AI Helps Nigerian Drivers Fix Car Problems

Across the continent, a broken-down car may result in more than an unexpected repair cost. For many drivers, locating a trustworthy mechanic, establishing what went wrong, and figuring out whether a repair actually fixed the problem can be a guessing game.

In Port Harcourt, Nigeria, one car owner is looking to an unlikely source for answers: artificial intelligence.

Cyril Okonkwo was already running late for an event the morning his car wouldn’t start. With his phone in hand, he stood outside his gate in Rumuigbo, Port Harcourt, wondering which technician he could get in touch with in time to still make it to the event.

Okonkwo’s car is critical to his weekly activities; he uses it for the daily commute to the office and back, then he uses it to get to church on Sundays, and, when he can find the time, it ferries him home to his village in Anambra State. When it breaks down, regular weekly activities come to a grinding halt.

In the past, Okonkwo would foray out on foot to find a mechanic. Often, despite the long slog, he would arrive to be told that the mechanic was out or busy and that he (Okonkwo) should return the next day.

Issue Under The Carpeting

Once, when his car horn stopped working, a mechanic spent hours, first checking the battery and then looking for an issue under the carpeting, before replacing the fuse, which was the only problem.

“When they come, they look at you and look at your car before telling you the price for the repairs. And sometimes it could just be a minor issue,” Okonkwo says. “Sometimes what they do is that they do guesswork when the issue is very difficult.”

On the morning in question, Okonkwo had a revelation.

“So I called a colleague to come and pick me up so we could go together. That was when he mentioned it, that do I know that I could have also called, as well as searched online?” How? He introduced me to the app,” Okonkwo recalls. “When I came back, I decided to give DRIVVA a try.”

Drivva, an AI-powered car repair platform developed in Port Harcourt, tries to address Okonkwo’s problem.

Digital Record of Repairs

The platform, co-founded by Ndubuisi Chidomere and Precious Anyalewechi, enables car owners to describe problems in plain language, receive possible explanations for what is wrong, keep a digital record of repairs, and connect with mechanics and towing services.

In Nigeria, demand for vehicle maintenance support is largely due to the large size of the used-car industry. With most cars bought second-hand, new car service plans are virtually non-existent.

The country’s automobile repair and spare-parts market is estimated to be worth around 8 billion US dollars a year, with owners spending an average of 650 US dollars on maintenance on their cars each year.

A 2021 study of mechanic workplaces in Lagos, Ibadan, and Ilaro showed that just 18 per cent of mechanics had heard of or understood how to use diagnostic technology for current vehicles.

Poor diagnosis and maintenance can have far-reaching consequences: from 2020 to 2022, tyre bursts were associated with 2,328 traffic crashes in Nigeria, while mechanical defects were linked to another 1,194, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Chidomere’s Ambition

The story of Drivva began long before the platform’s launch. It began with Chidomere’s years as a mechanic and a chance meeting with Anyalewechi, who was drawn to Chidomere’s ambition to apply his skills to tackle problems beyond his own workshop.

The two met during a humanitarian event at which the mechanic distributed personal development books to young people.

Anyalewechi, who worked for the Imo State administration at the time, attended the ceremony alongside his employer. What immediately stood out to him was Chidomere’s desire to tie his work to bigger problems affecting people across Africa.

“We saw somebody who had a strong passion for humanity, and we saw how he wanted to connect everything he was doing down to solving problems for Africa,” Anyalewechi explained.

Chidomere’s background as a mechanic was also important to the challenge that the two eventually set out to tackle.

Lack of Credible Information

Before establishing Pamtech Auto Land in Owerri, Chidomere had struggled to find dependable auto repair shops and had to drive to neighbouring states to get his car fixed.

His experience as a technician and car owner eventually prompted him to establish a structured repair business and learn more about how technology may simplify vehicle care for other drivers.

According to Anyalewechi, they discovered another problem: a lack of credible information regarding what happens to a vehicle when it enters a garage.

A car owner may have a repair done and return months later with another problem, without knowing what was changed or what work had been carried out.

“We saw that vehicle information was fragmented in Africa and in Nigeria. Like everybody, you can fix your car today, and you don’t even know what was changed on that car. Three months later, your car is back. You cannot refer to your service history. You cannot also refer to your maintenance record,” Anyalewechi said.

Drivva is designed to create that record while also making it easier to find help when a vehicle breaks down. The platform says mechanics are verified before being listed, and owners can check ratings and service histories before making a booking. The company does not employ the mechanics or guarantee their work, according to its terms.

Larger Issue in the Industry

“The person who fixed your car also has access to your life and your safety at large. Because imagine – let’s put this scenario. Imagine you want to fix your car with a quack mechanic, and then he or she forgets to tighten the nuts on your tyres, and you start driving. Imagine what would happen,” Anyalewechi says.

They also hope to limit the number of calls and personal advice that stranded drivers rely on. A driver can use the app to seek a mechanic, and neighbouring mechanics on the platform will get the request. Towing services can be requested in a similar manner.

“If I’m stuck currently with Drivva, I can simply go request a mechanic, and the mechanics that are very close to that location will get a notification, and they will come to help me. It’s more like an Uber infrastructure, but for mechanics and for car owners,” Anyalewechi says.

Franklin Akwuobi Ikemefuna, a COREN-registered engineer who teaches aspiring mechanics at his automotive engineering school in Port Harcourt, believes the lack of repair histories is part of a larger issue in the industry. He compares vehicle diagnosis with a visit to a hospital, where a doctor can utilise a patient’s prior medical history to make a diagnosis rather than starting over.

Without that history, Ikemefuna claimed, mechanics end up relying on experience and memory. A mechanic who once fixed a misfiring engine by changing its spark plugs may employ the same technique again, despite the fact that an engine can misfire due to a variety of defects.

Series of Questions About the Car

“If you have a maintenance record, it helps you when you change mechanics. He will know where you stopped and where to start from and help with a fast diagnosis of the vehicle. It’s going to help save you costs as a user.”

Modern diagnostic scanners can help narrow down the possibilities, but many roadside mechanics lack official expertise or access to such equipment. Ikemefuna sees AI as another tool that might benefit mechanics and car owners, but he believes its value is dependent on the quality of information given by users.

“What you give to AI is what it gives to you,” Ikemefuna explained.

Problems that are difficult to describe, particularly noises or faults involving a vehicle’s suspension, can therefore produce uncertain answers.

“Using data to find a fault before it fails means you are having preventive maintenance, and working it when it has failed means you are doing reactive maintenance.”

Drivva’s AI diagnosis tool is driven by Google’s Gemini model, and the company’s terms refer to its responses as informational guidance rather than professional diagnosis. The programme asks a series of questions about the car and the problem before suggesting potential causes and what the owner should do next.

“Let’s say you run into a challenge without having a mechanic come to tell you something that you probably may not understand. You communicate with the tool. Let’s say your car is overheating. You tell the tool, ‘My car is overheating,’ and then it asks you, ‘What model of car?’” Anyalewechi said.

Replace Professional Repairs

The platform’s aim is to give owners information before a mechanic arrives, rather than replace professional repairs.

“So nobody is coming to tell you something now to do to extort money from you.”

Ikemefuna believes better records and earlier diagnosis could help drivers move from reacting to breakdowns to preventing them.

Additionally, he thinks that when electric and other newer car technologies grow more prevalent in Nigeria, technicians will require training to work alongside new technologies.

“Let the engineers get involved in this field. Let’s train those who are involved. Tell them how to use AI tools and assistant tools to narrow down this job,” Ikemefuna says.

AI Could Not Identify the Cause

When Okonkwo eventually gave the platform a try, he saw both its advantages and disadvantages. He questioned Drivva about why the air conditioning on his 2003 Toyota Camry required regassing just a few months after an April refill. The app advised a check and noted that gas running out so quickly might be a sign of a leak.

He also reported that the car shook while moving, but the AI could not identify the cause. It logged the complaint and helped arrange an inspection for both problems at Pamtech’s Port Harcourt workshop, where a mechanic checked the car and took it for a road test.

For Okonkwo, who once spent months moving between mechanics trying to solve a single electrical problem, having information before a mechanic arrives has made the process less of a guessing game. The mechanic may still be the person who ultimately fixes the car, but Drivva gives them a starting point for understanding what might be wrong.

For Anyalewechi, that is part of a larger ambition to make vehicle information easier for owners to access and use throughout the life of their cars.

“We are building the digital identity for every car owner in Nigeria and for every car,” Anyalewechi explained, demonstrating the size of their ambition.

 Chioma Ezenwafor, Bird Story Agency