Scan Tool?

[bulletpaluza]

Ii got the x tool d8 coming

I got a gift card for Christmas, coupled with the $100 off at Amazon.

It looks to have tons of capabilities.

Will do all kinds of stuff, like ABS module resets, full resets for climate stuff, TPMS stuff and even key fob programming

I think it should cover everything

Wound up being a little over $500…. but hell, I figure it should pay for itself quick. I probably blew through more than $500 over the last couple years on repairs I didn’t need

Most mechanics don’t even try to properly diagnose anything anymore. At least with this tool, I can get deep enough to tell what the heck is really wrong.

I’m not a professional mechanic by any stretch, and I don’t have a lift or an engine jack, so that kind of stuff is out-but I am sick of half assed mechanics that are too dumb or lazy to diagnose properly

Pretty broad statement about mechanics. We get bad rep to easily if you ask me. If people would stop going to most the big chain places that hire any dude with 129 piece tool set off the street. People would have alot better opinions about us. My scan tool cost me $6k and $1k a year to update it. Most mechanics are in the same boat as me if we were to lazy or stupid to use it we wouldn't make any money and would get unemployed pretty quick.

 

[jcountry]

Pretty broad statement about mechanics. We get bad rep to easily if you ask me. If people would stop going to most the big chain places that hire any dude with 129 piece tool set off the street. People would have alot better opinions about us. My scan tool cost me $6k and $1k a year to update it. Most mechanics are in the same boat as me if we were to lazy or stupid to use it we wouldn't make any money and would get unemployed pretty quick.

Apologies.

Sincerely.

I shouldn’t paint with a broad brush.

It is just that I get very frustrated when I get burned by the bad ones. Many, many (all) I have had experience with in this area have let me down.

What used to be a skilled trade has turned into a real mess. As a guy who just wants to keep my vehicles running as long as possible, it has become very difficult to find anyone who does good work.

Much like the field of construction, the field of auto maintenance has become littered with people who do poor work and charge big money to jack stuff up.

I hate paying hundreds to come away with a car that doesn’t work right. It has -unfortunately-become my experience almost every time.

 

[bulletpaluza]

Apologies.

Sincerely.

I shouldn’t paint with a broad brush.

It is just that I get very frustrated when I get burned by the bad ones. Many, many (all) I have had experience with in this area have let me down.

What used to be a skilled trade has turned into a real mess. As a guy who just wants to keep my vehicles running as long as possible, it has become very difficult to find anyone who does good work.

Much like the field of construction, the field of auto maintenance has become littered with people who do poor work and charge big money to jack stuff up.

I hate paying hundreds to come away with a car that doesn’t work right. It has -unfortunately-become my experience almost every time.

What kind of car do you have?

 

[jcountry]

Interested in seeing what you think of it after you have some time to play with it. jcountry

I fiddled around with it some today.

Long enough to get a feel for its capabilities.

You can track and graph up to 8 live data feeds. Can send that off to an email if you want.

Can take screenshots easily.

The system scan takes a little less time than blue driver, but goes into a lot more modules. Can see tests and live data streams from every module.

The thing that sets it apart is the reset capability. It will reset tons of stuff-from oil life and steering angle sensors to ABS, air bags, TPMS and even ADAS

The data is presented in a slightly confusing manner. I wish it distinguished better between modules for things that are not installed, vs things that it can’t communicate with for some other reason. Told me that there was an issue with my rear wheel speed sensors on my Camry , but I don’t have ABS, so I think it was looking for something that isn’t there.

So far, I’m impressed. This is way more capable than a blue driver. I really like being able to send signals to test and reset pretty much anything.

I’m not sure if it will flash an ECM, or BCM. I suspect that would take a shop level tool, but that is likely beyond the reach of what I would ever try to do anyhow

 

[jcountry]

What kind of car do you have?

Silverado, Camry, cruze

I downloaded updates when I got the tool set up. Looks like it supports everything I can think of

 

[bulletpaluza]

Silverado, Camry, cruze

I downloaded updates when I got the tool set up. Looks like it supports everything I can think of

What on those vehicles were you getting screwed on?

 

[jcountry]

What on those vehicles were you getting screwed on?

Well,
Also have a cobalt.

That thing has been a PIA.

Threw throttle body and throttle position sensor at it before we figured out it was really an ignition control module. Kind of a crappy car overall, but relatively cheap parts, so no huge deal.

I haven’t really found a mechanic I like around here. Most have the philosophy of letting stuff break hard before replacing it. Usually leads to more issues that would have been prevented by proper diagnosis

I think a good scan tool like this would probably help avoid chasing stuff like that.

I also had a full transmission rebuild a few years back. I always suspected it was just sticky solenoids. My wife babied that car. Shouldn’t have needed a tranny at 100k-probably

 

[testdepth]

I own this one by the same company

xTool A30 Pro Bi-Directional Scan Tool, Bluetooth Full System

 

[bulletpaluza]

Well,
Also have a cobalt.

That thing has been a PIA.

Threw throttle body and throttle position sensor at it before we figured out it was really an ignition control module. Kind of a crappy car overall, but relatively cheap parts, so no huge deal.

I haven’t really found a mechanic I like around here. Most have the philosophy of letting stuff break hard before replacing it. Usually leads to more issues that would have been prevented by proper diagnosis

I think a good scan tool like this would probably help avoid chasing stuff like that.

I also had a full transmission rebuild a few years back. I always suspected it was just sticky solenoids. My wife babied that car. Shouldn’t have needed a tranny at 100k-probably

Which car needed the trans?

 

[jcountry]

Which car needed the trans?

Cobalt.

It wasn’t a great car