Help me pick a OBD2 code scanner

[jwsia]

Going to pick up a code scanner and need some advise. My current fleet is

2012 Highlander Limited 160k (Wife will run it till 200-250 ish)
2006 Tundra XSP 4WD 125K (Will run it till it dies or the rust consumes it)
2004 Pontiac Vibe(Corolla) 125K (5 speed beater to run the kids around, will drive till it dies)

As you can see I like the rice burners. Looking at a simple code reader, something to diaganose and erase codes. The Vibe was running a bit rough on acceleration and had the check engine light on, was pretty sure it was a coil pack so I took it to Autozone to have them run it...and confirm it. I live in the sticks, just want something to avoid having to run to town. Dont know if it makes much of a difference in readers but something that works well with the Toyotas.

Looking at something like these...most of these scanners all get good reviews

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073155LJY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078SQZ45J/?tag=atomicindus08-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G5EA74I/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[PeedoPie]

For basic code reading and on screen definitions it’s hard to beat the Autel ML329. Cheap at under $50

 

[reptilezs]

i got the bosch 1200 same as otc and actron

 

[dtnel]

Keep in mind each time you pull a code, hopefully not often that you need to do a proper diagnosis and test certain things to verify the part is bad and not throw the "Parts Cannon" at your vehicle otherwise you'll be running from the sticks buying parts left and right. One thing you can do is alp get a good 2 channel lab scope such as a Picoscope. Once you get the free Picoscope software, hit some forums, do some diagnostics you can make some spare money on the side to help recover some of your upfront costs and also get a even better scanner then.

You want a scanner that'll read OBD 2 codes, ABS and SRS codes. A scanner with bidirectional control will get you a little more capabilities when it comes to diagnostics.

I started with a Solus Edge a couple years ago but have traded up a couple times. I do have a 4 channel Picoscope. Knowing what I know now I'd go with a 4 channel Picoscope and back to my Solus Edge scan tool. A little pricey but in the long run if you do enough side stuff you can make your money back.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Wamsutta]

I got this one. Works good.

https://actron.com/content/obd-ii-pocketscan

 

[Climatecreator]

I got this one https://amzn.to/2lOaofx I love it because I can do most anything I'll ever need to rather than buying multiple scanners or upgrading every time I run into a new problem.

Good luck,

CC

 

[Snakebyt]

i just got this one a couple weeks ago, so far done about 6 cars and it does the job
https://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/MD60A/CODE-ADVISOR/

 

[Michael_in_DE]

I have this and it works great. Reads every vhicle I have and will delte codes and even tellls me the ready status of all subgroups $14:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001LHVOVK/?tag=atomicindus08-20

If you wanna get super into it with live data, ABS, TPMS and transmission diag, these are popular $175:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073RX4651/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Then there's all the bluetooth variations, which I have but have not tried. They are supposed to be pretty good though.

 

[engineer2]

I Just got the Blue Driver and been happy so far.
https://www.bluedriver.com/

Be careful of the off-brand Chinese ones on Amazon. They have no product support, probably no updates, and poor long-term reliability. Stick with Autel, Actron, Innova. I suppose the cheap HF ones might be worth a look. Watch out for Chinese counterfeits. I had a counterfeit Autel from Amazon and they gave me a refund even though it died after 18 months.

 

[Socket Pounder]

I have BAFX for Android, it does the job.

 

[jwsia]

i like the idea of it being on my I-phone but as much as I would use it I'm thinking its not worth the extra money. Thanks for some direction guys

 

[theoldwizard1]

Any scanner software that does not have the capability of being updated or a company not willing to sell updates at a reasonable cost is really not very valuable.