A method can be executed to diagnose an aerodynamic system of a vehicle and includes the following steps: (a) determining, via a controller, an expected downforce acting on an aerodynamic element of a vehicle based, at least in part, on a position of the aerodynamic element relative to a vehicle body of the vehicle; (b) determining, via the controller, a measured downforce based, at least in part, on a signal received from at least one force sensor; (c) determining a deviation, via the controller, based, at least in part, on the expected downforce and the measured aerodynamic force; and (d) controlling, via the controller, the aerodynamic element based, at least in part, on the deviation.