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if you plan to diagnosis only your own car, explore if there is a techstream type setup available. Bidirectional for tmc vehicles.
Home DIYer scan tool.
- Thread starter Graham Piccinini
- Start date
Plan to use on multiple vehicles, ranging from 2003-2012 model years. Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai.
IMHO, you might reconsider that limit. The problem that you’ll run into is that you’ll again max out the capabilities of the new scanner and want to upgrade again. You know that over time your abilities will increase. It sucks to be limited by your scan tool.
I recently acquired a Creader Elite 200 and the auto vin detect function performed well on both our GM and Acura vehicles. The nice thing about this scanner is that it stores the previous vehicle diagnostic health reports and allows you to send them via e-mail. The CRP123X offers more reset functions out of the box so if you're willing to pay a little more upfront then it's hard to beat.
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I just bought this one and I hate to say why. Our 2011 has a P0420 that my old < $20 one can’t read. It was $20.99 and imho surprising it does among others, live data such as distance from last clear which I like to see:
I have a Autel that does ABS and airbags that I got for $85 on a special. But I hate to have to pull it out and screw in the parallel cable etc. Sadly I did need this—our 2011 GM had its $7 brake pedal position sensor fail and needed an ABS reset. Oddly too, once the battery died and needed an airbag reset.
Long story short is for $20.99, the Ancel AD310 does a lot for that price, and is small and can be carried in the car.
Edit here is the Autel I got for $85. Can’t say anything bad about it—it worked for ABS and the SRS on a 2011 GM. I just don’t want to carry it around nor deal with the cable just for a P0420 read….
I have a Autel that does ABS and airbags that I got for $85 on a special. But I hate to have to pull it out and screw in the parallel cable etc. Sadly I did need this—our 2011 GM had its $7 brake pedal position sensor fail and needed an ABS reset. Oddly too, once the battery died and needed an airbag reset.
Long story short is for $20.99, the Ancel AD310 does a lot for that price, and is small and can be carried in the car.
Edit here is the Autel I got for $85. Can’t say anything bad about it—it worked for ABS and the SRS on a 2011 GM. I just don’t want to carry it around nor deal with the cable just for a P0420 read….
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For those with the full monty version, how often are you using the bi-directional on engine / transmission. Only thing I have needed it for (yet) was ABS. I can see airbag and SRS stuff. Is there much you can command on in Engine/transmission that is useful?
Absolutely. Trans solenoids, evap solenoids, cooling fans, just to name a few
Yes. My daughter has a 2010 Chevy Cobalt which was throwing a transmission shift solenoid code. I was able to use the bi-directional feature of my Thinktool Pros scanner to activate the shift solenoids and found that the one that was showing a code would not activate while the other one would. I checked the wiring going to the transmission as well as the transmission connector and could not find any issues with the wiring or connector and tentatively diagnosed a bad shift solenoid.
Since the repair to replace the solenoid was a 7 hour job and I didn't have a lift or a warm place to work on it, we found someone to do the repair and he did his own diagnosis and agreed with me that the one solenoid was bad and he replaced both shift solenoids since he was already in there and the car has been problem free for the past month and the transmission shifts great.
I also used bi-directional controls to test the VVT solenoids on her car since she had a code for the exhaust VVT system and I was able to verify that both solenoids were operating. Code was cleared to see if it would come back and so far after a month it hasn't.
There are a ton of things that the higher dollars scan tools can control bi-directionally. Various solenoids, fuel pumps in some instances, various interior features, Evap components, and many other things.
The problem with a lot of these cheaper scan tools or code readers is that they don't access all of the modules on the vehicle and you can miss problems because the scan tool can't access the information.
I've been looking for a scantool myself as an upgrade. I currently have the Autel AL619, mainly got it to do clear airbags codes.
But the A30M is kinda high on my list being at $200ish. I need something to do battery coding on BMW and rear brake jobs for the ones with E-parking brakes.
If i'm reading correctly compared to the Xtool D7 which is like $400ish, its the same software just minus the tablet. You use your own phone/tablet with the A30m. Hence the $200 difference. One huge plus is that most of these tablets all scanners use are junk. Old Android OS, junk battery life and etc. So for the most part, the phones we have are way more modern and powerful.
Sadly the people on youtube doing reviews on A30M are not very in-depth with the scanner. Just show it reading a code and clearing it, nothing on functions and etc.
Again, the A30 Pro is standalone. Although yes, I worry about battery life and if it can be serviced.
From what I saw when shopping it seemed to have nearly all the functionality of a D7 (although the one or two things it lacks might be the exact things you need, esp for euro imports? Maybe?) and lifetime updates. The D7 had a fee schedule for updates.
But I agree with you-- the Pro is a bit like using an oversized, clunky Android. But I do like the option of buttons OR touch screen, simply for the redundancy if nothing else. That said, the physical keypad clearly consumes a lot of space that could be more screen or just not there to be more compact.
I guess it depends on the price range of scanner you buy. My Thinktool ProS scanner is a tablet style that runs Android 10 and has been flawless for over two years. The battery life is also very good even after two years.
The downside of a cell phone-based scanner is that the screen size is way too small for me. I like bigger screens to display more information that is easier to see.
Wow. Could you provide info on getting the D7 software only to load on a tablet?
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Why not sent an Email to Xtools and ask any questions directly. The do answer them.
Did that- no response
Most are Chinese junk. Pay your money and take your chances. Updates are horrible. Ancel fx1000 is what I bought for gm vehicles. It gets the job done but the menus are horrible. I haven’t seen an update in months. Auto vin scan has always locked it up.
I use BlueDriver most times. It’s ok. No bidirectional abilities. To be honest there hasn’t been any updates either for it.
I use BlueDriver most times. It’s ok. No bidirectional abilities. To be honest there hasn’t been any updates either for it.
When you are buying the cheaper code readers or scan tools, that is what you are going to get. To get good support, you have to buy from a US distributor and if you want regular updates, you are going to have to have a scanner that has a yearly subscription. My Thinktool Pros has updates weekly. Most of the cheap scan tools don't even offer any updates.
I get that some people can't afford, or don't want to spend the money on a good scan tool but if that is the case, you have to accept the limitations of your tool and the info it provides. I'm a DIY'er who has been working on my own cars for over 40 years. I don't trust most shops and most that I've dealt with don't know how to diagnose a vehicle correctly. They see a code and then want to shotgun a part at it which is totally the wrong way to fix these newer vehicles. Codes only give you a place to start. You still have to test things so you are not spending money on unnecessary parts. This is why I paid for a higher cost scanner and even it doesn't do everything.
You also have to have access to service information and wiring diagrams to be able to fix this stuff. Without it, you are just shooting into the wind. I spend the money on factory service manuals or subscribe to things like Alldata DIY to have the information that I need. You need to understand basic electricity and how to use a multimeter and a test light at the minimum to be able to diagnose anything.
Like they say, you have to pay to play and if you can't or don't want to spend the money on this stuff, you might as well find a shop that you trust and knows what they are doing to fix the problems.
i’ll say it again
thinkdiag
thinkdiag
THINKCAR OBD2 Scanner, ThinkScan Plus S6 ABS/SRS/ECM/TCM System Diagnostic Scan Tool, 5 Reset Services Car Scanner, 94+ Vehicle Brands Code Reader, AutoAuth for FCA SGW https://a.co/d/gda9fvq
I have had this for 2 years. Free updates. You get 5 resets included however if you need more then it is 30 a year for each one. Mine only came with 3 and I needed more so I upgraded to Autel however that is out of your range.
I have had this for 2 years. Free updates. You get 5 resets included however if you need more then it is 30 a year for each one. Mine only came with 3 and I needed more so I upgraded to Autel however that is out of your range.
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