Reading engine codes

zoom08

can anyone recomend a good scanner that can read honda and acura codes.
I own a accord lx 2013 and a MDX 2011, I am not a mechanic, but if i can save some money and do it myself with simple fix, than i am all for it.

stever

Unless you are in California, most auto parts stores will pull codes for you for free. That's what I do.

You just have to keep in mind that the guy giving free advice behind the counter may not really be right. And a code doesn't necessarily mean a sensor or other part is bad - that just narrows down the area to diagnose. But there's lots of info you can find on the net about how to interpret a code and where to start.

The wrinkle is that most code readers don't do "deep" reading. I had a wonky distributor on my Nissan that threw zero codes (went to several mechanics). The "deep" factory reader ($$$) pulled a distributor code immediately. If an indy shop had had access to the proprietary info, it would have saved me a 40 mile tow to the nearest dealer.

thecardoc3

stever said:

Unless you are in California, most auto parts stores will pull codes for you for free. That's what I do.

The "deep" factory reader ($$$) pulled a distributor code immediately. If an indy shop had had access to the proprietary info, it would have saved me a 40 mile tow to the nearest dealer.

There is nothing that the dealer has access to that top independents don't also have, but how do you find that shop? There is a price to be paid for all of the pressure to do diagnostics below what it really costs the shop to be tooled and schooled for that kind of work. California's BAR (Bureau of Auto Repair) did several investigations on the "free code pulls" that were being performed and found consumers were being sold parts that the cars didn't need and weren't fixing the cars. Now of course some will jump on the fact that this can happen in the shops too especially if they don't have well trained and seasoned personnel, and that takes us right back to there being a price to pay when the diagnostics are under-priced. Traditionally anyone looking at the situation usually only concentrates on one facet of the problem instead of taking in the whole picture. But with "competition" setting a popular price expectation that is really a rotten apples to fresh oranges comparison, its no surprise that the oranges have started rotting as well. But a forty mile tow to find a qualified and properly trained technician? That's not too bad we have seen worse, and lots of consumers will experience worse if the trade doesn't start attracting the people that it desperately needs. The problem is that its never going to do that until it pays the wages and provides the kinds of benefits that can be had in other careers. The trade will never do that when it doesn't (or can't) price correctly and that leads to the old chicken or the egg question . Which came first, and the answer is that it doesn't matter, without both you don't have either.

Mr_Shiftright

The type of scanner you buy depends on how deeply you want to get into this, and what your skill levels are. For some people, just reading and clearing the code are enough; for others, they might want to "freeze" or capture while the problem is occurring in real time, so as to analyze the inputs from various sensors and modules off line and come to some conclusions. Others might want a scanner that than drill into ABS and TCM modules and that's a whole other level of complexity and expense.

If you go on Amazon.com, and shop for scanners, very often charts will come up from different manufacturers with a large checklist/map of what each of their scanner can and can't do, and the prices shown accordingly. This might be a good way to pick and choose what you need. Also, Amazon is handy because you can read user reviews.

mrbill1957

If you want to try something really cheap, take a look on the big auction web site for an ELM327 ODB2 scanner. I picked one up for under $13 (including shipping) and it has worked great. I've been able to connect to my 04 Accord, a Tacoma truck, Ford Taurus, Lexus and a few other cars. The model I picked up is a Bluetooth unit which works great with my Samsung tablet and Motorola phone. I was also able to connect using a laptop with the included software. It's interesting to set up the software to graph the outputs of the O2 sensors while going for a drive. I don't know what limitations there will be with a cheap device as this, but it has done what I wanted it to do. I was able to reset the codes when I replaced a bad O2 sensor for a heater failure.

Mrbill

BTW, the one I purchased is the ELM327 with the orange/purple label with a white stripe between the colors. It also has 5 LEDs inline across the front. Other units may work the same, I just had good luck with this one.