Handheld Techstream Alternative Found! (2 Viewers)

[dudemancool1904]

I found “smart key code registration” but it didn’t bring up the same screen that shows how many keys are registered/how many slots available. I think I’ll dig around again soon (next time with a battery charger on the truck) cause I’m pretty sure the menu is in there somewhere.

 

[Artie]

I sprung for one of these as well, I’m a sucker for tools and this one looks like it will be useful enough to justify the cost.

 

[TeCKis300]

It would seem this could potentially replace the Carista, eliminating the $40/year subscription fee?

Agreed the subscription fee for Carista is pretty lame.

 

[Boston Mangler]

@KLF confirmed, it will read tranny temp…

Also, confirmed it will program TPMS, we just did my buddies 2021 Tacoma

 

[Boston Mangler]

Can this unit disable seatbelt chime?

Yes, confirmed, we just did this on my friends Tacoma an hour ago

 

[Boston Mangler]

Also worth noting which I thought was cool but forgot to snap a pic, is that when you go to Program TPMS, there is an option for multiple sets of wheels

 

[gaijin]

Also, I’m trying to find where to find the PSI threshold the TPMS dash light comes on at to lower it a bit.

The TPMS light comes on at 75% of the initialized pressure. For example, if you initialized the TPMS at 46psi the TPMS dash light will come on at 35psi.

As far as I can determine, since FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) are involved, there is no way to change this percentage.

However, if (following our example) you run your tires at 46psi and instead of having the dash light come on at the prescribed 35psi, you want it to come on at 30psi, then all you have to do is TEMPORARILY adjust your tire pressures to 40psi and re-initialize the TPMS. After initialization at 40psi, re-inflate all your tires to 46psi - the TPMS light will now come on at 30psi instead of 35psi.

Certainly not as elegant as being able to adjust the percentage, but still not an onerous workaround.

HTH

 

[Boston Mangler]

The TPMS light comes on at 75% of the initialized pressure. For example, if you initialized the TPMS at 46psi the TPMS dash light will come on at 35psi.

As far as I can determine, since FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) are involved, there is no way to change this percentage.

However, if (following our example) you run your tires at 46psi and instead of having the dash light come on at the prescribed 35psi, you want it to come on at 30psi, then all you have to do is TEMPORARILY adjust your tire pressures to 40psi and re-initialize the TPMS. After initialization at 40psi, re-inflate all your tires to 46psi - the TPMS light will now come on at 30psi instead of 35psi.

Certainly not as elegant as being able to adjust the percentage, but still not an onerous workaround.

HTH

Good info! Thank you!

I have a 2020 Ram Diesel and you can go in and adjust when the light comes on right through the factory menu without any special software or gadgets.

It’s weird, only vehicle I’ve ever seen that can do that.

 

[KLF]

Thanks for the info, very useful. I'm liking this more and more. I do have a Techstream cable, but the laptop I had it setup on died a couple of years ago, and I really don't want to have to go through all that again.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Thanks for the info, very useful. I'm liking this more and more. I do have a Techstream cable, but the laptop I had it setup on died a couple of years ago, and I really don't want to have to go through all that again.

Happy to help

Yeah, the more I dug into setting up Techstream, the more of a pain in the ass it seemed.

That and the laptop I have is old as hell and not even sure if it works

 

[sdnative]

Good info. I was looking at this and a bunch of other OBD scanners awhile back but suffered from "paralysis from analysis" with so many to choose from.

Now that I have more Hondas than Toyotas (I hope to even the count once the kids starts to drive), I need something that is more universal.

Will it read OBD codes from all makes?

Will it program TPMS on other makes? What about programming key fobs?

Does it read live data? I wanted to check fuel trims to troubleshoot a lean bank condition in the Honda (not sure if it's a cat or O2 sensor). I can check the manual as well, but sometimes it's hard to know exactly.

Good to know it reads transmission temps. I used the paper clip trick when I changed the fluid last time, but it would be nice to see actual numbers.

Thanks for posting this, I will most likely pick one up

 

[sdnative]

Is $189 minus the $30 coupon what everyone is paying? Or was there a sale I missed out on?

 

[Boston Mangler]

Good info. I was looking at this and a bunch of other OBD scanners awhile back but suffered from "paralysis from analysis" with so many to choose from.

Now that I have more Hondas than Toyotas (I hope to even the count once the kids starts to drive), I need something that is more universal.

Will it read OBD codes from all makes?

Will it program TPMS on other makes? What about programming key fobs?

Does it read live data? I wanted to check fuel trims to troubleshoot a lean bank condition in the Honda (not sure if it's a cat or O2 sensor). I can check the manual as well, but sometimes it's hard to know exactly.

Good to know it reads transmission temps. I used the paper clip trick when I changed the fluid last time, but it would be nice to see actual numbers.

Thanks for posting this, I will most likely pick one up

Yes, it comes loaded with Toyota/Lexus, but other vehicles can be added later, for a fee it seems

As for Keyfobs, it APPEARS it will, but not yet confirmed. We are going to try to program @dudemancool1904 spare and i will post and confirm if it works

 

[Boston Mangler]

Is $189 minus the $30 coupon what everyone is paying? Or was there a sale I missed out on?

I paid $189, missed this coupon yall talking about. #sonofabitch

 

[Malleus]

Still waiting on a read on what the oldest year model this thing will work on is.

 

[TLC2013]

Good find @Boston Mangler thanks for sharing. I have been ready to ditch carista and find an alternative to their yearly subscriptions fee.

Any idea if this reader will do the "Zero Point Calibration"?
Contorting myself to access the OBD2 Port with the paper clip method is getting old.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Any idea if this reader will do the "Zero Point Calibration"?

I don’t even know what that is, so you’re on your own there sir

 

[arrivederci]

Timing is everything I guess. I recently found an inexpensive laptop (~$300) on a black friday amazon sale, bought VXDiag Vcx nano, etc. Install was actually easy. I started trying to follow the instructions to run a virtualbox VM with windows xp from an image but then followed the instructions from the VXDiag site and it installed directly on the new Win 11 machine. Works great. Assuming this new appliance works it would've been awesome to get what you found for less than half of what I spent. Great find!

 

[TLC2013]

I don’t even know what that is, so you’re on your own there sir

The zero point calibration is essentially a procedure that resets/calibrates the traction control after an alignment. Without doing this you'll notice excessive and intrusive traction control kicking in, especially off road.
Without techstream you would have to jump a couple of the obd2 ports' pins with a paperclip to get the system to do its thing.
PIA, do it wrong (or incorrect order) and the traction control light stays lit on the dash and i imagine the TC doesn't work.

Zero Point Calibration

It's not talked about on this site, but it's a thing in almost all Toyota/Lexus models - zero point calibration. I have not researched this topic enough to understand it fully, but it's generally recommended after any sort of suspension, alignment, steering rack work, that a zero point...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[KLF]

I wonder why it's "frequently returned"? Maybe people buy it, diagnose/fix an issue, then send it back? Surely people aren't doing that...