Programming Ourselves?

Has anyone hooked a computer to the Gen III for programming things ourselves? Are there any relatively inexpensive tools out there that will give us access to things that only the dealer can generally reach? Anyone ever tried this one on a Gen III?

http://www.car2diag.com/products/681660.html

On my Celica, I used to be able to hook it to my laptop with a fairly simple interface and do basic stuff like resetting error codes. Does anything similar exist for this generation of electronics?

Thanks!

 

My thoughts exactly... everything I can find on the thing has the same exact bit of poorly translated (from Chinese) text. I'd sure like to hook up to the 'puter in my Gen III Package IV, but I'm a bit hesitant to be the $308 guinea pig.

 

Well, we'll know soon enough... assuming they actually ship the thing, that is. I broke down and ordered one... couldn't stop myself. The website seems kinda dodgy though, so I'm preparing excuses to give my other half when I get hosed. But on the off chance they're legit, I'll let you know if it will connect to the Gen III CAN bus and give us anything useful.

 

Don't know yet how much access this one will get us, whether it comes with DLL libraries, etc. If I could just change settings, that would be awesome... heck, even just program a new key. We'll see. Vendor definitely is a bit dodgy, so I cannot recommend at this point. But I'll withhold final judgment until it arrives (vendor claims it will ship from China tomorrow).

 

Well, I did get the thing from China, so that's something at least. It came as a cable and homemade mini-cd in a box with a couple broken up chunks of styrofoam. That's it. Not even a readme file on the disk. Not recommended at all. After much fussing and guessing about how to install the drivers, it does sometimes connect to the car, although there isn't a whole lot you can do other than read and clear scan codes. And even that does not seem very reliable. I was able to actuate the power window motors at one point, but then it wouldn't connect to any of the ECUs again. The screen shows options for key programming, but clicking the add key button (the only one I felt safe trying) generated an error. So overall, probably a complete waste of money. On the bright side, it doesn't seem to have hurt my car at all... only my wallet.

I did find that the TIS Techstream application can be downloaded and installed from various places online. None are legitimate and it is illegal to pirate software, so I will not provide any links or instructions. Theoretically, if one had the right vehicle interface, one might utilize the Techstream software to do all the stuff the actual Techstream device does. However at this point, it is not at all clear what the right vehicle interface might be, other than the official Toyota one, and all of the ones that are even candidates are at least $300 and up. So based on the research I've done to date, adjusting anything ourselves doesn't look good with the current state of the market

 

There are fairly new versions of Techstream out there, 4.12 from a few months ago, I believe. Again, afaik, none of these are legitimate licensed versions, so I am not advocating this, only noting what seems to be out there. I'm still unsure what hardware will be required to actually interface the PC to the car though, even assuming the correct software for the PC was available.

 

Success! I have managed to turn my laptop into a Techstream emulator and connected to the 2010 Prius without a problem. I was able to register TPMS sensors, change alarm functions, backup beep, etc. It looked like I could also register keys and so forth, but I didn't want to mess with that. I did however have a look at the overwhelming amount of data available in that system... wow! There sure are a lot of sensors and feedback. Anyway, here's how I made my emulator:

1. I bought the Mongoose MFC from Drew Technologies (DrewTech: Vehicle Diagnostic, Scantool, PassThru (J2534), and OBD-II Hardware).

2. I ... ahem...obtained... ahem... a copy of the Techstream software version 4.12. I will not post any details, because... well because it would not be appropriate. But let's just say that Google is your friend and I did not spend anything on this step.

At $500 for the Mongoose, this project cost rather more than I wanted to spend, but it would not be unreasonable for a club or even a small group of owners that lived in proximity. Heck, with the dealer wanting $90 twice a year to register my TPMS for my snow tires, I figure it pays for itself in 2.5 years anyway. Highly annoying that I should have to pay anything to access my own damn car, but that's modern technology for you, I suppose. At any rate, it can be done and that is one way to do it.

 

Thanks! Although I would have gone with "nuts and bad with money"

 

I have a strong suspicion that the $300 ISO/CAN version of the Mongoose would also work, but when I talked to their people, they told me the ISO/CAN version was no longer shipping and wouldn't be supported. Maybe a used one or a new old stock one on the shelf somewhere... but would be an expensive experiment unless the Drew people would confirm it would work. I can say that the driver for that version will register in the Techstream software, so the odds are pretty good.

P.S. - I go by dudette

 

You're welcome! And good catch on eBay there. The ISO/CAN version is also up there for $285. With your 10% discount, that gets down to something pretty reasonable. Wish I had seen that - I would have given it a try. Or I at least I would have pressed Drew Tech harder to find out if that model would work.

 

Its all good Just pullin' your chain eep: