I have outgrown my 12 year old obd2 scanner and am looking to buy a new obd2 scanner and to be quite honest don’t know which one to buy. I’d obviously like as much options as possible and to keep it under $300.
So far my options are:
Actron cp9185
Actron cp9580
Innova 1303/equus 3130
I am open to any other option and I greatly appreciate any real world experience and advice.
Thanks in advance
I just have this one: Actron 9175
Enough for me to pull codes, reset, check readiness and gives a general verbal discription of the code.
I really havent had the need for anything more out of my scanner for general use.
I got mine at harbor freight. I didn’t see a need for a fancy/expensive one considering they all do the same thing, and I got it for dirt cheap
I got a 29 dollar one off amazon. Works like a champ
I picked up this: http://www.harborfreight.com/can-obd-ii-code-reader-eobd-scanner-98614.html
it is actually equivalent/produced by the same exact company that made ~300 innova scanner if I remeber correctly, it just has a different flashed startup screen that says cen-tech. Thing is fantastic. Many test modes for many different manufacturers. It can show you readiness, live data (live data is a must if you’re trying to diagnose shit), and can save and graph live data if hooked to a pc (cable included to do so).
If you are going to use it often then be careful of what you buy. I’ll give you an example- i had a buddy that was trying to set monitors on a car (jeep maybe) for inspection. his snap-on scanner showed that a few monitors were not set, yet my otc scanner showed they were. plugged the car into the NYVIP machine and passed. i later looked up the data and found according to state all monitors were set. The software for the state is based on OTC protocol not whatever the snap on scanner used. This was a few years ago and things might have changed but it cost my buddy numerous hours trying to set a couple monitor that were already set. jist of this- buy a qualitity unit
I have an Android phone and bought the Torque app for like 5 bucks and a bluetooth adapter for like $30. It gives me the the ability to clear codes as well as a ton of information.
If you already have a smartphone just go for that option. I love it.
I actually bought my dad the craftsman one from sears for xmas. Its for Obd1/2 it was normally 299.99 got it on sale for 179.99. It was the sears on Sheridan. they had one left in stock, I would go check it out.
I have the Actron 9580, it does the job but lacks many ABS systems, which was the reason I bought it unfortunately. It does do OBDII well though.