Plain-English fault code explainer

Changelog

What's new in Motorclue.

4 Jun 2026
MOT history integration
  • New MOT history now included in fault code explanations — when you enter a reg plate, we check your vehicle's MOT test history (failures and advisories) and factor it into the explanation for a more accurate, vehicle-specific result
  • New "✓ MOT history reviewed" indicator shown on results when MOT data was used
  • Improved Loading message updates to "Checking your MOT history…" when a reg plate is present
  • Improved Reg field now shows a hint explaining that entering your plate improves explanation accuracy; replaced by a confirmation note on successful lookup
4 Jun 2026
SEO, discoverability & page content
  • New Common fault codes FAQ — eight of the most-searched OBD-II codes (P0300, P0420, P0171 and more) with plain-English summaries, visible on the homepage for search engines and first-time visitors
  • New How it works section — three-step explainer below the fault code lookup
  • New Schema.org structured data — WebApplication and FAQPage JSON-LD blocks added for AI search engines and Google rich results
  • Improved Page title and meta descriptions updated to be more specific ("Free OBD-II fault code explainer for UK drivers" with a concrete example)
  • New Canonical URL tag added
  • New robots.txt and sitemap.xml added
2 Jun 2026
Loading messages & prompt caching
  • Improved Cycling status messages during the enrichment request — shows "Reading fault code…", "Checking your [make]…", and "Preparing your explanation…" while you wait
  • Improved Anthropic prompt caching enabled — the static system instructions are now cached on the API side, reducing latency and cost on repeat lookups
2 Jun 2026
Groundwork & UX improvements
  • New Redis support — cache and rate limiting now persist across deploys when the REDIS_URL environment variable is set; falls back to in-memory otherwise
  • Improved Server-side input validation on all endpoints — fault code format, make/model length, year range, and registration plate format are now checked server-side, not just in the browser
  • Improved Loading state replaced with an animated skeleton that mimics the result layout
  • Improved "New lookup" button now clears the registration field and success note as well as the fault code
  • New Pro card can be dismissed — hidden for the rest of the session and remembered in localStorage
  • Improved DVLA Look up button shows "Looking up…" while the request is in flight
2 Jun 2026
Polish & reliability
  • New Pro early access — users who hit the daily limit now see a lead capture card with a direct link to register interest
  • New Favicon — navy square with a sky-blue M, consistent with the brand
  • New This changelog, linked from the footer
  • New Beta badge added to the header
  • Improved Fetch timeouts — DVLA lookups time out after 10 seconds, explanations after 15, so a slow API never hangs the page indefinitely
  • New Open Graph and Twitter Card meta tags — links shared on WhatsApp, Slack and iMessage now show a proper preview
  • Improved Old Railway URL now permanently redirects to motorclue.co.uk
30 May 2026
DVLA registration lookup
  • New Enter a UK registration plate to auto-fill Make and Year — no more typing them manually
  • New Fuel type and engine size from DVLA are passed to the AI for more accurate explanations
  • Improved Structured error messages for failed lookups — plate not found, service unavailable, and auth errors each show a distinct message
  • New "Try again" button appears in the results area if the explanation service fails
29 May 2026
Forms, validation & persistence
  • New Make field autocompletes from a list of the 20 most common UK makes
  • New Model field populates dynamically based on the selected make
  • New Fault code field auto-uppercases as you type and validates format on submit
  • New Make, model and year are remembered between visits using localStorage
  • New Umami analytics added — lookup and error events tracked
28 May 2026
Launch
  • New Plain-English fault code explanations powered by Claude — urgency rating, likely causes, UK repair cost estimates, and a clear next step
  • New DVLA Vehicle Enquiry Service integrated for registration plate lookups
  • New Free tier: one explanation per IP address per day
  • New 7-day response cache — repeated lookups for the same vehicle and code are instant
  • New Safe-to-drive flag is always enforced in code — if the AI marks a car unsafe, urgency is forced to critical regardless of the explanation text