OBD for Dummies

I started with an XHorse Clone. I ended up buying a Drew Technologies Mongoose Pro (aka Techstream Lite). I actually have a VXDiag MultiDiag Vehicle Interface Module which can work with Techstream and the Prius if I pay for the extension (software HDD and license), but I just pay Toyota $65 and use the latest Techstream for two days or so when needed.

Looks like you'd want something that connects to Torque, or maybe something like Carista. I've heard a lot about Dr
Prius lately. I'm afraid I don't have experience with these more mobile app products having the arsenal that I already have....

Best of luck with your choice!

moto g(7) power ?

 

1. Usually when the light comes on, something needs to be fixed.
2. The OBD port is powered even when the car is OFF. If you leave a scanner/reader plugged in when OFF it can run your battery down.

 

I went through the same with my car a month ago.
I purchased the Panlong obd scanner from Amazon

There is a coupon code for 20% off at the Dr Prius app website - JD3JHWBE

I use a mix of Hybrid Assistant, Torque, and Dr Hybrid/ Dr Prius apps on a used Galaxy S7 that I bought from a friend.

Combined that with a wireless charging dock from Walmart and I’ve got a great supplemental dashboard for pretty cheap.

This lets me view and clear codes, easily get into maintenance mode, and disable backup and seat belt beeps.

Carista app and dongle have more options to tinker with but app is subscription based and what I’ve got so far is all one-time purchases.

 

Shoot! Sorry. I updated the link from my original post. Does it look better?

If not go to Amazon and search for “Panlong Bluetooth OBD2 OBDII Car Diagnostic Scanner Check Engine Light for Android - Compatible with Torque Pro”

It should be blue and is $10.99. It is Bluetooth only and is just the dongle.

 

You should find the best app for what you need.
Hybrid Assistant: App

I was advised to take the OBDLINIK LX and it works like a charm, but you can check on the page for your reader...

 

Nice going! I’d second Hybrid Assistant app. Tons of info built into it and it’s free. If you tap each individual panel within the app you get more detailed info. It is my go-to app when driving the car.

Mach-E is my current dream car, sadly it is not in my garage yet. But my wife saw one in person and liked it so at least I’ve got that going for me...

 

The Techstream software will happily (try to) work with any of those dongles, as long as the .DLL files that go with them are installed. The expensive one from Drew is the one Toyota officially vouches for, but for many tasks, much cheaper ones would work.

It's a special case with jzchen, who recently self-reflashed one of the car's ECUs. That's a pretty rare thing to DIY, and I would want the official supported dongle if I were going to do it, just to reduce any chance of bricking the car. (Generally, when I want a reflash, I go to the dealer and say "I would like you to flash this update please", and they say "ok" and charge me about ¼ the price of a Drew dongle, and I haven't done that 4 times yet, so I'm still money ahead, and if anything goes wrong in the reflash, they get to fix it.)

But for most diagnostic tasks, there's not much downside to trying the cheaper dongles. The worst thing that will usually happen is that the particular Techstream diagnostic routine you want to use won't work, not that anything bad happens to the car.

I've usually grouped dongles into two giant categories: ELM327-based or workalikes, which most kinds of OBD phone apps and the like expect, anything that the phone or computer can talk to using the language of the ELM Electronics 327 chip, and then J2534 dongles, which are the kind Techstream expects, and usually more money.

But it turns out things aren't quite that clear-cut. The J2534 standard isn't a hardware standard, it's a standard for functions in a Windows .DLL library that a program like Techstream can load, and how that library talks to the actual dongle can be any way it wants. If somebody builds a dongle out of clarinet reeds and Scotch tape and writes a J2534 DLL that works with it, then Techstream will see that as a J2534 dongle.

That leads to something I didn't know (and haven't confirmed myself, but someone else here has posted it): the really common clone-of-XHorse-Mini-VCI that everybody talks about here is apparently ELM327-based inside. And the DLL that comes with it is essentially a J2534-to-ELM327 communication layer. And the person who reported that, also reported even using other ELM327-based dongles, with Techstream, using the DLL that came with the Mini VCI.

That all falls waay out in the territory of "stuff I would never have learned because I'd have had way too much sense to try it", but I guess somebody has, and reportedly it worked.

That still doesn't mean every Techstream function will work, Different dongles still have hardware differences in which actual electrical wiggles they are able to put on which pins.

Techstream comes with a screen where it will try to figure out which wiggles your dongle is capable of:



There's also a free download from DrewTech to do the same in more detail:



They're the outfit that makes the pricey Toyota-supported dongle, but that utility is free and will test whatever dongle you've got.

 

@ChapmanF You know a lot more than me.

I remember reading about the clone cables. I forget where now. But they do not usually have the programming line connected, aka lots of red on the diagnostic page. I'll edit here if I can find it.

OP you may find this informative:

(Solution) Mini VCI + Toyota TIS Techstream 8.x on Windows 7/8 64-bit. - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum

moto g(7) power ?

 

Just a side note. PC does not censor external links. Ad blockers do, though.

Yes, I think I paid $10 for the Toyota PIDs for OBD Fusion and they include the Prius and Prius Prime data. If you use Engine Link, it can import the PIDs that are available for free for Torque Pro, but that's a little more involved and I don't know how they work on the Gen 4 but they were fine on my PiP as I recall.