Three of the vehicle’s systems came back with faults. From there I was able to launch the scanner’s diagnostic program, which pulled the Smart’s VIN and ran a scan of the whole vehicle’s systems. When I got home I plugged the Autel’s dongle into the vehicle’s OBD port. I was able to confirm the seller’s story with a generic scanner, but as I said before, a generic scanner isn’t even going to touch a vehicle’s safety system. It also had an airbag light on because they removed the driver seat at one point. When I bought this 2006 Smart Fortwo Passion Coupe CDI, its previous owner told me that the check engine light was on because one of the diesel engine’s glow plugs were shorted out. Diagnosing My Diesel Smart Mercedes Streeter Unfortunately, it’s not readily apparent what cars it works better for, so be sure to check online reviews.ĭuring my time with the tool thus far I’ve used it on a few of my Volkswagens, a couple of Smarts, my Saturn Sky Red Line, and my fiancée’s Toyota Prius. So you may run into situations where it can program one car’s fobs, but not another. However, the scanner’s ability to program fobs and TPMS is more limited than the company’s more expensive units. The MP808BT has countless functions that normally require a dealership visit Functions like programming key fobs, working with safety systems, individual testing of vehicle systems, and programming TPMS. Meanwhile, more expensive units can be like having a repair garage in the palm of your hands, where the units can go as far as to give you step-by-step tutorials. ![]() The company’s cheaper units have fewer features and coverage. This particular scanner sits in about the middle of Autel’s diagnostic tool range, costing about $800. The brand’s devices are meant for the independent automotive technician, but can be used to supercharge an enthusiast’s prowess, as well. It gives you most of the functions that you’d find on a dedicated system like VCDS, but you aren’t saddled to a single brand.Īutel is the diagnostic tool brand of Intelligent Technology Corp. But what if you’re like me and you’re working on vehicles from a variety of brands? That’s where the Autel MaxiPRO MP808BT comes in. For a Volkswagen, one of the best tools that you can buy is the Ross-Tech VCDS, which gives you a dealership level of access and diagnostics to the vehicle’s systems. Instead, you’re going to want something with more horsepower. ![]() But guess what? You’re not going to get anything on a generic OBD scanner. That’s a fair assumption to make fully illuminated gear lights in an older Volkswagen are the car’s way of indicating a transmission fault. The average person might think to take one of those cheap OBD scanners and shove it into the vehicle’s OBD port. The red gear indicators on the vehicle’s instrument cluster all illuminated at once. Mercedes StreeterĪ few weeks ago I found myself stretching the wagon’s legs on the highway when the transmission vibrated a ton before slamming into fifth gear. This silver diesel wagon may be 17 years old, but that doesn’t mean that working on it is always easy. To give an example of what I mean, here’s my 2005 Volkswagen Passat TDI wagon. Today’s cars are smarter than ever, but that sometimes means old troubleshooting tricks don’t work. You not only have obvious ones like your ECU and TCM, but there are computers for your instrument cluster, infotainment system, body control functions, active safety functions, passive safety functions, lighting and other electrical functions, and so many more. Modern cars are loaded with a ton of control systems and computers. So, what is this scanner and why would you want it? Mercedes Streeter This thing makes getting to the bottom of complex issues so much easier. ![]() While none of my vehicles have experienced the maladies faced by our David Tracy, they instead have failures could have about a million (read: expensive) solutions. That’s why the Autel MaxiPRO MP808BT scanner is now my favorite tool. Instead, it’s the processes to repair them. But those don’t even register as downsides to me. Yes, my insurance is astronomical and my storage costs are nearly as much as my rent. There is a huge downside to my affliction for owning over a dozen cars, most of them German.
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