scan tools

[Hognewbie]

Does anyone know of a scan tool that will read engine/tranmission/abs codes with the ability to clear too?

[phil-l]

All of the following is merely my opinion on this topic...

OBDII scanners for powertrain codes (engine and transmission) are now fairly common and reasonably priced (simple handheld units now show up at about the $50 level, maybe less). There are also several approaches that basically create an interface between your OBDII port and a PC. I don't have direct experience with these, so I'll leave it to others to comment on them.

However: Adding the capability of scanning ABS systems pushes you into the next price/complexity level.

When I first looked at this seriously a few years ago, no one yet had a combined powertrain/ABS scanner realistically priced for the DIY market. You had to buy a separate unit for ABS (and they seemed to be pretty limited in their capabilities at that time).

After some quick Googling... I see combined OBDII powertrain and ABS scanners from Actron, Equus and Innova. Looks like Actron has the lowest prices - but my quick checks indicate you're looking at close to $200 up to about $300 for their entry-level units. Of course, true professional gear goes well beyond this price level.

But what really matters is how well they work. Does anyone have experiences on what a competent DIYer can expect from these tools?

Quick way to see examples of the above-mentioned units: Go to eBay and search on "ABS OBDII scanner".

[tmash]

Actron now has the ODB II and ABS scan tool combo. Advance Auto has it for about @230.00