Botus
Senior Member
I'm perplexed. Many diagnostic tools now only support vehicles up to certain years... its just people being silly. I get I need to pay but the tool is still capable.
For example my Autel kit was a European only release and fairly silly money (£600 retail in 2012), it originally did USA, European and Japanese cars including TPMS. But for a year the development of the European only software support was all muddled and it basically did nothing.
Then it sprung to life (after I paid another years subscription) doing nearly everything on everything including pretty much full Merc, BMW support for seeing and clearing fault codes and live data and on most other brands.
The world moved on and they secretly killed of TPMS, then they killed off all USA cars, and now its gone to free updates. And they have chosen on this tool to stop support for BMW and Merc models post 2012 (which they actually state is the same for the tool that supersedes it ??? (which is a bit of a bargain and on free updates... as that now does Throttle pot set up and battery registering which mine half got the updates to support, but not the software... ).
Yet having given up on the one's that need it most, some other new brands turn up now and then (kia and hyundia, lexus and even Porsche get thorough support)
However Vauxhall seems to have been left to rot. I didn't know... but seems post 2010, Vauxhall dealer stuff moved the game on and I think you need two setups to do old and new. Then they got in bed on vans with Renault, and now with them being sold off to PSA now we have 4 systems to cope with under one car brand and they don't seem to care. For example I used to be able to do a mates insignia then he got a later one and I can't talk to the later one... mad. And, I can get my brothers Vivano van to play ball a bit if I say its a Renault, but whilst doing any diagnostic work the central locking operates !!! Pretty scary when talking to airbag modules !
But then we get other stuff they keep on top of. Ford got support to 2018 mid LY
And now today I see 4 months on from the whole VAG range getting yet another update, I get another.... if Merc and BMW support stops for cars after 2012 why can I do Bugatti and Bentley as of 2019 ???
Mot Pro EPB BENTLEY V6.42 2020-03-16
admin2020-03-16 07:35:48 1. Optimized performance.
its all a bit mental. and how this for a gamble? I got hold of a snap on bit of kit on the cheap the other day. With the tool and software version I've got they still go for 800 quid secondhand on ebay…. but a one off software update is £1200 quid !!! (new release out in a few days) And whilst it claims to be able to do adaptions and talk to my instrument cluster its current 2015 software only finds 17 modules on the 221 when the my autel one does 50 modules....
the Autel one I want is £3000 and annual subscriptions over 900 a year, and its not on sale in the UK yet... https://www.autel.com/c/www/mk3/3232.jhtml (in fact uk autel pretends it doesn't exist even when I ring to ask) here's the bargain (but only for old BMs and Mercs) https://www.autel.uk/diagnostics/pro-range/maxidiag-md808-pro/
For example my Autel kit was a European only release and fairly silly money (£600 retail in 2012), it originally did USA, European and Japanese cars including TPMS. But for a year the development of the European only software support was all muddled and it basically did nothing.
Then it sprung to life (after I paid another years subscription) doing nearly everything on everything including pretty much full Merc, BMW support for seeing and clearing fault codes and live data and on most other brands.
The world moved on and they secretly killed of TPMS, then they killed off all USA cars, and now its gone to free updates. And they have chosen on this tool to stop support for BMW and Merc models post 2012 (which they actually state is the same for the tool that supersedes it ??? (which is a bit of a bargain and on free updates... as that now does Throttle pot set up and battery registering which mine half got the updates to support, but not the software... ).
Yet having given up on the one's that need it most, some other new brands turn up now and then (kia and hyundia, lexus and even Porsche get thorough support)
However Vauxhall seems to have been left to rot. I didn't know... but seems post 2010, Vauxhall dealer stuff moved the game on and I think you need two setups to do old and new. Then they got in bed on vans with Renault, and now with them being sold off to PSA now we have 4 systems to cope with under one car brand and they don't seem to care. For example I used to be able to do a mates insignia then he got a later one and I can't talk to the later one... mad. And, I can get my brothers Vivano van to play ball a bit if I say its a Renault, but whilst doing any diagnostic work the central locking operates !!! Pretty scary when talking to airbag modules !
But then we get other stuff they keep on top of. Ford got support to 2018 mid LY
And now today I see 4 months on from the whole VAG range getting yet another update, I get another.... if Merc and BMW support stops for cars after 2012 why can I do Bugatti and Bentley as of 2019 ???
Mot Pro EPB BENTLEY V6.42 2020-03-16
admin2020-03-16 07:35:48 1. Optimized performance.
its all a bit mental. and how this for a gamble? I got hold of a snap on bit of kit on the cheap the other day. With the tool and software version I've got they still go for 800 quid secondhand on ebay…. but a one off software update is £1200 quid !!! (new release out in a few days) And whilst it claims to be able to do adaptions and talk to my instrument cluster its current 2015 software only finds 17 modules on the 221 when the my autel one does 50 modules....
the Autel one I want is £3000 and annual subscriptions over 900 a year, and its not on sale in the UK yet... https://www.autel.com/c/www/mk3/3232.jhtml (in fact uk autel pretends it doesn't exist even when I ring to ask) here's the bargain (but only for old BMs and Mercs) https://www.autel.uk/diagnostics/pro-range/maxidiag-md808-pro/
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