Has anyone tried ODBlink MX and Toyota TechstreamLite?

G'day All,
I am considering getting an ODBLink MX from Scantool-net for use with Torque and some other applications on my 2009 Prius as well as other vehicles that run through my life like my Dad's 1999 Dodge Dakota and my much beloved 2001 Echo. Has anyone here used the ODBLink MX with With Toyota's Techstream Lite?

And a related question; does anyone have experience with the Tachyon series of links?

Thanks in advance for any advice on these tools.

Pinback

 

Thanks Rob,
By Toyota Interface you mean the Mongoose?
Are the cheap generics sold on Ebay generally functionally equivalent?

 

Ok Thanks for setting me straight on that. I'll get one now so I can be familiar with it BEFORE I ever have trouble. I just purchased a used Prius about a month ago and am learning my way though it. Sometimes I feel like, "What the heck have I gotten myself into? I mean, I never even wanted a car with power windows or door locks and now I am in this?" So proper diagnostic tools for the job seem like a requirement.

What other tools of the trade that are specific to the Prius or hybrid drive vehicles in general would you recommend? Sonic screwdriver? Induction plasma coupler? Hyper spanner? Isolinear chip reader? Magnetically coupled DC current probe? (time to upgrade from the old Tek P6042)

Seriously though, what have you found useful that is odd or different than generic mechanics tools?

 

G'day,
Sorry for the delay getting back to you, I was down with illness for a while and then catching up at work left me with little time to do anything.
Yep I got a VCI off of eBay and it came with V10,30.029 of the TIS software. It seems to be a generic knock off. At the same time I ordered another laptop from a seller on eBay to dedicate to work on and around the Darkstar (my Prius) and and that laptop died shortly after arrival. The seller replaced the laptop which came with very generic Win7. So to get the ports to work at full speed and display to work properly etc etc etc I had many drivers and updates to sort through. And I installed some other apps I use like the one for my Picoscope etc.

All that is finally done and I installed the TIS software and it seems to be running. Now I am off to go have a deep discussion with my car and see how it has been feeling. I will also check how it communicates with the remains of my 2001 ENE (Toyota Echo).

Cost of the interface was ~$35 delivered from Hong Kong. There were cheaper units out there but this seemed to have more up to date software and hardware (hard to really know though). The on disk instructions are fairly clear which was a relief. I still had it saved on my Ebay watch list and it is currently $39.99USD Once I have actually used it I'll report back again.
And this unit seems better made than one other that I looked at which belongs to a friend. I can't post a link here (still a newbie) but here is the title of the description:
Mini VCI OBD2 Diagnostic Tool Scanner for Toyota Prius C V PHV Rav4 EV RUSH T100

 

Well as long as you have an up to date laptop it is fairly straight forward. The interface requires that you either use the work arounds provided by the interface seller in instructions files that come with the software disk or that you set up a TIS account. Setting up the TIS account has many benefits but is costly to keep up. They do offer 2 day memberships though for $15 which also gets you access to nearly all the Toyota service manuals and other documentation.

It is also true that the Techstream software can be a bit overwhelming when you first start looking into it. The more you know about the vehicle you are working on the more useful it is. It seems there are sensors for the sensors on a Prius. For example there is a sensor called the Dealtit sensor that ties cabin air factors into the climate control and makes automatic safety and comfort adjustments. In each Prius seat there are sensors for CO2, methane and certain complex hydrocarbons. If the sensors detect that the levels on these gases shows a quick spike they send signals to the climate control system which opens the nearest window and opens the outside vent if the outside temperature is above freezing or whatever the owner has programmed as a minimum tolerable temperature.

Which brings up the point that you can also use these interfaces to reprogram many things on the car like the annoying beep that let's you know you are in reverse. So with this interface you can turn that annoying feature off, or change other thongs like how long the lights stay on after you get in or after you shut down the car etc.

There are others out on the market that interface via bluetooth to phones and tables. and many of these are easier to use from what I hear and read. Some of these are even being developed by people right here on this site. Look into the PriusChat ODBII Phone App Project.

So whether you get into the TIS based systems or the Bluetooth systems, do get one and check out what is going on in your robot you drive to work. When you do eventually get errors, it is nice to know what is wrong with your robot/car so when you go to the mechanic or dealer and they tell you that you need a new flux capacitor, as well as a whole new transmission along with an engine over haul and replacement fuzzy dice. You can point out that it is just one missfiring cylinder which probably has a flaky coil, you just replaced the dielectric in the flux capacitor yourself and that you can vacuum your own darn fuzzy dice.

These tools are not very expensive but they are very educational.

Pinback

P.S. if your car actually DOES have a flux capacitor do tell, please.