Autel MD802

[theoldwizard1]

There have been many threads kicking around the pluses and minuses of various different code scanners and scan tools. I am looking for real world feedback on the Autel MD802.


If you want to suggest another brand, 1) it had better be in the same price range (+/- $250), 2) have update service available and 3) handle all 4 major electronic subsystems on 95% of the cars on the road in the US.

 

[blarf]

I'll stand by my recommendation of an ELM 327 dongle plus whatever software. If your requirement is 95% of all vehicles on the road, you're not going to get very in depth coverage especially with earlier OBD2 implementations (jack of all trades, master of none).


Modern cars expose a lot of proprietary info over OBD2, so with an ELM 327 dongle you can get something like Torque or OBD Auto Doctor and get decent coverage on a ton of cars (Torque will let you input custom PIDs). For more in depth coverage and more hand holding you could then use the same dongle with ScanXL + one of its proprietary packages (they have ones for Ford, GM, and Mazda).

If you're going to spend more time with a specific brand you can look around for enthusiasts who've created their own brand specific apps (ex: Forscan) to work with ELM 327 dongles. As a DIYer there's no way would I want to go with an Autel and lose that flexibility. As a pro, I'd probably be looking at higher end solutions anyhow.

 

[firebox40dash5]

I have the Autel, bought it to replace a poor choice of a Launch CRP129 I'd bought.

It's not without quirks, but for the $300 or so it costs, it's a whole lot more capable than something from Innova or Actron, which is about the only other things besides dongle/software I can think of in the price range. Mine would occasionally only get really basic info with certain cars (Nissan comes to mind), and Honda required inputting the full VIN, but such is life.

BTW, if you really care about updates, do some research. IIRC updates on the Autel are $700-800... in other words, who the hell would waste that money? However, given the year of included updates and the price, I'd say use it til you need to update, sell it for $200 to someone who doesn't care, and buy another.

 

[royesses]

Updates on the MD802 are $100.00 US per year. I paid for the update in August. The 802 has done a great job on a dozen or more cars, trucks and SUV's I have used it on. It is not perfect nor do I expect it to be for $300. It is very good for the price. The $700 to $800 price is for the bi- directional DS708 pro model. If you need bi-directional the MD802 is not going to give it to you. There is a company that claims it is capable of bi-directional operation and is working on software to free up that capability. I don't remember their name though. Old-timers disease is shrinking my memory.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I'll stand by my recommendation of an ELM 327 dongle plus whatever software. If your requirement is 95% of all vehicles on the road, you're not going to get very in depth coverage especially with earlier OBD2 implementations (jack of all trades, master of none).

I understand what you are saying about "older" implementations (I wrote some of the prototype software).

Modern cars expose a lot of proprietary info over OBD2, so with an ELM 327 dongle you can get something like Torque or OBD Auto Doctor and get decent coverage on a ton of cars (Torque will let you input custom PIDs).

Well, I would like to agree with you ... but I have an ELM 327 dongle, Windows 7 laptop, USB bluetooth radio and have down load the Auto Doctor (trial version). I could never get all 3 to talk !

I know have a Fire 7 (hacked to use Google Play Store) so I will try Torque.

The important things to me are being able to read powertrain, ABS, air bag and body codes and data. Live data would be very nice.

 

[Fedwrench]

Have you watched the reviews on you tube?

 

[Carguy99]

In all of the ones I have looked at and purchased over the years. I'd say none would be the number that always worked on every car. They all have their quirks. We run several autels I find them to be slow on some cars. Ford comes to mind. I have also found several mistakes in vw and Toyota.
I also have a problem with them being Chinese clones of the factory tool. one of the reasons it's cheap is its theft of intellectual property rights. As of yet I don't know what the outcome will be however, no one can be. We have decided not to purchase more of them for the time being.
I have heard that the last update has removed some functionality from the gm side. But I haven't confermed this and I have been reluctant to updat ours.

 

[Carguy99]

Oldwiz the one I like and is my go to tool is
https://www.autoenginuity.com/ absolutely pro level stuff
Works well updates are reasonable
Ford only is I think 400 or so.
Handles global well.
It is a more expensive option.

 

[WhiffySpark]

Oldwiz the one I like and is my go to tool is
https://www.autoenginuity.com/ absolutely pro level stuff
Works well updates are reasonable
Ford only is I think 400 or so.
Handles global well.
It is a more expensive option.

I can't stand that program. I paid over a grand with laptop and it never gets used.

 

[Jeeper]

I can't stand that program. I paid over a grand with laptop and it never gets used.

What do you dislike about it? I have the proline and the GM package and have successfully used it to fix an ABS problem. I am just a DIYer so don't use it much. Doesn't seem as user friendly as verus but curious what a heavy user thinks.

 

[Showkey]

I have the 802, it gives a factory data list on my Honda ( car) products.
It also talks to the MB Sprinter which is a feet in itself as few scan tools talk Mercedes. ( I do mean full communication not just generic OBD with accurate code reading.)

 

[toddoky]

I have one and it's slow as hell on the Ford I've used it on.

 

[Carguy99]

I'd like to know why as well. I use it a lot. It does have some issues but I find them to be small.

 

[blarf]

Well, I would like to agree with you ... but I have an ELM 327 dongle, Windows 7 laptop, USB bluetooth radio and have down load the Auto Doctor (trial version). I could never get all 3 to talk !

I know have a Fire 7 (hacked to use Google Play Store) so I will try Torque.

The important things to me are being able to read powertrain, ABS, air bag and body codes and data. Live data would be very nice.

There is that. Windows is just nasty.

I've used OBD Auto Doctor on OS X w/ a USB dongle and that's about it. If all you want is live data and you have a bit of knowledge about writing software, the ELM 327 command set is described here:

http://www.elmelectronics.com/ELM327/AT_Commands.pdf

You're still on the hook to figure out which OBD2 protocol your car speaks, and so-on. ELM also maintains a list of compatible software here:

http://www.elmelectronics.com/obdsoftware.html

All sorts of stuff to choose from. Since the ELM dongle supports CAN bus you'll get better coverage on later cars where they've moved the body and ABS modules to CAN bus that's connected to the OBD2 port in your car (and yeah the ELM dongles will stream CAN packets if that's what you're after).

 

[WhiffySpark]

I have one and it's slow as hell on the Ford I've used it on.

Slow, graphing *****, values are hard to change. Maybe I'm just spoiled, but I don't care for it. I got it to replace an otc genysis, it's slightly better.

 

[toddoky]

Slow, graphing *****, values are hard to change. Maybe I'm just spoiled, but I don't care for it. I got it to replace an otc genysis, it's slightly better.

Agreed, It's useful but not my go-to scanner at the moment.

 

[theoldwizard1]

The reason I am asking about the MD802 is I have been watching Eric O. on the YouTube South Main Auto channel. Lately he has been using a MS908 and it has some very nice features. Of course t is complete out of my price range !

I was hoping a lot of that would have trickled down to the MD802, but I guess not.

As for performance and display, well those keep getting cheaper every day.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Slow, graphing *****, values are hard to change. Maybe I'm just spoiled, but I don't care for it.

Spoiled by what ? What is your preferred scanner ?

 

[WhiffySpark]

Spoiled by what ? What is your preferred scanner ?

Take a guess.

 

[ImportTuner]

Updates on the MD802 are $100.00 US per year. I paid for the update in August. The 802 has done a great job on a dozen or more cars, trucks and SUV's I have used it on. It is not perfect nor do I expect it to be for $300. It is very good for the price. The $700 to $800 price is for the bi- directional DS708 pro model. If you need bi-directional the MD802 is not going to give it to you. There is a company that claims it is capable of bi-directional operation and is working on software to free up that capability. I don't remember their name though. Old-timers disease is shrinking my memory.

I'm not sure where you got your pricing .. I purchase my MD802 in November of 2012. I saw a ad in a Professional Tool magazine saying that I could update to the newest features (MD802 4 System).

I contact Autel and was told the update would cost $60. Fair enough, so I sent $60 via PayPal. Waited a month and still no update link from Autel. After many email exchanges and then was told that to update, it would cost an additional $130. Told Autel that at the price, I would rather purchase a new unit instead of updating. They refuse to refund the original $60 and I had to get PayPal involved. Only with PayPal's intervention, I was able to get my $60 back.

In conclusion, dealing with Autel in China was a nightmare, and I would not recommend it .. Autel support through there US office is also a pain .. If they do not know the answer to your question, they hang up on you (personal experience). Just my two cents.

 

[IsaacJ]

I bought one, like other said, it is slow on ford, also on chrysler. sometimes it won't connect at all.
It does ok on foreign jobs, but where i'm using it, 75% of the cars I see are domestic, 23% are asian, and about 2% are european (thank God) so unless it's for a simple code pull, or the shop scanner is *******, I don't even reach for it.
In hindsight, I wish I would have bought a used Snap On, IMO they are the best, most user friendly that I have used.
In summary, it works great for global obdII, and certain Manufacturers, but there is a lot too be desired. If it was faster with Ford and Chrysler, and I could change the data values it wouldn't be half bad. I'm not too impressed though.

 

[WhiffySpark]

I could have swore updates are free. I downloaded then straight from the scanner to an sd card and don't have to pay for anything. Scanner came off the matco truck so you need it wasn't a clone.

Weird

 

[theoldwizard1]

If it was faster with Ford and Chrysler, and I could change the data values it wouldn't be half bad. I'm not too impressed though.

Grrr ! That was one feature I really wanted !!

 

[royesses]

I'm not sure where you got your pricing .. I purchase my MD802 in November of 2012. I saw a ad in a Professional Tool magazine saying that I could update to the newest features (MD802 4 System).

I contact Autel and was told the update would cost $60. Fair enough, so I sent $60 via PayPal. Waited a month and still no update link from Autel. After many email exchanges and then was told that to update, it would cost an additional $130. Told Autel that at the price, I would rather purchase a new unit instead of updating. They refuse to refund the original $60 and I had to get PayPal involved. Only with PayPal's intervention, I was able to get my $60 back.

In conclusion, dealing with Autel in China was a nightmare, and I would not recommend it .. Autel support through there US office is also a pain .. If they do not know the answer to your question, they hang up on you (personal experience). Just my two cents.

Autel sent me a notice that my subscription was about to expire:

The update for following unit will soon expire on 2015-08-06 !
MaxiDiag Elite MD802( SN:xxxxxxxxxxx). To continue using our update service,please visit www.auteltech.com to renew your account.

I ordered the subscription. Then:

Thank you for your order. This is a courtesy notification to let you know that the following bill has been added to your account. If you have questions or concerns about your order, please send an email to [email protected].
Order Date: 2015-10-30 08:59:03
Order Code: SN05925401
Price: $100
Status: Unpaid

Then:
This is a courtesy notification to let you know that we have received your payment. Please confirm your purchase information below.
Order Date: 2015-10-30 08:59:03
Order Code: SN05925401
Price: $100
Status: Completed

These are the emails directly from Autel. This was all done online on my Autel account. No phone calls required.

 

[WhiffySpark]

Grrr ! That was one feature I really wanted !!

You may be able to in autoenguinity but I gave up on it. I was trying to watch a throttle sweep on a gm and it was set to something like 0-1000%. That didn't help lol

 

[ImportTuner]

Autel sent me a notice that my subscription was about to expire:

The update for following unit will soon expire on 2015-08-06 !
MaxiDiag Elite MD802( SN:xxxxxxxxxxx). To continue using our update service,please visit www.auteltech.com to renew your account.

I ordered the subscription. Then:

Thank you for your order. This is a courtesy notification to let you know that the following bill has been added to your account. If you have questions or concerns about your order, please send an email to [email protected].
Order Date: 2015-10-30 08:59:03
Order Code: SN05925401
Price: $100
Status: Unpaid

Then:
This is a courtesy notification to let you know that we have received your payment. Please confirm your purchase information below.
Order Date: 2015-10-30 08:59:03
Order Code: SN05925401
Price: $100
Status: Completed

These are the emails directly from Autel. This was all done online on my Autel account. No phone calls required.

I never received anything from Autel other than their ads .. I purchased a new MD802 4 Systems in the last week of November 2015 .. Hope they will send something when my free update expires in November 2016.

 

[454ragtop]

Thanks for starting this discussion. I need to update my scanner as well, on the fence with this one, move up to a DS708, $879 on Ebay, or pick up a used SO like a Solus Pro, seem to be around $800-900 around here. Keep going back and forth. I'd like to try an MD802, but if I end up not being happy with it?
Jim

 

[firebox40dash5]

I could have swore updates are free. I downloaded then straight from the scanner to an sd card and don't have to pay for anything. Scanner came off the matco truck so you need it wasn't a clone.

Weird

The first 6 months or year are free (forget which). I dunno if it changed since I looked a few years back, or I had bad info (from their ****-poor documentation ) but it seems to be much cheaper after that. Even for $100/year I'd be tempted to sell the old one and buy new, but I've never needed to update every single year.

As far as the company claiming bidirectional and all... search MD802 and my username in this folder, I made a thread asking about them a couple years ago. Never got any response and decided not to pursue it further, but pretty sure there's a name or link in there.

 

[royesses]

The link for the MD802 Bidirectional options is:
http://www.rfe1.com/autel-md802--maxidiag-elite--ds---all-options-enabled.html

The first year of updates is free with purchase from an authorized Autel dealer. After that it costs $100 per year US to renew the subscription.

Anyone deciding to purchase the MD802 should purchase a 16 or 32 GB memory card and copy the original 4 GB card to their hard drive. Then copy the original card from hard drive to the new card. Store the original card in a safe place. It has the unit serial number on it which is required to get updates. When you insert the new card it will then already have the unit serial number on it and you can just leave it in the scanner. 4GB is just too small to get all the updates and store data. I also copy updates to my hard drive so I can go back to a version that may work better or have a feature that is removed in newest updates. I use a 32GB card I purchased from Walmart. There is plenty of space on that card for anything that I will ever do. Not trying to be a know it all, just trying to help out with new users of the scanner.

 

[theoldwizard1]

The link for the MD802 Bidirectional options is:
http://www.rfe1.com/autel-md802--maxidiag-elite--ds---all-options-enabled.html

The first year of updates is free with purchase from an authorized Autel dealer. After that it costs $100 per year US to renew the subscription.

from the above web site"

These Scanners use a Hybrid "Upgraded" software taken from MaxiDas DS708 and code written in-house. We will provide you with all the updates as they become available - usually 2 major ones / Year.

Makes you wonder about the legality of using software from a different model.

 

[qwerqwer]

maybe you can find what you want, here.

 

[HaroRider]

I could never get mine to update..

 

[lbhsbz]

I have a Launch CRP129 that seems to do pretty good for engine, trans, ABS, and SRS data. I wanted more enhanced data, BCM data, and bi-directional controls (not just resetting a few things like the autel). I googled for a while and took a chance on the Foxwell NT510. Base price is around $175 with software for one make...additional makes are $60 each. I have GM and Toyota vehicles, and see fords from time to time, so that put me right about $300 all in.

The tool has it's flaws...but it is very capable. On my 2002 chevy truck, I can do the ABS bleed procedure, operate every solenoid in the ABS, test the IAC buy increasing or decreasing the desired idle command in 50RPM incriments, do gauge sweeps, program remotes, change tire size calibration, turn the fuel pump on and off, turn the dome lights on and off, command the EGR solenoid, and probably a bunch of other stuff I haven't come across yet.

I did the brake bleed and zero calibration on a 2010 camry hybrid with it, can turn the cooling fans on and off on a '97 lumina.

I haven't had much chance to use it on newer stuff because I don't see to much of that, but it's been great for what it is....

The problems...On a 1996 camry I tried the other day, I have no communication whatsoever, while my Launch communicated fine. On a 1997 lumina and a 2009 Ford Edge, the tool would freeze every minute or so. I could not even complete the scan on the ford. Also, when I plug into my 2002 GM truck and try to Autodetect the vehicle information using GM enhanced software, it always fails to autodetect, saying that maybe the vehicle doesn't support the feature, then the radio clicks and the clock resets to 1:00. If I manually enter the vehicle information, the clock is fine.

All of these issues have been brought to the attention of Foxwell, and they claim engineering is looking into it, but no solutions yet, even though there has been a generic OBDII and an an OS software update since then that I have downloaded. Updates are free.

As of now, would I recommend this tool...maybe. When it works, you're not going to find a more capable tool under $1000. If you work on limited makes, then you're golden. This tool can only store up to 5 makes of enhanced software. You may be able to buy more software to keep in your "acct", and then just move different makes on and off of the tool as you need them, but I haven't tried.

 

[Mechanico]

The link for the MD802 Bidirectional options is:
http://www.rfe1.com/autel-md802--maxidiag-elite--ds---all-options-enabled.html

The first year of updates is free with purchase from an authorized Autel dealer. After that it costs $100 per year US to renew the subscription.

Anyone deciding to purchase the MD802 should purchase a 16 or 32 GB memory card and copy the original 4 GB card to their hard drive. Then copy the original card from hard drive to the new card. Store the original card in a safe place. It has the unit serial number on it which is required to get updates. When you insert the new card it will then already have the unit serial number on it and you can just leave it in the scanner. 4GB is just too small to get all the updates and store data. I also copy updates to my hard drive so I can go back to a version that may work better or have a feature that is removed in newest updates. I use a 32GB card I purchased from Walmart. There is plenty of space on that card for anything that I will ever do. Not trying to be a know it all, just trying to help out with new users of the scanner.

Looks like they've updgraded the 802 to a 708?

I'm wondering if I can get my new 802 Elite Full System upgraded or do you have to buy the version they sell at rfe1.com?

What does Data Streaming add to the 802?

 

[mrbissi]

The link for the MD802 Bidirectional options is:
http://www.rfe1.com/autel-md802--maxidiag-elite--ds---all-options-enabled.html

The first year of updates is free with purchase from an authorized Autel dealer. After that it costs $100 per year US to renew the subscription.

Anyone deciding to purchase the MD802 should purchase a 16 or 32 GB memory card and copy the original 4 GB card to their hard drive. Then copy the original card from hard drive to the new card. Store the original card in a safe place. It has the unit serial number on it which is required to get updates. When you insert the new card it will then already have the unit serial number on it and you can just leave it in the scanner. 4GB is just too small to get all the updates and store data. I also copy updates to my hard drive so I can go back to a version that may work better or have a feature that is removed in newest updates. I use a 32GB card I purchased from Walmart. There is plenty of space on that card for anything that I will ever do. Not trying to be a know it all, just trying to help out with new users of the scanner.

Hi all. I have Autel Maxi Diag MD802 which I purchased many years ago. The scanner works great being able to see live data and clear codes until the update. The issue I'm having with scanner after doing an update last year I'm no longer able to view live data for engine and auto transmission. I have contacted the support and they have advised that there could be something wrong with the unit or try to go back to the original firmware version. when I updated the unit I forgot to backup the existing version. I have spoken to autel but they have checked and advised that they no longer have the older version and to try to find someone with older version then mine and get a copy of the software. Is there anyone that has this model with older software?