OT : FIXD OBDII device + your phone?

[josephr]

For my fellow motorheads --- has anyone made the investment into a FIXD or similar type device for your vehicle's check engine light and what has your experience been?

The reason asking is my daughter's check engine light came on...I told her to tighten her gas cap before doing anything else. She lives 600 miles away, but thought about having a FIXD device we could mail back and forth as needed. Does anyone like autozone or other car care places check your OBD for free/cheap or is it worth the $60 for the FIXD device?
Thanks!

[kramnnim]

You can just get a traditional corded OBDII scanner for $20 or less and use it to scan and delete the codes. The parts stores will scan, but might not agree to delete.

[11.4]

I'd echo this. You can get the Wifi versions that display on your phone, but the basic plug-in ones are more fully functioned and can be cheaper. You can get ones for diesel, for example, that display an endless range of customizable functions and give continuous data while driving. There are many inexpensive ones for gasoline engines that read all the error codes (and delete them) and also track trending data. Just check Amazon and you'll see a bunch of them. I own three in different vehicles and they all work well. Just read the function list to be sure they cover enough of what you want and to be sure you can diagnose and delete error codes.

[coreyaugustus]

I prefer the handheld scanners. They're relatively cheap (~$20) and there's no need to spend time mating one with your phone. User interfaces are easy enough for basic needs like reading CELs.

[likebikes]

any chain auto parts store will check the codes for you, free

[Ronsonic]

I use a cheap bluetooth gadget and an app on my phone. Less than $20 for both.

[azrider]

Originally Posted by kramnnim

You can just get a traditional corded OBDII scanner for $20 or less and use it to scan and delete the codes. The parts stores will scan, but might not agree to delete.

Yeah I had an AutoZone that wouldn't delete a code few years back and I got a $20 scanner......great tool to have in garage. Just used it the other day as matter fact.

[yngpunk]

Originally Posted by josephr

For my fellow motorheads --- has anyone made the investment into a FIXD or similar type device for your vehicle's check engine light and what has your experience been?

The reason asking is my daughter's check engine light came on...I told her to tighten her gas cap before doing anything else. She lives 600 miles away, but thought about having a FIXD device we could mail back and forth as needed. Does anyone like autozone or other car care places check your OBD for free/cheap or is it worth the $60 for the FIXD device?
Thanks!

What kind of car? If it's a VW/Audi (or Skoda or Seat) , I'd recommend this:

https://obdeleven.com/en/

[ultraman6970]

on of my friends got one at ebay a couple of years ago and he says it works just fine.

[josephr]

Originally Posted by yngpunk

What kind of car? If it's a VW/Audi (or Skoda or Seat) , I'd recommend this:

https://obdeleven.com/en/

actually its a nissan sentra -- she's a poor graduate student, but thanks to this thread, we got the idea to take it to to the nissan dealership (where she gets her oil changed at a very reasonable price) and they checked it for no charge and reset the code for an O2 sensor -- probably just a bad tank of gas was their suggestion. Either way, being a gadget guy, I'm thinking getting the $17 wifi one off amazon or possibly finding a corded one for cheap.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by yngpunk

What kind of car? If it's a VW/Audi (or Skoda or Seat) , I'd recommend this:

https://obdeleven.com/en/

Or for more serious VW/Audi DIYers,

www.ross-tech.com