Anyone have one they leave in full time? Seems some require an app purchase just looking for one to read Temps and show engine codes not looking to spend big but want something decent.

 

About $20-40 on eBay or amazon. OBDII to USB chord with copy of techstream.

That's what I have, run Techstream(full dealer diagnostic software) off my laptop and connects to my car with the OBDII to USB chord. I actually run it off my Macbook pro, but I have Windows 10 on it.

 

I'd like to setup that up, also on a macbook pro. What ver techstream?

 

I am looking for something I can view as I am driving with my phone.

 

I use veepeak and used to have it on 24/7, the draw is very minimal... As for the app, I use Torque Pro, but there are free versions that'll give you basic info like codes and read certain live data from your ODBII. All depends on how much you want to spend as they can range from $10 for a generic ELM327 to $100 for OBDLink MX+. Just get one that's low profile as something like the Bafx which is also popular is a bit bulky to have in 24/7.

But now I just use techstream v15 hooked up to a windows 7 tablet.

 

You can run it with the car on and while driving and see the live read outs on the laptop.

 

I use a cheap BAFX OBDII bluetooth device with TorquePro. I then screen mirror my phone to the oem infotainment screen. A lower profile one would be a bit better if you keep it in full time but it's fine for temporary use.

 

Any version of techstream 15 and up will cover our cars. The software is exactly the same hasn't changed in years, the versions updates just add compatibility to the latest cars.
For example v15.20.021 covers all cars made before 10-2020 and a bunch of 2021 cars. v14.xx also covers my 2013 GS.

Also only runs on windows OS. I installed windows 10 on a portion of my macbook pro with bootcamp. I also got the windows 10 install media free from microsoft and used a license key I got off eBay for $2. For x64 windows OS you need to do the steps in this video for the OBDII Chord to work:

 

Yea i wanted to do this, didn't know how the bootcamp thing worked, ended up getting busy and it got thrown on the backburner. I wanted it for re-learning of tpms, but i'm sure there is other perks as well.

I forget which version i got, it's around here somewhere.

 

I have Techstream v10, v12 and v15, forgot the exact specific version but v10 covers to 2016, but noticed that the newer version v15 connects and runs a quicker than v10 and v12 as I've tried all three of them.

 

I'm running v7 or 8...time to upgrade!
OP, as everyone else said get a cheap bluetooth scanner and a phone app like torque and leave it in the car. Techstream amd the special cable at homefor fun or more advanced codes and troubleshooting

 

I also found this thread about the OBD Fusion app that has a Toyota/Lexus PID add on package. Not sure what it could offer but nice to see there is a tailor made add on.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...-pid-pack.html

 

You can also add remove keys, delete keys your used car didn't come with.
Change dealer only settings
Run active tests.
Run health check to test all ecu's, rear codes, and diagnose issues. The codes and descriptions techstream pulls is better than the cheap OBDII readers you buy at autozone.
See what all the sensors are outputting.

For me it's been very useful for doing retrofits for example figuring out why my power trunk didn't work when I first installed it.

 

Yea im glad you brought this up over the cheap readers or those that want you to pay some monthly/yearly fee. I still want to set it up, but i got 10 month old golden retriever that keeps taking up most of my time. Also i believe that mongoose obd cable is out of stock on the OBD site, i will look into how bootcamp works.

is the 32bit or 64 bit of windows better for this?

Thanks again for always helping other members and giving good advice.

 

it’s easy to install on 32 bit windows, but you can install it on 64 bit following the instructions in the YouTube video I posted.