your go to scan tool (Page 2 of 2)
|
I have several. AlfaOBD on an android tablet with an OBDLink MX+ interface. OBDJScan on my iPad or iPhone with the same interface. DiagFCA on a windoze laptop with a USB ELM327 (a REAL one) interface. Foxwell NS510 with Chrysler add-on (convenient to use, not as full featured as the other two). I have a couple others, a MaxiDiag 810 (iirc) that will do some mfg specific stuff into the early 2000's, it's eh, ok. I also have one that will do the OBD_I scanning for Chrysler, Ford, and GM, just in case. |
Award: 24/365 Most likely to be an appendix.
"Arfcom makes me happy. Arfcom is like a giant, heavily armed, dysfunctional family that smells like cheetos and gun oil." - Undefined
"Arfcom makes me happy. Arfcom is like a giant, heavily armed, dysfunctional family that smells like cheetos and gun oil." - Undefined
|
Snap-On Solus Edge NOT WORTH THE MONEY!!!!!! I spend more money every year just to keep this thing working than its worth, but its kinda like that old car that you just keep dumping money into because you have so much invested in it. In the last year it has acquired some sort of WIFI glitch and will only connect when you really dont need it to. I have sent it in 3 times and they tell me there is nothing wrong with it. I think they ate just like the PC and phone companies. Just keep updating and eventually the updates do more harm than good so you get frustrated and buy a new one.$$$$$$$$$ Well I wont buy another snap on. Next one will come with free life time updates. |
|
I got the cheap "veepeak" from amazon. The recommended app works great with it and shows translated codes and data for my 2017 and 2023 toyotas and 2018 honda. It logs data, shows real time parameters as numbers and/or on a strip chart, and does everything I wanted to do. It does some things I didn't even know you could do. The bluetooth scanner was under $40 and the app was free(Cost $7 to let you view/log more than 2 parameters at a time). |
|
Originally Posted By HELOBRAVO: @justinu235 I have an ‘08 5 Series that I was given. Will Carly allow me to program AFS headlights out? I replaced them with halogens. Not paying 1600$ for AFS but I don’t have high beams. Originally Posted By HELOBRAVO: Originally Posted By JustinU235: Carly @justinu235 I have an ‘08 5 Series that I was given. Will Carly allow me to program AFS headlights out? I replaced them with halogens. Not paying 1600$ for AFS but I don’t have high beams. CARLY sucks. I had it back when it was a flat $50 and it did the few little things that I needed. Now they charge fees every year and nickel and dime you for everything. They were even auto charging my credit card which I didn’t know till later. I fixed that shit fast. I went and bought an Autel from Amazon for a few hundred bucks. More, but far better than that CARLY garbage |
|
Alright, here is a question for you guys; I am looking for a scan tool that can handle key programming; any advice? Background, the local airport just auctioned off a handful of abandoned cars, and I am now the not so proud owner of a 2000 Grand Marquis, and a 2007 Nissan Altima; the downside, no keys for either. The Nissan actually came with a FOB in the glovebox, but the key inside the fob isn't cut at all, and when I pop it into the dash it still reads "no key" on the dash when I hook up the battery. The Mercury has no keys at all, but I got a new ignition lock with two transponder keys coming from rockauto, I can handle drilling out the old tumbler and replacing, but I will still need to program the keys. I talked to both a local locksmith and the Nissan dealer, both of which could only give me ballparks between $150-$400, but then I got to thinking, $300 on each car adds up to a fairly decent scan tool, which I wouldnyt mind as my current scanner is a cheapass cen-tech my brother gave me about ten years ago. The other food for thought here is my daily is a 2008 Tundra, and my wife has a 2012 Murano that she would like to get rid of in the next year or two for a minivan (more than likely a Sienna). Any recommendations for under $600ish for an all around scanner that would work for more than one manufacturer, or am way low on my price range? |
| i bought an Autel MX900 from a guy in one of the sloppy mechanics / scanner facebook groups, factory authorized guy here stateside, one thing to be careful of is the ones on ebay and amazon are cheaper, but if/when they need to be serviced, they are the grey market asian overseas models, i think the guys name was peter reese. paid like 500 or 600 for it, comes with a 1 year update included. if its for immobilizer keys i think it will do most of them . |
|
From the Teams Amazon deal page, I picked up the Otofix D1 by Autel. $500 now, I paid $390 last Cyber Monday. Android based, it's a useable tablet as well. Otofix D1 Worked well on my daughter's 2019 VW Jetta. Found several codes that led to diagnosing a intermittent alternator issue. It's been very helpful with our fleet of BMW's. Just registered a new battery for our X5. Big surprise was coding keys on my newly acquired 2008 Land Rover LR3, found the root cause of a CEL (dirty MAF), and ran through all the sensors and computer programs. OE-level Diagnostics Powerful and fast diagnosis for all vehicle systems Bi-directional Control for available components including actuators, valves, and pumps Supports ECU information, read/erase codes and live data Guide Function provides more DTC tips (Supports Volkswagen/Audi) Supports advanced features of Volkswagen and Audi including online coding, online IMMO, and hidden function renewal (By subscription only) Key Features: Read/clear codes for all available systems. Display live data in text, graph & analog for easy data review AutoVIN technology automatically identifies vehicle make, model, and year information in no time Bi-directional control enables the D1 to perform active tests on your vehicle to quickly identify problems before they leave you stranded |
|
Originally Posted By prossound: I’m a professional diagnostic tech. I have access to every factory tool out there except Maserati. I just got the Topdon blue tooth tool to play around with. I’m very impressed. I got the $99 dollar one to play around with keys but the $59 is a great bargain. I have no relationship with them just really digging the tool @prossound I bought the Topdon Topscan Pro and have a question regarding active mode or scan mode. The scanner shows values in counts, say 0-200 counts. What do these represent? Also, looking at hvac it has limited bi-directional controls. It shows two switches at the bottom, defrost and floor. I can't get it to operate temp doors. I just replaced a rear hvac actuator after finding fault codes using the Topdon. I couldn't connect to toggle the actuator, though. It shows a ton of data and I like it.  " />
|
|
Originally Posted By 1969GTX: @prossound I bought the Topdon Topscan Pro and have a question regarding active mode or scan mode. The scanner shows values in counts, say 0-200 counts. What do these represent? Also, looking at hvac it has limited bi-directional controls. It shows two switches at the bottom, defrost and floor. I can't get it to operate temp doors. I just replaced a rear hvac actuator after finding fault codes using the Topdon. I couldn't connect to toggle the actuator, though. It shows a ton of data and I like it. https://i.ibb.co/0pzGG7JC/Screenshot-20250730-190603.jpg" target="_blank">https://i.ibb.co/0pzGG7JC/Screenshot-20250730-190603.jpg @1969GTX what vehicle? Some brands use counts instead of angle or position to represent the door position. If you command change with the controls you should see the counts change in relation to position |
|
Originally Posted By kingfish: CARLY sucks. I had it back when it was a flat $50 and it did the few little things that I needed. Now they charge fees every year and nickel and dime you for everything. They were even auto charging my credit card which I didn’t know till later. I fixed that shit fast. I went and bought an Autel from Amazon for a few hundred bucks. More, but far better than that CARLY garbage Originally Posted By kingfish: Originally Posted By HELOBRAVO: Originally Posted By JustinU235: Carly @justinu235 I have an ‘08 5 Series that I was given. Will Carly allow me to program AFS headlights out? I replaced them with halogens. Not paying 1600$ for AFS but I don’t have high beams. CARLY sucks. I had it back when it was a flat $50 and it did the few little things that I needed. Now they charge fees every year and nickel and dime you for everything. They were even auto charging my credit card which I didn’t know till later. I fixed that shit fast. I went and bought an Autel from Amazon for a few hundred bucks. More, but far better than that CARLY garbage Same boat with iCarly, the autocharge.sucks, they did not refund it so I had to cancel to avoid the following autocharge. |
|
Originally Posted By kmarkst1: Alright, here is a question for you guys; I am looking for a scan tool that can handle key programming; any advice? Background, the local airport just auctioned off a handful of abandoned cars, and I am now the not so proud owner of a 2000 Grand Marquis, and a 2007 Nissan Altima; the downside, no keys for either. The Nissan actually came with a FOB in the glovebox, but the key inside the fob isn't cut at all, and when I pop it into the dash it still reads "no key" on the dash when I hook up the battery. The Mercury has no keys at all, but I got a new ignition lock with two transponder keys coming from rockauto, I can handle drilling out the old tumbler and replacing, but I will still need to program the keys. I talked to both a local locksmith and the Nissan dealer, both of which could only give me ballparks between $150-$400, but then I got to thinking, $300 on each car adds up to a fairly decent scan tool, which I wouldnyt mind as my current scanner is a cheapass cen-tech my brother gave me about ten years ago. The other food for thought here is my daily is a 2008 Tundra, and my wife has a 2012 Murano that she would like to get rid of in the next year or two for a minivan (more than likely a Sienna). Any recommendations for under $600ish for an all around scanner that would work for more than one manufacturer, or am way low on my price range? You might need a manufacturer scan tool to program keys. Some of them allow you to purchase a one day activation for the software. |
|
Originally Posted By prossound: @1969GTX what vehicle? Some brands use counts instead of angle or position to represent the door position. If you command change with the controls you should see the counts change in relation to position Originally Posted By prossound: Originally Posted By 1969GTX: @prossound I bought the Topdon Topscan Pro and have a question regarding active mode or scan mode. The scanner shows values in counts, say 0-200 counts. What do these represent? Also, looking at hvac it has limited bi-directional controls. It shows two switches at the bottom, defrost and floor. I can't get it to operate temp doors. I just replaced a rear hvac actuator after finding fault codes using the Topdon. I couldn't connect to toggle the actuator, though. It shows a ton of data and I like it. https://i.ibb.co/0pzGG7JC/Screenshot-20250730-190603.jpg" target="_blank">https://i.ibb.co/0pzGG7JC/Screenshot-20250730-190603.jpg @1969GTX what vehicle? Some brands use counts instead of angle or position to represent the door position. If you command change with the controls you should see the counts change in relation to position @prossound 2014 GMC Yukon. I figured the counts were similar to ohms on a rheostat. For example, 0 counts would be hvac door closed, 200 counts would be hvac door open, and anywhere in the middle is a blend? I am really impressed with the amount of data and system info I can see on this scanner for $100. Tons of options as far as maintenance goes. |
|
Originally Posted By 1969GTX: @prossound 2014 GMC Yukon. I figured the counts were similar to ohms on a rheostat. For example, 0 counts would be hvac door closed, 200 counts would be hvac door open, and anywhere in the middle is a Basically correct. Sometimes low is closed sometimes fully opened. Depends on orientation of the actuator. Older GM definitely has limitations for bilateral control. @1969GTX |
|
Originally Posted By prossound: Basically correct. Sometimes low is closed sometimes fully opened. Depends on orientation of the actuator. Older GM definitely has limitations for bilateral control. @1969GTX That makes sense on the limitations. I haven't tried it on my 03 Pathfinder yet, but I won't have huge expectations. Thanks for the explaination. |
|
The Xtool D7 @ $300 should accomplish this task. You can always ask amazon AI on its product page. Chatgpt is a good source for asking specific questions like the one you're asking. Another good question is what's a more capable bidirectional scanner than the Xtool D7. I have the D7 and it's great. Head and shoulders above Bluedriver, but there's others, though not many, that can do more for a similar price. Again, Chatgpt can help find a better one. |
|
Originally Posted By RD20: The Xtool D7 @ $300 should accomplish this task. You can always ask amazon AI on its product page. Chatgpt is a good source for asking specific questions like the one you're asking. Another good question is what's a more capable bidirectional scanner than the Xtool D7. I have the D7 and it's great. Head and shoulders above Bluedriver, but there's others, though not many, that can do more for a similar price. Again, Chatgpt can help find a better one. Y'all watch out with these chinese ones. Xtool was recently found to have some piss-poor software, as is common with chinese apps. It led to remote code execution on the device over the network, and the list of permissions allows the bad guy to use their app as malware. If you're using one of their dongles and your personal phone, you're pretty well screwed.  Once the attacker has pwned the app and the device, they can also start sending commands to the car.https://www.nowsecure.com/blog/2025/07/16/remote-code-execution-discovered-in-xtool-anyscan-app-risks-to-phones-and-vehicles/ |
|
I was using some wifi obd2 dongle with dash command for years. i eventually bought a veepak bluetooth one to use with bimmerlink and bimmercode and bootmod3 i'm waiting to see if there's a black friday sale before i buy a new adapter, and sgw bypass and alfaobd or multiecuscan. just did an oil change and tired of looking at the reminder and it's still counting down days. miles hit 0 forever ago. |
|
Looking at the INNOVA 5610. Few questions for any users here: Will Innova bleed brakes, ie CYCLE ABS Pump? Will it bi-directionally run, ie COMMAND HVAC blend door actuators to run through their range? Can it change speedo/tire-size/ axle ratio VSS count dividers? any possible way to adjust spark timing maps with such a generic rig ? Thanks.... |
| Got an Xtool IP 500 for a 120. I really needed a unit with bidirectional controls. I’m not concerned out malware as it’s completely standalone and does what I need. |
A king has his reign, and then he dies. It's inevitable. That is natural order of things.
The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long.
The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long.
I bought an XTool D8W last spring for about 550 bucks.  
It is very capable with regards to functions, bi-directional controls, programming, etc. I love the wireless dongle and the size of the tablet. I love the network topology. I don't like that you don't get to choose which PIDs you can monitor while using bi-directional controls. You are stuck with their pre-determined PIDs for each bi-directional function.. The graphing interface isn't great. I wish it was more like the Launch graphing. All in all, not bad. Hard to beat for the price. |
|
With all the superfluous electronic BS built into modern autos, why do you suppose each car does not come with its own built in scan tool? It probably wouldn't require anything more than some software. Heck, they even have TV-sized displays to show you the information. |
| It really depends on what vehicle you are talking about. Mini, BMW, Ford, VW...I have a couple of different scanners depending on what vehicles I'm using it on. TorquePRO app for your phone is pretty good for monitoring things, and resetting check engine lights...but that's about it. It works on most cars. |
| Nevermind, replied a long long time ago, in a browser far away. |
Award: 24/365 Most likely to be an appendix.
"Dealing with Congress is like trying to have an adult conversation about the credit card with your alcoholic bi-polar Ukranian import wife."
"Dealing with Congress is like trying to have an adult conversation about the credit card with your alcoholic bi-polar Ukranian import wife."