the computer readable instructions further configure the handheld electronic device to analyze the initial diagnostic data to identify the incomplete vehicle monitoring process and the driving procedure associated with completing the incomplete vehicle monitor process.

15. The system recited in claim 13 , wherein the computer readable instructions further configure the handheld electronic device to display the driving procedure associated with the incomplete vehicle monitoring process.

16. The system recited in claim 13 , wherein the computer readable instructions further configure the handheld electronic device to display, while the vehicle is in motion, information regarding the tracked progression of the vehicle through the driving procedure.

17. The method recited in claim 13 , wherein the computer readable instructions further configure the handheld electronic device to access a conditions database and identifying a pre-condition associated with the driving procedure.

18. The system recited in claim 13 , wherein the driving procedure includes at least one driving parameter, wherein the computer readable instructions further configure the handheld electronic device to display the at least one driving parameter on a display screen while the vehicle is in motion.

19. The system recited in claim 18 , wherein the computer readable instructions further configure the handheld electronic device to:

compare the received live data to the at least one driving parameter while the vehicle is in motion to determine if the received live data meets the at least one driving parameter; and

provide an alert on the display screen while the vehicle is in motion when the received live data does not meet the at least one driving parameter.

20. The system recited in claim 13 , wherein the step of analyzing the initial diagnostic data includes identifying a complete vehicle monitor, wherein the computer readable instructions further configure the handheld electronic device to display the complete vehicle monitor on the display screen.