Scan tool advice please !

304frp

Member
Hi all , any advice on a suitable scan tool , I have to replace my rear brakes on the zed ,any advice on a suitable scan tool to do the e-brake , would prefer one that would suit other cars etc :D
 
304frp said:
Hi all , any advice on a suitable scan tool , I have to replace my rear brakes on the zed ,any advice on a suitable scan tool to do the e-brake , would prefer one that would suit other cars etc :D

Search?
 
I have , but wondered if any recommendations would sway my thinking ,ie foxwell, Carly , etc. Or ones to completely avoid .
 
Foxwell 510/520/530 family are good and support multiple manufacturers for a fee..

One down from BMWs super complicated tools is Bimmergeeks Protool but it’s only modern BMWs..

Being me I have both …
 
Don't need tool for eBrake, but can make resetting counter easier.
I have, having looked earlier and played with it, the Foxwell NT520 pro, has been very useful.
 
I had been considering these readers as posted, my particular fault had been an EPS warning and couldn't find any links if these readers actually read EPS errors so ended up downloading INPA on the laptop. It's a bit clunky in operation but it does read all the codes and resets them.

Can somebody confirm if EPS codes are readable on these gizmos?
 
Zforbes said:
I had been considering these readers as posted, my particular fault had been an EPS warning and couldn't find any links if these readers actually read EPS errors so ended up downloading INPA on the laptop. It's a bit clunky in operation but it does read all the codes and resets them.

Can somebody confirm if EPS codes are readable on these gizmos?

You’ll find the ‘fidelity’ of resolving errors diminishes with the cheaper broader range products..

That’s why ISTA etc is the gold standard…

Bimmergeeks Protool comes a close second but then the rest struggle with more esoteric issues…

So far IMHO. Bimmergeeks has picked up every fault that ISTA has..but lacks access to detailed history only current events.

Foxwell couldn’t solve more complex Volvo engine issue as an example .

My local garage has a complex general purpose diagnostic tool and that struggles with more complex manufacturer specific issues…

As I said I have both Foxwell and Protool..95% of the time both are OK but for some of the weirder things Protool has the edge..
 
Zforbes said:
I had been considering these readers as posted, my particular fault had been an EPS warning and couldn't find any links if these readers actually read EPS errors so ended up downloading INPA on the laptop. It's a bit clunky in operation but it does read all the codes and resets them.

Can somebody confirm if EPS codes are readable on these gizmos?
I can confirm the Autophix does wind back the EPB for pad replacement, but not sure if it reads/resets errors. Sorry, not able to check right now.
[ref]Pbondar[/ref], is correct in what he implies though, and I believe it boils down to how much you want to diagnose and rectify yourself.
I quickly reach my limits when it all starts getting into software and electronics, so in my case a tool that can tell me which greasy bits need changing is fine. I do accept though that knowing what the codes are, how to reset them etc could save you being scammed by a garage.
I have focused on using the Autophix to look for faults I know are there. It would take a while to sit with it and go through everything it may possibly do...............and even then I'd forget.
If you haven't received an answer by end of play today, i will get to the car and see if I can work it out for you.
 
enuff_zed said:
Zforbes said:
I had been considering these readers as posted, my particular fault had been an EPS warning and couldn't find any links if these readers actually read EPS errors so ended up downloading INPA on the laptop. It's a bit clunky in operation but it does read all the codes and resets them.

Can somebody confirm if EPS codes are readable on these gizmos?
I can confirm the Autophix does wind back the EPB for pad replacement, but not sure if it reads/resets errors. Sorry, not able to check right now.
[ref]Pbondar[/ref], is correct in what he implies though, and I believe it boils down to how much you want to diagnose and rectify yourself.
I quickly reach my limits when it all starts getting into software and electronics, so in my case a tool that can tell me which greasy bits need changing is fine. I do accept though that knowing what the codes are, how to reset them etc could save you being scammed by a garage.
I have focused on using the Autophix to look for faults I know are there. It would take a while to sit with it and go through everything it may possibly do...............and even then I'd forget.
If you haven't received an answer by end of play today, i will get to the car and see if I can work it out for you.

Another plus for things like Protool is that you can do factory coding and toggle options which the simple code readers can't do and exceed those of Carly etc... :driving: :thumbsup:
 
Pbondar said:
enuff_zed said:
Zforbes said:
I had been considering these readers as posted, my particular fault had been an EPS warning and couldn't find any links if these readers actually read EPS errors so ended up downloading INPA on the laptop. It's a bit clunky in operation but it does read all the codes and resets them.

Can somebody confirm if EPS codes are readable on these gizmos?
I can confirm the Autophix does wind back the EPB for pad replacement, but not sure if it reads/resets errors. Sorry, not able to check right now.
[ref]Pbondar[/ref], is correct in what he implies though, and I believe it boils down to how much you want to diagnose and rectify yourself.
I quickly reach my limits when it all starts getting into software and electronics, so in my case a tool that can tell me which greasy bits need changing is fine. I do accept though that knowing what the codes are, how to reset them etc could save you being scammed by a garage.
I have focused on using the Autophix to look for faults I know are there. It would take a while to sit with it and go through everything it may possibly do...............and even then I'd forget.
If you haven't received an answer by end of play today, i will get to the car and see if I can work it out for you.

Another plus for things like Protool is that you can do factory coding and toggle options which the simple code readers can't do and exceed those of Carly etc... :driving: :thumbsup:
Good point. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks guys for the feedback to my question, hope this helps with the OPs decision on what tool he needs to get.

My use of this is more about understanding what is going on with my car to understand the correct remedial actions rather than doing advanced mechanics myself. I'm open to have a go at repairs as long as I have the correct tools and environment to do it.

For the amount of occasions I'm hoping to use it then I'll probably stick with what I've got unless one of these boxes does read everything. :thumbsup:
 
I wondered what anyone's experience with Autel is... I recently bought an Autel MD806, looks good and price was acceptable. Plugged onto my 20i, scanner couldn't find it. It could however find 30i and 35i.
So I mailed customer support who advised me to update the firmware, which I did. Still not there...
Contacted again, and got this:
"Re-checked with senior engineer, MD806 can not support you vehicle by manually selecting Vehicle Information, but it can support it by Auto Scan"

Can't possibly understand why, there were many, many BMW models on the list, so I returned it to the vendor.
 
Roddy said:
I wondered what anyone's experience with Autel is... I recently bought an Autel MD806, looks good and price was acceptable. Plugged onto my 20i, scanner couldn't find it. It could however find 30i and 35i.
So I mailed customer support who advised me to update the firmware, which I did. Still not there...
Contacted again, and got this:
"Re-checked with senior engineer, MD806 can not support you vehicle by manually selecting Vehicle Information, but it can support it by Auto Scan"

Can't possibly understand why, there were many, many BMW models on the list, so I returned it to the vendor.

QED :thumbsup:
 
Roddy said:
I wondered what anyone's experience with Autel is... I recently bought an Autel MD806, looks good and price was acceptable. Plugged onto my 20i, scanner couldn't find it. It could however find 30i and 35i.
So I mailed customer support who advised me to update the firmware, which I did. Still not there...
Contacted again, and got this:
"Re-checked with sen ior engineer, MD806 can not support you vehicle by manually selecting Vehicle Information, but it can support it by Auto Scan"

Can't possibly understand why, there were many, many BMW models on the list, so I returned it to the vendor.

Go buy an Ancel BM700, works like a dream & very easy to use.

Cheers
 
sumotan said:
Go buy an Ancel BM700, works like a dream & very easy to use.

Cheers
Thanks for that, but I'm looking for something not limited to BMW cars. Wife has a Honda....
 
I'm very disappointed with the foxwell "experience" at the moment. its really hard on their website to guess what all their models do - there's too many and their customer service which promises "a few minutes" is very slow (more like hours, and sometimes even days).

On advice from here (and from their customer service), I purchased the nt530 with 2 VINs last week (i have a suzuki grand vitara too that I'd like to use it with). it said it was dispatched the next day, yet it obviously wasn't as the royal mail tracking number said "Sender despatching item". yesterday I asked where it was and its now with royal mail, but no response from them to apologise or give any reason why.

Totally unimpressed with their website, their customer service and hoping not to be unimpressed with the product.... Will post my findings on a separate thread.... but so far Foxwell = :thumbsdown:
 
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