In need of a proper diagnostic tool!!!

Hi all! What diagnostic tool can I buy that will give me good system info on hopefully several ages of vehicles new and old. There’s a lot to choose from on Amazon for example, but I don’t know what’s junk and what’s good! I’d like to be able to effectively troubleshoot my 2002 tundras and 2020 sienna, for example, in one tool if possible. Please advise!

 

All u need is a obd 2 wireless plug from Amazon, and obd2 app. Just to read codes and a few live data sensors. If you ain’t making a living with it you don’t need a 10k snap on scanner

 

Thanks winning8 but I have a simple obd scan tool and it doesn’t give much info. Doesn’t even read my 2020 sienna. Isn’t there something in between the basic tool and the 10k tool that could actually read system data? On Amazon for example there’s a huge range of prices but what’s the differences between $20 and $500?!

 

I use this one, it’s the app that let you read the code and live data. I haven’t search long enough to see which app is better… as for now I only use it as a gauge for AT temp, as my 19 tundra don’t have a AT cooler. But I did see some apps have long and short term fuel trim, O2 sensors voltage, MAF, coolant temp…etc

 

I would look for a tool that can log data over time and plot at least two parameters against one another. Also, if they can read manufacturer PIDs that would be a bonus as well.

 

See, this is the kind of info that you just can’t find on Google. Thanks guys

 

Just to break this down for you, you need hardware and software:
1) a Bluetooth or wifi adapter
2) an app to run on your phone.

The type of phone you have will dictate the adapter you use. BT for Android, wifi for Apple.

I have an iPhone, but years ago when I bought my scan tool, Torque Pro was the hands-down market leader -- it's $6 and is Android only (no Apple version). So I got an old Android phone,
bought the Elm327 BT adapter, and have been using it since.

Torque Pro is still widely used. There is all sorts of user support and development for this app.

I have this BT adapter.

Mini Bluetooth OBD2 Scanner OBDATOR ELM327 Automotive OBD OBDII Code Reader Car Check Engine Light Diagnostic Scan Tool for Android PC

https://www.amazon.com/obdator-Bluetooth-Scanner-Automotive-Diagnostic/dp/B074DWH8JR
And as I said, I run the Torque Pro app on an old Android phone. It works great.

I also have a copy of the Toyota dealer software (Techstream) running on a dedicated Windows XP laptop. This is the gold standard for Toyota/Lexus/Scion vehicles. It is literally the exact same software the dealer has. It's a little bit more expensive -- (I think I spent about $40 for the OBDII/USB adapter, the software was free) -- and it requires a bit of computer/IT knowledge. There are all sorts of sources for this online.

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/info-on-bxfx-obd-dongle-engine-gauges-monitoring-1st-gen-only.72698/

This was a pretty good thread on all the different types.
I have the "blue driver " I made a post in that thread about it as well. Works great. I use it between my tundra, dodge cummins, friends ford's and chevys with no problems

 

Teeing off this, for the iOS/iPhone guys out there, I see BlueDriver OBD Scan Tool is still an option, and at a 4.7/5.0 star rating, which is great. But I also see another app, that's been around quite a few years and has a 4.8/5.0 rating with double the number of reviews called Car Scanner ELM OBD2 in the App Store. Anyone have any experience with it? It looks a little closer to the Torque Pro app to me. Actually, the OBDLink app has high ratings almost identical to BlueDriver, and is much closer to Torque Pro's dashboard (It look like a duplicate of OBD Fusion, strangely)

I have Techstream on a junker laptop with a VCI cable but it's pretty clunky. I'd like an Autel mk808 or mx808 for more portability, but honestly, the pricepoint is craptastic at best considering it's basically an Android app on a touch screen that probably costs $40-60 to mass-produce. If they were making it in the $200-300 range I'd already have one.

 

Oh, and this is the other thing I was looking at, as far as dongles go. Since there are so many black regular-profile and blue low-profile units out there with bad circuit designs, and we've had members here who've had issues with killing batteries and/or really bizarre truck behavior if you leave it plugged in all the time.

I found this one that is definitely more spendy, and there are knockoffs of it on scAmazon for almost exactly half the price, but looks like it's bi-directional, free firmware updates from a legit company that's sticking around, lots of 3rd party app support, free firmware updates, supports low power mode/sleep mode to avoid battery drain, supports custom OEM coding, etc.

https://www.obdlink.com/products/obdlink-mxp/

Manufacturer says if you don't need to use it with advanced Ford/GM stuff, to get the LX version which is under $90 but I guess has all the same stuff?:

https://www.obdlink.com/products/obdlink-lx/

Maybe I'll bounce them an email and ask which product is "best" for our 1st gens...

 

I have one of those el cheapo bluetooth readers you get on Amazon, and it seems to make my ABS light flash intermittently. It appears to have no adverse effects on drivability, but I do wonder if there's any reader that doesn't exhibit this behavior. I may try one of those OBDLink LX units. Anyone know of any other readers that don't trigger the ABS light?

 

I have an Autel MaxiAP AP200 from Walmart. When I bought mine there was a code in the box to allow you to get a free lifetime access to one auto manufacturers Pids, or diagnostic software thing. Obviously, I used it for the Toyota codes. You can buy additional codes for other Auto manufacturers for about $12.99 IIRC. They are good for one year.

This works mostly well with my Android phone. I have used it to record livedata, and then post to YT for members here to help me troubleshoot before.

Things I don't like about it:

• You cannot add another scanner to your app. You bind the serial number of the scanner to your account information. You can't just buy another scanner to leave in every vehicle, and use the same app on your phone. You have to swap the code reader to the vehicle you want to read. Which isn't that big a deal really...

• If you leave it plugged in to the vehicle like I do, you have to unplug it, and plug it back in to the vehicle to reconnect to it with your phone if you want to read codes.

• Sometimes it takes a minute for the app to register the code reader is connected via Bluetooth. I have to "forget" the code reader from my phones Bluetooth history, and then "re-discover" it in my phone's settings before the app will register it. This doesn't happen very often. Maybe once every three months. Usually its after I hadn't used the code reader in some time.

Here's a Walmart link.

Here's some videos of live data that I recorded for crackie so you can see how the app looks on my end.
https://youtu.be/uxfT8BzcZks
https://youtu.be/s0YSlKAcXO4

 

FYI @sakana

I heard back pretty quickly from the OBD Link team, those guys are fast! They told me they'd recommend the CX model for our trucks, it's $10 less than the LX.

https://www.obdlink.com/products/obdlink-cx/

Main reason being, the LX unit isn't MFI certified thus won't work with iOS, only Android. The CX and MX+ models are MFI certified, thus would work with iOS or Android devices and apps. Hell, I'll never argue with a company who wants me to spend less money

I shot them a question in return to ask if there's any benefit whatsoever for us 2000-2006 owners in buying the MX+, since it seems like a more packed unit.

EDIT:

Here's the response from their support team:

"I admit, it's not clear to me what "OEM-specific data add-ons" are, unless it's similar to Torque Pro, where you can apply custom pids to get non-standard sensor info, like transmission temp, etc. Am I on the right track there?"

The OEM Specific add-ons add the ability to read/clear OEM DTCs and read OEM live parameters (like transmission temperature) that your vehicle supports reading.​

"where you apply custom pids to get non-standard sensor info"

However, you can already do this in the OBDLink app under Settings > User-Defined PIDs > Menu > New if you have access to the PID information/equations needed to view it.​

"Do you get "Free unlimited OEM-specific data add-ons" with the CX model, like you would with the MX+?"

No, but they are available for purchase for $14.95 USD each.​

"For a 2000-2006 Tundra, is there any actual advantage to buying the MX+ instead of the CX?"

Both scan tools have physical access to the same networks required to view OEM data. Unless you have access to any other vehicles, you will likely have the same experience with CX as you would with MX+.​

So it looks like the gist is, if you can find the PID info out there to add other monitoring for things like transmission temp - which is quite possibly the exact same PID string Torque App uses to access those things - you could probably get by just fine with the CX. But buying the MX+, I suppose, would allow you just to query OBD Link's team directly to request the PID info for your make/model/year?

Best guess on that last bit, but you can always open a support ticket through their site to ask. Clearly their support team is very well-versed in this stuff, and must be domestic based on their hours, clear grasp of the product, and flawless English.

 

One more response from the OBD Link team which may help others decide between their CX ($79) and MX+ ($140) products:

"Is it safe to assume the PID data/string required to enable trans temp for a 2006 Tundra in one smartphone app, such as Torque Pro, would also work in the OBD Link app, with the CX or MX+ dongles?"

It should, as we have had users import PIDs from Torque Pro into our app and vice versa.
However, this would be dependent upon your vehicle and the PID equation to be supported.
​

It's worth noting, their OBD Link smartphone app is - if I'm not mistaken - 100% free when you buy the adapter. Is it worth it? It's your wallet, I guess that's for you to decide. I'm going to mull over whether to spend an extra $60 myself for the flagship MX+ model.

Oh, and clearly the CX model is more-compact, easy to leave in 24/7. The MX+ is clearly larger, and not so easy to leave in. Could be a dealbreaker for some people.

 

Once again, I thank you for sharing all that excellent info. I am probably going to buy another OBD-II bluetooth reader to replace the ELM 337 unit I currently have. I would like to leave the reader plugged in most of the time, and the flashing ABS light is kind of annoying. It's a bit disconcerting that the OBD Link website makes the claim that their reader "won't brick your ECU" - which kind of implies that other bluetooth OBD-II readers might do so. I don't know how real of a concern that is though.

I own three "Toyotas" (quotes needed because of of them is a Lexus LX450, and I don't want to offend the Land Cruiser purists, and the other is a Subaru BRZ which admittedly, is only part-Toyota). I'd love to be able to monitor transmission temp data for both my LX450 and my Tundra through the Torque Pro app, (or OBD Link's own app) - but the LX450 doesn't send trans temp data over OBD-II. You have to install an external trans temp sensor. Is the Tundra the same way?

 

Man, all I gotta say is BE CAREFUL OUT THERE, Y'ALL!

Check this typical scAmazon garbage out. I was just checking to see if this company had a better price on scAmazon, while hunting for coupons before buying.

I was stoked to find it was almost $20 cheaper buying on scAmazon. Then I looked to see who was selling/fulfilling, to make sure it was OBDLink. Instead, the name of the storefront is literally someone tapping random key input from the middle row of a keyboard. I clicked on the "Sold by" link and this is what came up.

Any bets whether I'd get a counterfeit product or not if I fulfilled this order? This is why scAmazon is hot garbage. Anyone can setup an account and sell you things under the product page, with easy way to tell if it's coming from the OEM, from un-authenticated product in scAmazon warehouses, or direct from a factory in China and/or that fraudulent company's stock room. EDIT: OBDLink confirmed, part is counterfeit, not even an authorized reseller.

 

I wonder how the OBDLinkMX+ compares to Bluedriver. I'm kind of into the live data logging but there's not a lot of detail from the OBDLinkMX+.

Truthfully, I"m not sure if that data is temporarily stored on the transmitter itself before before uploaded to your smartphone. It would make sense to do so.

 

MX+ supports live data logging, but they don't make it clear how far back it stores. What I'd tell you is to shoot a 'contact us' support email over to them. M-F they replied back to me same-day, and sometimes within 1-2 hours (for a non-customer!), it was really refreshing.

 

I'll have you know I'm a long time customer of the dlkgjeifgakjsfhasjk;f store front. One time they messed up my order and I got to speak to Mr. dlkgjeifgakjsfhasjk;f himself.

 

Well, their support team was cool about the fraud tip, and gave me a limited-time coupon for 20% off the MX+, LX, or CX models.

If anyone is interested, the code is here but you only works on their sister site, which is shown when you click the spoiler:

Spoiler

RCDECUMX: 20% off a new MX+, LX, or CX
***Please note, the above discount code is ONLY valid on www.ScanTool.net

I just ordered mine. Hopefully this saves one of you guys some coin!

@sakana tagging you since you seemed like you may be in the market.

 

Sounds like the same guy who came up with the safe word for that Club Vandersex place in the movie Eurotrip.

 

I just bought this one for about $200. It does 2 way Communication, so you can check ABS, etc. I think it does great.