A method for operating an internal combustion engine such as an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle is disclosed. The method includes the steps of: checking the operability of at least one component by a diagnostic function (D); causing the diagnostic function (D) to transmit data (CB) that the diagnostic function (D) could have found a fault to a central function (CF) in a format uniform for all diagnostic functions (D); and, causing the central function (CF) to process the data (CB).