Hello,

I am going to be purchasing one soon. I thought I had decided on the iCarsoft V3 Jag/LR specific one, but then I read that it only gives 5 of the 7 digits for codes? Seems not overly great to me.

Can anyone make any specific suggestions for scan tools from other vendors that DO bring 7 digit granularity for codes?

I started taking my research more in the direction of Autel units. Definitely much higher cost, both in terms of up front cost and apparent ongoing yearly costs that you need to pay to keep them up-to-date. The reviews out there for them seem to be a mixed bag, so I’m having a hard time trying to decide if the added cost would be worth it.

I keep hearing about this SDD stuff, but it just sounds a little more involved than I want to take things.

 

I believe you have a new (2024) F-Type R.
If so SDD is no good for you, all later F-Types from around 2018/19 I think use a new diagnostics system called Pathfinder, and AFAIK no-one has yet been able to "crack" that system.
And yes iCarsoft readers don't give the last two digits of the code.

 

Oh, well thanks for the info. I had not heard about this Pathfinder stuff. Good to know.

 

DMeister, I think this needs a bit of clarification. You will get the first 5 digits of an error code. Just newer cars have a -XX (where the XX is 2 more digits) that provides a bit more information about what is wrong. You can get a pretty good idea of what is going on with the 5 digits, but the last 2 will tell you specifically what is wrong without having to do an electrical check or two. For example, lets say you got P1234 (made up error code) and it talks about it being an electrical issue with say an O2 sensor. That in itself is pretty good info. Where the "-XX" is going to come in is that if you got P1234-01, that would tell you the output wire is grounded, where if you got P1234-13, the heater has 0 volts applied to it, etc. The extra numbers get you down to almost the exact wire and problem, where with just the 5 digits, you would have to do a few electrical checks to get to the same point. So, is the iCarsoft a complete waste of money, I would say no. But, if you can get one that tells you all 7 digits, then you are a step ahead.

 

Thanks so much for giving that little extra bit of context. Appreciate it. Yeah, I guess I just like the idea of it getting as specific as possible, but I guess that needs to be balanced off against cost. Not a huge fan of paying yearly fees.