Questions and answers

Yes — an OBD-II adapter. It plugs into the socket under the steering wheel and is bought separately, from about ten dollars. Any ELM327 will do: Bluetooth, BLE, Wi-Fi or USB. Which one to take and how to spot a clone: choosing an adapter.

Yes. On the Connection tab choose «Demo mode (no car needed)» — every screen works on a simulated car: fault codes, live data, service reset, the report.

Fault codes, live data and the VIN can be read on any car from 2001 onwards — that is when the OBD-II standard became mandatory. Service routines depend on the model.

Not on every car and not with every adapter — and the app says so in advance instead of trying blindly. Cheap ELM327 clones often cannot address a single module, and the reset does not go through. Details: why the service reset does not work everywhere.

Yes, but clearing is not a repair: the car will report the same fault again within a few trips if the cause is still there. Clearing also resets the readiness monitors, and an inspection may not accept the car until a full drive cycle is done.

It names the check that failed, not the part to replace. We keep a reference of every code with a plain-word explanation and, for the common ones, where it is cheaper to start looking.

Reading cannot: codes, live data and the VIN are questions, and the unit only answers them. Care is needed with the two things that change something — clearing codes and service routines. Clearing wipes the freeze frame along with the code, so save the report first; service routines are only offered where the car allows them.

Yes, with a difference in what you look at. On a diesel the interesting readings are different — particulate filter, glow plugs, fuel pressure. On a hybrid the petrol engine answers as usual, while the traction battery and the electric side mostly stay outside the standard. Diesel, hybrid.

Very different. A steady lamp means «look into it soon»; a blinking one means «stop». Blinking is misfires, and unburnt fuel is burning inside the catalytic converter right now — it melts within tens of kilometres. Details: a blinking Check Engine.

Because clearing removes the note about the fault, not the fault. The unit keeps watching and writes the same code as soon as the condition repeats. What else disappears along with it — the freeze frame and the readiness monitors — is here: what «erase» actually does.

The conditions at the second the code was stored: engine speed, temperature, load, speed. It is what tells «came on once in winter during warm-up» from «repeats on every motorway trip» — and it is half the diagnosis. More about it.

Not with the most expensive-looking one. Several codes together often come from one cause: both banks lean point upstream of the intake split; a catalyst code next to misfires means the catalyst is the victim, not the culprit. Paste the whole list into the reader.

That the cause is still there: clearing a code and fixing the car are different things. A code returning in ten minutes and one returning in three days are different stories, and an empty list right after a reset proves nothing — the unit has not tested itself yet. What to check step by step.

The unit tests its own systems while you drive, and readiness shows which of those tests have finished. After a battery change or a code reset they all start over — and a perfectly healthy car gets turned away because it has not driven enough yet. How to prepare.

BLE (Bluetooth 4.0 and newer) or Wi-Fi. A classic Bluetooth ELM327 will never connect to an iPhone — that is a limit of the platform, not of the app. A BLE adapter must not be paired in the phone settings: it is found from inside the app.

A good one sleeps and takes a few milliamps — that is harmless. A cheap clone does not sleep and pulls 30–50 mA around the clock, which can flatten the battery over a week of standing. The sign is simple: the adapter is warm while the car sits. More.

Nine causes in order, from «the ignition is off» to «the car does not speak OBD-II». Eight of them are fixed without buying another adapter: the checklist.

Your account (email, name), a summary about the car — VIN, fault codes, module list — and support messages. Trip recordings, communication logs and parameter snapshots stay on the phone.

In the app on the Account tab, or in the account area on the site. What exactly is deleted and what is kept — on the deletion page.

Per account. You can have any number of cars — the key belongs to you, not to the vehicle.

Diagnostics stops, but the account, your cars and the licence screen stay available — nothing is lost. Enter a key and everything opens again at once.

Choose a term on the purchase page and leave your email. Card payment is being connected; for now we send an invoice and the key by email.