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No more excuses for incompetent garages


Barry

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I'm sure a lot of people will have had experiences where an independent garage has said they are unable to repair a car and it has to go to the main dealer. 

From 2018, all car manufacturers will have to make all specific diagnostic and repair tools available to independent repair shops.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/automakers-agree-to-fix-your-car-anywhere-in-right-to-repair-pledge/

http://web.archive.org/web/20160227035540/http://articles.sae.org/11690/

This has been a long time coming and should have been done long ago as manufacturer software has been available on torrents for years. 

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Pretty sensible and good move for car owners. Very well thought to create a "right to repair" bill.

Wish, Hope and Pray it gets applied and followed in all countries.

Let's root for each other & watch each other grow.

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It is a nice idea but the technology has been here for years. I use launch x431 pro version 3. It's basically where the Chinese got there hands on the software and copied it. I can do anything the dealer can do with the software. If you know what you're doing, it's fine. If you have to call china for tech support it's a laugh. They are software engineers, they copy and develop it to run on android but ask them anything about cars and they're lost. Ask them how to access fuel trim data and they'll tell you which menu to click. Ask them what the fuel trim data means and they go blank. Hopefully this means that more mechanics will have access to relevant information. The mechanics need to be trained though and that's the problem  

Its hard to find good information offline here. I went to Dubai mall yesterday looking to buy a good book on diagnostics. I found a few books on the basics of system operation but nothing on advanced diagnostics. All expensive too. 300 dhs for a book to tell you how an ignition switch works?

UAE needs a mechanic school. 

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4 hours ago, Barry said:

It is a nice idea but the technology has been here for years. I use launch x431 pro version 3. It's basically where the Chinese got there hands on the software and copied it. I can do anything the dealer can do with the software.

Yeah.......about that. I've used the Launch X431 and Launch were the first widely available diagnostic tool here. Its pretty good, but no where even close to dealer level diagnostic tools or some brand specific tools available nowadays. For example the Test Book for the dealer variant for Land Rover or Autologic and GAP diagnostic for the independent market. Similarly STAR for Mercs or Consult for Nissan. 
Not saying it aint good but it doesn't go as deep.

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i have used launch x431 master for almost 6 years its the 3rd most widely used thing around but let me tell you one thing sometime the best have given up and launch has caught that module read it and also calibrated it...its a mistake if you take launch lightly its not completely tilted to one market its just well balanced

i have access to maxis elite and gscan2, autoland, bosch, launch 4 

@desertdude you cant scan or calibrate luxus with consult or a mazda with star...right

and even if such thing gets passed which seems tough it manufacturer simply drops making parts for the models in 5 to 10 years...

 

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31 minutes ago, shadow79 said:

i have used launch x431 master for almost 6 years its the 3rd most widely used thing around but let me tell you one thing sometime the best have given up and launch has caught that module read it and also calibrated it...its a mistake if you take launch lightly its not completely tilted to one market its just well balanced

i have access to maxis elite and gscan2, autoland, bosch, launch 4 

@desertdude you cant scan or calibrate luxus with consult or a mazda with star...right

and even if such thing gets passed which seems tough it manufacturer simply drops making parts for the models in 5 to 10 years...

 

You didn't get what I was trying to say. IMO Barrys statement was factually incorrect. That he has dealer level access with the Launch. Systems like Launch are great for independent shops like yours who work on a plethora of vehicles. 

And your question is also fundamentally wrong. Testbook, Star, Consult and not multibrand systems. They are specific to one brand. So ofcourse you can read a lexus on a consult. Thats like trying to play a cassette tape in a CD player. 

But these dealer level tools go very deep into their brands systems. For example with the launch Can you check each and every pixel block on the LCD on the oodometer. Trigger the each independently to visibly see of they working. Trigger each flap inside the dash of HVAC system. Can it reprogram ECUs ans BeCEMs etc etc. 

This kind of fine trouble shooting only comes with dealer level tools.

 

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@desertdude yes, I can do everything you have mentioned in your post. Just recently used it to pulse the secondary air injection on a w12 engine so I could manually find a leak. Currently have a G63 in that had a flat battery and needs a lot of stuff reprogrammed and I have all the same functions as Star, I am an ex Mercedes tech and have used Star extensively. The X 431 I have is the latest model, 3 months old and it is exactly what I said it is. The Chinese got their hands on the genuine dealer software, amalgamated it into their own menus and made it run on android via Bluetooth. Obviously, you need an understanding of how the dealer software works to operate it, some stuff like VW I don't know every function but everything is there. I'll quite happily give you a demo sometime if you want. I started using launch systems a couple of years ago and I wouldn't bother with anything else now. It's a waste of time and money having 12 different computers lying around the shop when one tool will do the job. Aftermarket diagnostic systems have come on a lot, especially in the past 2 years. 

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the hvac flappy thing or calibration i have done on tahoe and a merc s500 and on a landcruiser 11 model guess at the time you had it it just had read and erase fault menu lately they are having special functions and work support plus live data menu which pretty much gives it the bang for its buck 

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2 hours ago, Barry said:

@desertdude yes, I can do everything you have mentioned in your post. Just recently used it to pulse the secondary air injection on a w12 engine so I could manually find a leak. Currently have a G63 in that had a flat battery and needs a lot of stuff reprogrammed and I have all the same functions as Star, I am an ex Mercedes tech and have used Star extensively. The X 431 I have is the latest model, 3 months old and it is exactly what I said it is. The Chinese got their hands on the genuine dealer software, amalgamated it into their own menus and made it run on android via Bluetooth. Obviously, you need an understanding of how the dealer software works to operate it, some stuff like VW I don't know every function but everything is there. I'll quite happily give you a demo sometime if you want. I started using launch systems a couple of years ago and I wouldn't bother with anything else now. It's a waste of time and money having 12 different computers lying around the shop when one tool will do the job. Aftermarket diagnostic systems have come on a lot, especially in the past 2 years. 

Maybe they have upgraded their stuff. Last time I used the Launch X431 it couldn't even calibrate a 1998 Range Rovers Air Suspension let alone do anything finer. 

 

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I was able to set up the suspension on L322s and L405s using the generation before the one I'm using now. Next time you're in Dubai give me a shout and I'll give you a run through it. I guarantee you will be converted.

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