Bluetooth OBDII interface

I'm just reading through the reviews, despite all of the good reviews I am always skeptical about how "good" the good reviews are. I.e. did the person try the product out for 2 hours, it worked great, they posted a review, then a month of owning it they now hate it for X,Y,Z reasons, etc.

I would be cautious with a product that is so cheap. For the technology it is, $20 does seem a little low.

If you go on google and search "Excelvan ELM327 v1.5 Bluetooth review" I am seeing a lot of interesting Blogspot or Wordpress sites like "http://buyobdiicodereader.blogspot.com", "chaicodereadersscanan.wordpress.com" etc. I can't find a solid review besides the things in Amazon.

My gut feeling is too iffy on this product. I have looked at these in the past but with this one, if I were going to buy one now I would pass on this product.

 

"On to the Software... I would HIGHLY recommend not putting in the CD if you buy this. Most of the software are cracked applications or pay for applications with cracks that are unfortunately not clean. There appears to be at least 1 Trojan and a Rootkit hidden there for you, so have fun with removing them if you dare to run it." That would make me worried as well.

 

I have had a couple of the different Chinese made OBDII Bluetooth adapters. The quality is hit or miss. The first one I ordered didn't work and had to return it, that was one of the black ones with the blue and orange label. The next one was the translucent blue super mini one which seemed to work mostly fine, although every once in a while my RPM's wouldn't show up in the torque app. Currently I have a VGate one that I was given at work, I've only used it a few times but so far it's been okay. If you want cheap and don't mind a little trial and error, the Chinese ones are worth a shot, but do stay away from whatever software they send you, I've also heard that it can be bad news. If you want a reliable Bluetooth OBDII adapter there is the Kiwi that runs about $99.

 

I've got one of them that works with my android. Works great for the smaller less important codes and to clear them. Its worth about what you pay for it. Can't get into the big stuff with it.

 

I will 2nd the Kiwi as being well worth the money. I have had mine for 2 years and it has never given me a problem no matter what car I have connected it to. That little device combined with the full version of the Torque app (only $5.00) has been money very well spent.

I am so glad that I decided to not cheap out and get one of the crappy ones.

 

I have the Elm OBDII BT adapter paired with Torque Pro on an Android RAZR Maxx and love the combination. Lots of realtime information that seems to be pretty close to accurate. Have not thrown a code yet so not sure how that feature will perform once it happens.

Amazon Item - $23.99 with Prime Shipping - BAFX Products (TM) - ELM 327 Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool - For check engine light and other diagnostics - Android compatible

Only thing I am missing is a phone holder to keep the gauges in my line of sight while driving, lol!

Edit: I have had this model for 5 months and use it almost everyday with no problems.

 

I recently bought the same BAFX unit and used it on my Nexus 7 tablet with Torque just fine.

 

That was for me - thanks, ScottInBend. And, thanks for sharing your perspective on these tools and other options.

 

I used this (PLX Kiwi bluetooth) on my Mini Cooper to check and reset a check engine light, it worked fine. The light came on a few weeks later, I was going to reset the light and I couldn't find the button on my phone app ( free torque) to reset the check engine light. Where is it? On my other car, a Chevy HHR, I had a check engine light come on. I plugged the PLX in to read the codes and got the code, but could not reset it, no option. How do you distinguish between vehicles? How do you setup for different vehicles? Is there a detailed owners manual? Using a Samsung Galaxy S-3

 

This may help with the Torque app.

Torque OBD2 Wiki