Diag Tools - Not TS. Handhelds (1 Viewer)

[blackohio]

Ive tried searching with mixed and mostly older results.

Looking for a app / dongle or handheld to do all the things. I come from the VW / Audi world and we have Vagcom and OBDeleven and the OBDeleven is a great tool for diag and mods.

Im thinking of doing a Launch Creader Elite 2.0 or an xTools IP500-TLS. Im all OSX based so doing T/S isnt an option I want to really explore as I would need to grab a windows laptop

 

[Rednexus]

I have this one, which reads Toyota ABS/SRS codes:

https://www.harborfreight.com/zr13s-obd2-code-reader-with-abssrsfixassist-57666.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21901270535&campaignid=21901270535&utm_content=169550064719&adsetid=169550064719&product=57666&store=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA-Oi7BhA1EiwA2rIu2_81-m0Gof5s3HQNDjh8QqKLs36F4bFyHZUw7VrGNz80i5RBsf-aKBoCzucQAvD_BwE

If you want more functionality than that, you're stuck with getting TechStream or a much more expensive handheld option. You can buy a Windows laptop for like $200 and install TechStream on it. It would be cheaper than one of the $600+ scanners, and is what I did to install VFTuner and upload a tune of my GX. In nearly 4.5 years of GX ownership, I've never needed TechSeam. Most things I've gotten by just fine with a $5 license of TorquePro and a $15 Wifi OBD2 dongle. I only bought the Zurich reader when I had to diagnose an airbag light. I've only used VFTuner to upload tunes.

 

[rommelrommel]

I run techstream on an older apple laptop, virtualbox and run a VM. Supposedly there are some good and cheap scanners these days, I've seen this mentioned a few places:

https://www.amazon.com/Scanner-TOPDON-ArtiDiag500-Transmission-Diagnostic/dp/B08XK3DJ42

 

[blackohio]

I run techstream on an older apple laptop, virtualbox and run a VM. Supposedly there are some good and cheap scanners these days, I've seen this mentioned a few places:

https://www.amazon.com/Scanner-TOPDON-ArtiDiag500-Transmission-Diagnostic/dp/B08XK3DJ42

I havent run any of the faux-windows systems since the first inception, but i'd need to partition my machine to run that right and thats not something im interested in doing.

I'll dig into that device. With their being so many chinese clone devices it's hard to sift through what works and is good. The obdeleven device for vw/audi was awesome.

 

[Poop Bubbles]

I run TS on an older mac (2019?) with bootcamp. Partitioning isn't that big of a deal. You don't need your whole disk with iCloud. But on newer macs with silicon chips this won't work.

I'm sure VW has better tools, they break all the time. The awesome thing about Toyotas is you rarely need diagnostics.

TS is your best bet regardless.

 

[Jstawgn]

OBD fusion app can access all the module but they are not user friendly.
Carista might be easier to use but they charge monthly subscription

Autel is probably the best dedicated handheld that even all car thief use them to clone keys or register new keys.

 

[Poop Bubbles]

Carista doesn't do much on a 470 beyond basic scans. You can't change settings with it like on some cars. I think the 460 is supported, but not the 470.

You also can't register a new key on a 470 without a master key present. It will turn on the electronics but it won't start. And if you lose the master key, there is an entire computer module that has to be replaced along with it. It's nearly impossible to steal a GX470 without a tow truck or a key. It's also a real f'n headache if you lose your keys...

 

[swissarmyknife]

I use the MX+ OBD2 dongle and Torque Pro on a 10in Samsung tablet in split screen (offline maps on one side and TP on the other). TP is highly configurable, where you can add custom PID's with formulas. The only one I had to add to monitor while driving was the AT trans fluid temp, everything else I care about was already there (fuel trim, calculated gas tank level, engine load, up and downstream O2 sensor voltages for the cats, etc.). If you need to do deeper diagnostic then TS is a must have, including key registration/programming if you still have a master key as mentioned above.

 

[Malleus]

Shamelessly highjacking this thread:
@swissarmyknife what formula did you use for the ATF temp PID?

 

[Poop Bubbles]

Are you guys running this nonsense full time while driving, or just when troubleshooting?

 

[Malleus]

Both

 

[swissarmyknife]

Shamelessly highjacking this thread:
@swissarmyknife what formula did you use for the ATF temp PID?

Check this link : Transmission temp PID - not having any luck in Torque Pro - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/transmission-temp-pid-not-having-any-luck-in-torque-pro.1262238/post-14290320

BTW, if you do use TP and want to set alarms if trans temp is over what you are comfortable with make sure the limits are set using C and F. Even though the math shows F on the display gauge the code compares the values using C.

 

[Malleus]

groovy

thanks

 

[swissarmyknife]

Are you guys running this nonsense full time while driving, or just when troubleshooting?

Full time. There is nothing that shows what your AT temp is in your instrument cluster and I tow an offroad trailer and spend most of the time in my GX on the trails. That is at least what I built it out for. So knowing vitals all the time is not a bad thing and does no harm. Also I can set triggers in TP that visually or audibly to indicate if a specific sensor is nearing a range I want to know about.

 

[Rednexus]

Full time. There is nothing that shows what your AT temp is and I two an offroad trailer and spend most of the time in my GX on the trails. That is at least what I built it out for. So knowing vitals all the time is not a bad thing and does no harm. Also I can set triggers in TP that visually or audibly to indicate if a specific sensor is nearing a range I want to know about.

I run mine full-time. I like keeping up on engine vitals - ATF temp, fuel trim, coolant temp, etc.

 

[blackohio]

I run TS on an older mac (2019?) with bootcamp. Partitioning isn't that big of a deal. You don't need your whole disk with iCloud. But on newer macs with silicon chips this won't work.

I'm sure VW has better tools, they break all the time. The awesome thing about Toyotas is you rarely need diagnostics.

TS is your best bet regardless.

OBDeleven was great for all the extra s*** you can change in a VW / Audi. Ive had 90+ VW / Audis and not one has been a maintenance nightmare where I didnt create the problem (ie forged internal 3 lither high compression big cam / valve vr6 that was only happy on 95+ octane)

My macbook is a silicon chipset, so that option is out regardless.

 

[Poop Bubbles]

To each their own. Personally I have zero anxiety about anything breaking on my rig, even at 315k. Adding a screen and thinking about it would just be annoying. The built in DTCs are pretty accurate if you have the right software to read them when they do pop up.

 

[Malleus]

The diagnostic trouble codes are posted after the fact. They can't predict what's going to fail.

 

[Malleus]

OBDeleven was great for all the extra s*** you can change in a VW / Audi. Ive had 90+ VW / Audis and not one has been a maintenance nightmare where I didnt create the problem (ie forged internal 3 lither high compression big cam / valve vr6 that was only happy on 95+ octane)

My macbook is a silicon chipset, so that option is out regardless.

FWIW, it's On Board Diagnostics, version 2, not eleven.

 

[Poop Bubbles]

The diagnostic trouble codes are posted after the fact. They can't predict what's going to fail.

The list of scenarios where you can predict a failure that will leave you stranded, before it occurs, using onboard electronics is extremely limited, practically zero.

The one huge exception is alternator failure, you won't know until it is too late... but that's pretty easy to monitor with a usb charger that reads battery voltage.