Which SCANNER Should I Buy? MEGA DEALS: Oct 10-11! (LAUNCH vs. AUTEL vs. KINGBOLEN) 

HMM, many of the US tools will allow full access. BUT I've talked to friends over there and your MUCH more restricted in what you can do than the US is.

Understand that concern in UK. The better business model moving forward, is that mechanic shops become "specialists" towards certain manufacturers. That way only purchasing those specific manufacturers software licensing. Besides... "specialists" get to charge more per hr anyway. haha

You can always buy a tool made for the US market but unless you use a VPN service you probably won't be able to upgrade it. You might not be able to buy it but you could have someone in the usa buy and ship it to you. But you would be better off trying to get the laws changed Like Americans did.

Dealer techs are generally incompetent. All they seem to be able to do is paint by number and they don't even get that right a good share of the time. Almost lost a tire on the freeway from a dealership. You'd think they would know how to do something simple like torquing down lugnuts.

​@@biz4twobiz463yes, I see the industry breaking into specialties as well. Other breakdowns will be ADAS specialties, electric and hybrid cars, battery rebuilders for said electric car, electrical nightmare specialist 😂 etc

In your experience, what would you recommend as the absolute cheapest tool a fella could get by with when only programming domestic brand smart keys? I don’t care if it is slow, needs half a dozen cords plugged into it, or requires soldering to eeproms. I just want something that will get the job done on the very rare occasions I need it and can pay for itself the few times I use it, before it becomes obsolete. Generating seed codes would be worth an extra couple of hundred or less, but I could get by fine with tokens.

@@athhud I'm more familiar with the high end of the spectrum do to the volume and type of cars we have in Boca Raton. In your situation I would suggest the Autel KM100. That is going to give you the best bang for the buck. It will do most domestics but . . . We have run into a few GM 2021 trucks that no programmer we have will do them. 2 expensive programmers say they can do them but I haven't seen any videos or reviews if they actually work. At the moment we have to send those to the dealer. Other than that the KM100 should be perfect for you. It's around $400 to $500. We have 2 of them and never used them yet but plenty of locksmiths are using them. I think they also have free updates which is huge. For ease of use my guys mainly use the Autel 508 and 608. There isn't any eeprom work on domestics for making keys at least. That's mainly on older Toyota's and some Euro trash.

@@scotts4125 KM

@@scotts4125 thanks! The KM100 was on my short list. The GMT800 are all over the place here and the KM100 would also be capable of mileage correction via eeprom (from my understanding) for those notorious instrument cluster swaps.

@@athhude

Hey Keith! Hah those were the days 😄 I forget which model that was? I still have the wireless PADII I think 🤔

@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics X431 Diagun

Would like to see the same video from Keith which diagnostic tool to buy😃

@@valleyautodiagnostics all of em! 😁

@@PineHollowAutoDiagnosticshey Ivan does that autel or launch crp919 do module programming if not can you recommend a good scanner that does thanks

is the xtool d9 a capable scanner work mostly on nissans. how will that stack up .can you gdt into can gateways. 2023 etc

@@johnhill3644 The D9 Pro tool is a great scan tool. Is any aftermarket tool 100% as capable as the factory scan tool?, No, but they are very close now. Never had to access a gateway module (except on one 2005 Dodge Magnum with 5.7 hemi), but was using a factory scan tool on that. The topology map is a big help too.

when you do diagnosis for a living, the collection grows. Mine isnt as comprehensive as his, but i have several. I have 2 Snap On solus (a plus and an ultra) and i use them nearly daily. My Solus Plus is the only one in the shop with secure gateway. So I unfortunately do the newer FCA diagnostic -stuff. For across the shop wireless monitoring nothing beats an Autel MAXISYS Elite. I use it to watch engine temp, oxygen sensors and fuel trims. I set alarms for out of bounds and keep the scanner close by.

With your Thinktool, does the tool lockout of you don't download the updates?

What forced updates? I have the same tool as Ivan has and I don't get any forced updates. I also looked at how you can remove vehicles that you will never use as well. Since I'm very doubtful that I'll need GAZ, or SanPi or some of the others. I just select the updates I want and let them run.

I agree. I have a LAUNCH X431 V+ PRO 4.0 that the free updates has expired. They want $600 for a 1 year update. I can purchase a new unit for $912 with 2 years of "free" update. No brainier. I'm just a DYIer, so I don't plan on upgrading yet. My old unit is working just fine for now w/o them.

Same thing I do now. I buy a new tool use it until the free updates run out and then look at the vehicles I need it for. So say the free updates expire in 2023 but I don't see vehicles that are under warranty so I figure I'll start seeing 2023's in 2026-7 or so. So in 2025 I'll buy a new tool, get faster hardware, new software and that "new scanner smell"

@@steadyeddie7453 No. It will still function. You will not be able to do AutoAuth on Stellantis vehicles and SGW on some newer vehicles without up to date software.

have you chance to use it on newer cars 2022 -2023 with canfd. can you get into the can gateways and diagnose thanks

@@johnhill3644 I have not used it on anything that new yet. I assume that you’ll need to buy the Kingbolen Ediag Plus to do CAN FD with the K10, but I don’t know that for sure.

How is that k10 holding up , ? Main issues ?

@@Ptech878 my only complaint is that I can’t download 3rd party apps (which I knew going in). The only reason I care is that my stupid iPhone 7 is slowly being rendered obsolete (apps require a newer iOS than my phone is capable of downloading) and it would be nice if the K10 could fill that role. I certainly can’t knock the K10 for it, because it was never advertised to do that, but it is something that I now realize matters more to me than I thought. The only other 2 disappointments is that it won’t pull Chrysler immobilizer PIN codes and I can’t seem to keep the Chinese car company software deleted off of it. Either I am doing it wrong, or every time it runs an update (every day) they start getting added back. With all that said I am absolutely pleased with it, especially for what I paid for it. I absolutely recommend it to anyone for just diagnostic work. If you want to do keys, this ain’t the one, but for diag it is great. The battery seems to last FOREVER. I never turn it off.

Which model did you buy?

At least drop an LS in it bro.. You're slacking

@@calholli I'll do something like that when this engine dies. I don't fix things that ain't broken. I need a work horse, not a race horse. I've put 300k miles on it myself. It's not the original engine. But who ever built it. Knew what they were doing. Original 4 speed granny. Besides that. I don't want to have to drive my wife's Volvo station wagon while the truck is down.😀😀

I've bought a Microsoft office software CD in 2006. It won't work in Windows 10 anymore (unless there's a hack around it, idko) but that' why I keep a couple laptops around still having Windows 7 installed in case one burns up. Point in case, I don't have to be online and have to have a Cloud based annual subscription to use Word or Excel. Same with my old AutoCad software. Those tech companies have turned society into subscription and throw away servs which now becoming the norm in the automotive repair industry. With the push to home automation, will a fancy China reverse engineered scanner be needed next to troubleshoot your SMART dishwasher, fridge, washing machine, water heater and dryer?

@@rambleon2838 sounds like the IRS. Buy this and we will tell you how much you owe us to use it.

@@rambleon2838 yeah.. this is why the fight for "Right to Repair" is so important. We need to stop it now, before it gets any worse.

any chance to use it on Nissans newer models?

@@johnhill3644 honestly haven’t worked on any Nissans. But it’s quite capable on all other makes I’ve used it on.

Unfortunately, more and more stuff that SHOULD NOT be electronic is becoming electronic and need a scan tool. Parking brakes are now almost universally integrated as an electronic motor on the back of the caliper. There are ways to manually retract them, but on many makes and models, you should have a scan tool.

@@mmix224 I have a Launch CRP129E I think it is. Not sure if it has that capability. It might. Kind of wish I'd had opted for something different but it is what it is.

Same here, I do minor stuff on mine and a few other cars if I feel like it, and bought a cheapish scan tool by Foxwell. It does the job. It is bidirectional so does more than just scan codes. I also noted when looking some are a subscription service, so I especially looked for one that wasn't.

I am retired for the last 4 yrs. 27 yrs in the shops, 3 in my own shop. Decided I want to work on cars again. Everything has to be reset, calibrated, zeroed or cleared to get to the real underlying issues. I'm likely gonna keep it and enjoy charging $50 Everytime I have to use it.

Arm, train. carry. Everyday

CRP919EBT is not bad for home diy mehanics

Yeah I was literally going to order the Topdon Phoenix Elite this week, but now I am going to have to think twice about it. I've been watching Jake from Automotive Diag & Programming use his Topdon for awhile, and I've really liked the scanner overall.

@@jtjones4727 yeh it looks like a very nice scanner and a reasonable price but doing this for a living I simply cannot chance spending thousands on a tool and loosing access to Chrysler diagnostics

We've had a maximus 4.0 at our bodyshop that was on loan to us and it didn't work well for ADAS as our older Launch 431.

@@iam1smiley1 I haven’t run into any issues with mine but at a repair shop we don’t ever do anything with adas, everything I’ve needed from it has been a great upgrade from the max 3. I’m starting to get into using the oscilloscope and I can tell it’s definitely not top notch compared to something like a pico but it certainly does what I need it to do until I get better with a scope and am ready for a pico

Which of the XTool models? Thanks.

I've owned the D7, D8, and currently using the IK 618E @@abdul-kabiralegbe5660

Thanks for the headsup! I’m thinking to buying one but nobody mentioned this!

@@Zanin22 The Launch Creader Elite 2.0 comes with lifetime updates and supports variant coding (and key programming for early immobiliser systems). I've read that the X431 CRP 919 still offers all functionality after the first two years and one just doesn't get any further updates without paying for them. I do not know whether that's true, but it might be worth figuring out which specific model @ErikTheVikingMechanic is talking about.

Which model are you talking about? Did Launch confirm that this is their policy?

where can i find the adapter for can fd?

​@claudiosantana3320 do yourself a favor and just don't even buy the kingbolen scan tools. Get a launch branded tool. I would highly recommend the launch crp919ebt. It does everything the kingbolens do plus fca sgw authorization (AutoAuth), can FD protocol, and has PMI capabilities, which neither kingbolen models have any 3 of those functions . The crp919ebt has the same hardware as the k10 and better hardware than the k8. The kingbolen scan tools aren't worth the money. If you still want the kingbolen though, the thinktool can fd adapter will work with it.

I like my D8

I don’t want to discourage anyone from from buying machines that Ivan can get commission on, but I got my Kingbolen K10 well below msrp from the “not Amazon” site.

Does it have amthe same special functions as I ans PROs or Launch ?

@@x01e are you asking me about the Kingbolen K10 or the OP about the Launch CRP919E?

Very good point

Not really as easy as you would think. Many of the OE software systems will not run if installed on the same hardware even within the same brands applications. That is why Keith had a truck full of scan tools and laptops. You can't have Ford and GM on the same laptop, the others are similar. Plus the OE tools are FAR more expensive to buy and have high priced subscriptions that go with them, and they also lack some of the capabilities that the aftermarket units have. Another issue is that if you are working on multiple brands do you really want to spend between $3,000-12,000.00 per tool that you only use maybe 4 times a year? As an example. Take Ivans last few videos He would need the GM, Honda, Ford, Toyota, Land Rover, Subaru and Chrysler OE tools. For GM full coverage from 92 to 2023 requires 4 different OE scan tools, Honda has 3, Ford is on number 4, Toyota has 2, Land Rover has at least 4 that I know of because they have been owned by multiple companies whom each used their own systems. Subaru is on their second one and Chrysler is on tool 4 but they have a few different adapters for the two latest applications. That list doesn't cover VW, BMW, Mercedes and a lot more. Plus many of them have very specific computer hardware specs in terms of OS, memory, processors and more. That is why it's a VERY complex topic, and why an aftermarket tool that can do multiple makes and models is a great thing.

He's also got a nice wife and a beater... never mind

You pay one $50,00 fee that registers the tool itself as an accepted tool. Not per car. Now if you are doing programming you can pay as you go with most makes and those get charged per VIN. So say you have a GM that needs 3 modules programmed, you enter the VIN into the GM system and buy the slots for that vehicle. Then you have a different GM come in you have to buy the slots for that VIN as a separate purchase.

Launch has no issue with FCA autoauth

@@Blazer02LS ok, thank you. So I hear you saying it's a One Time fee for the tool, not annual.

It's an annual fee but for the tool, not individual vehicle.@@douglas2lee929

It costs 50 dollars a year for an AutoAuth account. They are a 3rd party Chrysler uses to managage the security gateway. 50 dollars lets you set up to 5 tools on your account. You can get more slots and add more users for more money. The 50 plan allows 4 users. This is really intended for shops not the DIY user. I don't know much about the Launch/Topdon/Thinkcar issue. When you add a tool to your account you have to pick the manufacturer of the tool and your serial number. Since June Thinkcar and Topdon are not on the list. Kingbolen is not either don't know if it ever was. Oddly enough there is a option to choose Harbor Freight 😁

What software do you use on the tablet?

?

Actually that way ends up being more expensive in the long run. It starts out cheaper but you have to reactivate every feature every year or lose it and for only one car brand. If you want other car brands you have to pay for each brand. That adds up quickly. That is very limiting and quickly the price adds up and becomes way more expensive than just buying the full tablet from the get go. Those fees per features and quickly add up and if you add them all up ends up being like 3 to 4 times more expensive and they often only last like a year then you have to pay again to reactivate those features again.

What price were you trying to get it for and how is it if you got it

@@KollynJ Didn’t order it I think the sale price was about $850. And they changed it to $1000 eventually I ordered a Topdon phoenix off eBay for $800. It’s been good so far. Better than using small code readers.

@@drrm123 well I hope so! They’re $20. Is it worth the cost to you or do you wish you went something more mid range? Thanks

@@KollynJ yes I think it was worth it. I have about 13 cars now and occasionally purchase an auction car to resale. Able to diagnose trouble more thoroughly and clear air bag lights and other trouble small cheap scanners don’t. Monitoring data helps a lot . Normally charge my friend's about $30 to $100 to scan cars to better isolate trouble for them.

What does it cost to update, and does turn into a brick if you dont?

If you don't work on FCA new cars, The Kingbolen K10 works similar the Pros and pretty good price today.

@@kingbolen_official Will the Thinkcar scope work with the K10?

I saw an article saying that when you update, the interface changes to the same as kinbolen. Have you tried updating before your subscription ends?

@@leecoon1004 Yes, I updated the day before my subscription ended. The interface is the same as it always has been. I actually bought this scanner through Ediag on Amazon which is part of Kingbolen. I enquired about updating the scanner through them and they wanted me to send them the serial number to verify the scanner before I bought the update but I have not heard back from them since. Maybe tomorrow.

I ran into that too. I was going to order the Kingbolon K10 but when I went to order it, it said unavailable and then a little while later it was regular price.

@@Mr2004MCSS yeah, I noticed a coupon for a hundred off some time later, but the note in my cart saying "price recently increased by $217.xx" still kept me from pulling the trigger. I did some searching on other places to purchase, but couldn't find any others stating they were US market. Contacted them through their website and they said they were only "global" models. Even saw them for ~$650 on Ebay, but again, not US market so not worth the risk. I ran into this same scenario when purchasing my autel years ago and ended up just waiting for a sale from AESwave. It's crazy to me how every website and seller has different specs, capabilities, features, etc. listed even for the same models. For example, the chart on the Kingbolen "global" website does not match those on the Amazon links in this video. BUT, the capabilities of these scanners are pretty amazing for the prices - especially with the disappointing experience with our Snap On over the last few years. That said, I'll either wait for another sale or until I really need it.

take a look at the xTool D7; around $300 for us weekend warriors. I take care of all the cars in my family- I can almost justify getting an Autel but for now- the xTool is doing everything I've asked it to do- even did a couple of keys for me. In the family I've got 3 Volvos, a Toyota Rav4, 2 Honda CRVs and an older 1998 Volvo S70 which I use a Volvo specific iCarsoft i906- but there is no bidirectional control on that cheap scanner. Good luck

Autel

I own that tool and it's brilliant

Scanner Danner says it's great. But then again, topdon sent him their fanciest large tablet.. So they are kinda incentivized to like them. :) .. but I trust his endorsement. I'm pretty sure topdon just uses the same launch software as this Thinktool Pro that Ivan is using. The only difference between them is the hardware- one has more memory and a bigger screen, etc.

71 & 78 here. They're so simple.

'69 and '74 here. So simple, they never break down, and easy/inexpensive to maintain.

I haven’t used it, but the K10 does have some kind of screen mirroring feature or something another. There is a button for it on the tool anyway. I’ll try it out and try to remember to report back.

I misspoke. It isn’t screen mirroring. It is team viewer that it uses.

Does this mean that after the PROs update, the screen is the same as the Kingbolen K10 shown in the video? I'm currently using it, but there's no change, so I'm wondering if there's a separate setting I need to do.

@@leecoon1004 The start screen is different. All the following screens and menu design are the same.

I have a Thinktool ProS like Ivans and it handles Toyotas pretty well so the Launch versions should as well.

topdon smart

best way to compare them is check car coverage at xtool d8, d9, autel ultra lite, topdon smart................and you will find your answer as a budget d8 iti ok but check car coverage to see exactly what can you do on your car

Yeah all of them can. Remember the VW Touareg TDI with the door module coding?

@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics Yes mate, with topdon smart or autel ultra lite what I have you can do and programming not only coding and with topdon smart you have step by step guide for audi / VW....... for example i bought mine coz was the only one capable to update modules on Merc w211. Everyone have his on reason for buying a scan tool, that why i strongly recommend for everyone to check car coverage to see what can you do with a scan tool some are doing just coding some are doing and programming..... depends on make and model

@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics Thanks, Ivan! I ended up getting the Launch for my collection of euro trash!