Reading Codes Which App?

I've recently been bullish on the Car Scanner app, as you can see from this post.

You can probably install it alongside Dr. Prius and it can probably work with whatever dongle you have Dr. Prius using.

 

If the problem is in your ABS system; cheap/free scan tools won't be able to read the error code(s)..The cheapest Toyota specific scan tool that I know of, that can read the ABS is several hundred dollars.

 

Get Techstream and a mini VCI cable from eBay. Works on a laptop.

 

This might be worth easily checking. The car uses CAN and there isn't anything about the braking system (that I know of) that would pose a problem for a generic scan tool to show what codes it is reporting.

There are certain phone apps, like Dr. Prius, that seem to have made a strange choice to only display "engine codes" and "battery codes" and not any other codes from the car. (What it means by "battery codes" seems to really mean anything from the power management control ECU, whether it's about the battery or not ... but still not codes from other ECUs.)

But there are other phone apps that haven't made that strange choice, and will show you whatever codes the car replies with when they ask. I think Car Scanner is one of those.

It's pretty easy to make some brake codes happen ... for instance, pull one or both of the ABS MTR fuses, wait for the warning lights to come one (pump the brake a few times if needed). Then connect your scan tool or app and see if it shows you the resulting code(s).

In the first three Prius generations, you can even easily read brake system codes with no scan tool at all, only a short piece of wire, and counting blinks of the dash lights. However, I don't happen to know whether that still works in Gen 4.

 

Chap I just installed Car Scanner and it supports Gen 4 and Prime too. It might take a while to learn after I get a chance to use it in the car this evening, but I'm not worried about that. It's listed as 10M downloads. There's got to be some reason for that. And who knows anything about reviews these days. anyway.
Thanks for the heads up.

 

Congratulations!

Once you're comfortable with it, you might go ahead and create a brake system error for experimental purposes, then see if Car Scanner has any trouble showing you the code. My guess is it will show you the code just fine, but it'll be easy enough to find out, and finding things out beats guessing about them.

 

Yes, the software requires you do a little work - it's not always complete. But it's simple and they tell you where to download working files. Obviously this is a hacked, bootleg system. But it works.

 

any suggestions or howto would be welcome.
I've already got a few codes to look at. Some expected like the 4 TPMS registrations
C2321 - C2122 - C2123 - C2124

one inactive since last code clear 28.6K miles ago ( P058A(01) ) I guessing that was the last time techstream was hooked up to the car

and two more that look to me like they are equipment that is not installed on my base model (2017 Plus)
U0242 Adaptive Front Light System (AFS) and P000C Rain Sensor --- but this one lists a description for the module that's still crypic to me ATM ( Intake camshaft position A bank 2 slow response ) but again, my model doesn't have the rain senor.

Beyond those codes I'm noticing 3 Available/Not Ready one of which I remember being an O2 sensor. forgot the other two ATM.
And some sensor data is off - like the 12volt battery temp sensor is showing up as -31^ F I noticed that one right away at the bottom of the sensors list

 

Same general questions:

I've been told Hybrid Assisstant will give lots of data but I need to use a GOOD OBDII plug (not the $9.95 cheapest on Amazon I've got I guess). What is a "good one"? (I thought the whole point of GOVT MANDATED OBDII was that the system would cough up the info on a basic system).

Also, suppose something is starting to go wrong with my Prius when driving around, such as coolant loss and over-heating. What sort of messages will my Prius be flashing me? Only "check engine" or will it go into SOME detail. I keep wondering if there are lots of never seen warning indicator lights hidden under the black dash screen.

 

Two different things going on there. Having a single OBD-II standard gets us away from the former nightmare of completely different connections and protocols used by different cars and requiring whole different sets of gear to connect with.

At least a $9.95 OBD-II dongle and a $495 one will fit the same sockets and ostensibly speak the same protocols. What they won't do is be equally well tested and debugged, or have equal build quality. There's the marketplace for you. If your 25th purchase of a $9.95 dongle gets you one that doesn't flake out, you've still saved half the price of a DrewTech, right?

 

The owners manual will show you and list all the warning lights that are on the dash and there are a lot of them. Both Hybrid Assistant and DrPrius have recommended bluetooth adapter
ODBLink LX for Hybrid Assistant Hybrid Assistant: OBD
and several including the panlong adapter the author used while writing the DrPrius app.
Hybrid battery diagnostic and repair tool for Toyota and Lexus Which ODB2 To Buy - is a menu option at the top of the linked home page.
does a nice service by explaining a few things to look out for when purchasing an adapter, aptly titled OBD2 The Clone Wars.
The focus of the two apps is different as is the list of cars each supports as well as which phones and or Tablets they run on.

gotta love all the phone computer stuff and how it's all supposed to work together while it's all so different under the hood.

 

So a Big Money professional OBD-II doesn't have any EXTRA info a working cheapie reads out???

I tried my Cheapie with Hybrid Assistant and didn't see much, like "engine temp" etc. I've got a cheap OBD-II with its own screen that will show RPMs, and few other things on older OBD-ll cars but thats about all HA showed.

Any screenshot of odd stuff HA can show? Did I miss how to access the cool stuff on my phone?

 

The dongle is just the interface allowing the software (on your phone or tablet or laptop) to talk to the car.

How much interesting info you can see is much more about the software you are using. All the info is always there available in the car, and the dongle will happily receive and transmit as much of it as your software knows to ask for. If you are using software that doesn't ask for much, that's not the dongle's fault.

On the other hand, if the dongle just plain doesn't work, or doesn't work half the time, or works fine when you're not in a hurry but flakes out when you are, say during the fifth of six repumps at the end of a brake bleed making you start over from the beginning, that is the dongle's fault. You get what you pay for on that dimension.

 

If hybrid assistant gives an error message at startup that the doggle / adapter has issues, it means just that.
The ODBLink LX is the adapter you want when using Hybrid Assistant, period. You can get away with a cheaper adapter, but that is on you and your budget. Complaining about the phone - app - adapter interface is not going to get anymore data on the screen.
Messin with the default SETTINGS might give you more of what you're looking for in terms of what you know how to read or convert to and from.
And going into the OPTIONS MENU and selecting REPORTER will give you all of what Hybrid Assistant can pull out of the car through the adapter plugged into the cars ODB2 port.

 

This^

Hybrid Assistant makes some pretty strong speed demands on the adapter. So you need a fast one. Only trouble with the OBDLink LX is that it isn't compatible with iPhone, not is HA. So, if you're an iPhone user, you'll need to have/get an Android device to use it.

The Car Scanner app mentioned by @ChapmanF is iPhone compatible and very competent. It's just not as spectacular as HA. I haven't played much with Car Scanner yet, so you have inspired me to use it on my drive this morning to get a feel for it.