TIL those cheap Bluetooth OBD2 scanners from the auto parts store actually work pretty well for basic codes.

I was convinced they'd be junk, but my buddy's $30 unit pulled the same P0420 as my shop's $800 scanner on his Civic, so what specific jobs have you guys found them actually useful for?

2 comments

2 Comments

mitchell.shane29d ago

Nah, I've had the total opposite experience. My cheap scanner read a generic P0300 misfire code, but the real shop scanner showed it was specifically cylinder 4 and had live data pointing to a bad coil. The cheap ones just give you the basic code, not the actual info you need to fix it. For anything more than clearing a check engine light, they're pretty much useless in my book.

tessawebb29d ago

Yeah, I saw a video that basically said the same thing.