Scan tool advice

[geekman]

I've used one of those cheap OBDII Bluetooth scanners for years and I've found that it works pretty well, particularly with third party apps that are specialized to particular brands (I have a Jeep one for example that gives me pretty much dealer level diagnostics on my Grand Cherokee), however it's limited to very basic diagnostics on my other cars as such apps don't seem to be available for most brands.

My Range Rover threw up a transmission fault yesterday and seemed fine once I turned it on and off again, but I'd like to nip any potential issue in the bud. I'm also probably going to buy my first expensive (by my standards, not OCUK standards ) car towards the end of this year and it'd be nice to be able to do a full diagnostic before buying anything.

I was talking to some Range Rover owners and they mentioned the GAP IID tool which seems to be a good option. However, it only works with JLR products and isn't particularly cheap. I've seen lots of advanced looking scan tools with good reviews from brands such as Autel, iCarsoft etc which seem to work with multiple makes and provide advanced diagnostics. Does anyone know if these will be able to give me the kind of data that the GAP IID tool can? I guess they can't, or everyone would buy those instead of the GAP IID tool, but the reviews seem to state that they can so who knows.

Any recommendations would be appreciated. I don't have a fixed budget as such, but ideally less than £500.

 

[geekman]

£500 isn't realistic for anything but very very basic entry level stuff. 2 things to bear in mind with diagnostic scanners. Do software and firmware updates come free, or are you tied to an update fee? If you don't update does it carry on working?

Secondly is it bi-directional, which means can you command the vehicle to do things via the scanner as part of test procedures? None bi-directional one are, IMO, pretty useless these days.

TopDon scanners seem pretty good and get good reviews, as do Autel.

I use Bosch as they make much of the hardware on many cars I work on, so ought to have the best insight into how to communicate with said modules. It's way way beyond hobby use cost though, and is somewhat unintuitive to use.

To be honest you might be best cultivating a good relationship with someone who has a suitable scanner and get them to loan it to you for a fee when you go looking at another car. I suppose if you want to read fault codes and not effect a repair that would be more than adequate.

Sc an tools can lead you up the garden path, I have seen three different scan tools suggest three or more different, often totally unrelated issues on the same car. Pros often have several of the damned things. And being informed there's "no communication" between the ECU and a certain can- bus module or group of modules, whilst helpful is far from telling you how to fix the problem ...

That's really useful information, thanks. I've seen a few TopDon ones which seem to get good reviews, but the one I was considering isn't bi-directional. Unfortunately, I don't know of anyone where I live who has a decent scanner apart from the dealer, and they don't really let you get involved in anything and prefer to throw parts at issues rather than properly diagnose stuff.

 

[geekman]

What car are you thinking of buying and might want to scan? Some makes have little support from aftermarket scanners and really need the OE tools to get worthwhile data. Maserati and Rolls-Royce come immediately to mind, as examples. I am not suggesting either are on your shopping list (although both can be bought by the very very brave for little money, or newer for a great deal of money, but still need OE tools to get much useful data) but just as a warning that some scanners offer poor levels of specific vehicle interrogation. You really want first hand experience opinions from users of scanner X on car Y to be sure of not buying a pup.

If you bought a VAG car there's software available for very little and cheap interrogation hardware that's sublime...

Ross-Tech: Bentley CD Order Form

Likely a Cayenne, another Range Rover or an Escalade / Navigator, all post 2015. I already have VAG com that I bought for an A6 I had years ago. I'm aware some premium brands need specialist kit, but although I buy a lot of cheap old Rolls Royces, they were luckily all made long before scanners were a thing.

I have an Autel MaxDiag MD802.

It only comes with a licence for 1 manufacturer, which you chose once you use it for the first time. Due to this it's a lot cheaper and cost me £85 for what is quite an advanced one.

Then if you have another car or move manufacturer, you can buy an additional license for $10. So it works out better value than one with all manufacturers, unless you change brands often.

That sounds like an interesting option - I'm not using it for loads of different cars so $10 for an additional license wouldn't be an issue at all. I imagine it can't do bi-directional testing like Chris mentioned though.

 

[geekman]

Thanks all, a lot of useful info.

@Chris Wilson, those reviews seem to mirror what I've been reading. No need for any guns or bullets though, I've had 5 Jags, 3 Range Rovers and an Audi, with the latter being the only one to cause financial pain. Whatever I end up buying will be positively sensible compared to my previous cars.