Mini Bluetooth OBD2 Car Diagnostic Scanner

The warning light comes on somewhere between the supermarket and home, and it stays on.

You pull up on the drive, leave the engine running, and reach into the footwell. The sixteen pin socket is there, just under the steering column, where it has been since the car left the factory. The dongle slides in, a small light wakes up on its face, and your phone finds it. Two minutes later you know whether the light is a loose fuel cap or something that needs a garage on Monday.

The unit is a plastic block the size of a matchbox, printed on its face with a Bluetooth mark and the words ELM 327 Interface, supports all OBDII protocols. It has no screen, no buttons and no battery of its own. Power comes from the port. The maker gives the weight as thirty two grams and lists a single control chip inside. You choose white or black, and you choose whether it arrives in a printed colour box or in a sealed antistatic bag with a driver CD.

Key Benefits

• Reads and clears engine codes The maker states that the scanner reads and clears engine fault codes on OBD2 compliant vehicles. What you do with the code afterwards is your call.
• No wire across the cabin Bluetooth is named by the maker and marked on the housing, so the phone stays in your hand while the dongle stays in the footwell.
• Nothing to charge The port supplies the power. There is no battery to flatten and no cable to remember.
• Two packing options The colour box suits a gift or a glovebox; the antistatic bag adds a driver CD for anyone who still has an optical drive.
• Small enough to leave in At matchbox size and thirty two grams it sits below the knee line rather than in the way of your leg.

Best for: the driver who wants to know what a dashboard light means before booking a garage slot, and who already has a phone and is happy to install an OBD2 app on it.

Why It Works

Most home fault readers are handheld boxes with their own screen, their own menus and their own firmware to keep current. This one moves all of that onto the phone you already carry. The dongle does the talking to the car and nothing else, which is why it can be this small and why it needs no battery. It is also why the app matters more than the hardware: the scanner will hand over whatever the car reports, and the app you choose decides how readable that is.

Quick Product Facts: mini OBD2 Bluetooth interface; housing printed ELM 327 Interface, supports all OBDII protocols; powered from the vehicle diagnostic port; maker states reading and clearing of engine fault codes on OBD2 compliant vehicles; maker lists Android, Apple and Windows as platforms; maker gives twelve volt operation and thirty two grams; housing in white or black; supplied in a printed colour box, or in an antistatic bag with a driver CD.

How It Fits Your Routine

The first use is usually the impatient one. A light appears, you plug in on the drive, pair, and read the code before you have taken your coat off. Knowing the code before you phone a garage changes the conversation, and it changes it in your favour.

After that it tends to live in the glovebox and come out twice a year. Before a long trip, before a sale, after someone else has borrowed the car. It is also the tool you lend to the friend whose light has just come on, which is the point at which you find out you should have bought two.

Storage is simple because there is nothing to maintain. Pull it out of the port when you park up for a long spell, drop it back in its box or its bag, and it waits. No firmware, no charging, no consumable.

FAQ

Is an app included? No. The maker supplies no app and names none. You install an OBD2 app on your phone yourself, so it is worth checking that the app you want exists for your handset before ordering.

Which cars does it work with? The maker says OBD2 compliant vehicles and does not publish a list of makes or models. We will not name car brands the maker has not attested. If your car has the sixteen pin socket, start there.

What operating temperature is it rated for? We are not quoting one. The maker gives an upper figure on its printed panel and a different upper figure on its written sheet, and two numbers from the same source that do not agree are not a specification.

What is the difference between the box and the bag? Only the packing. The colour box is a printed retail carton; the bag is a sealed antistatic pouch that also holds a driver CD. The scanner inside is the same unit.