Reddit reviews OBD2 Scanner CAN OBDII Code Reader - Scan Tool for Check Engine Light - Universal Diagnostic for Car, SUV, Truck and Van (MS300)

• Screwdrivers
  
  
• Needle nose pliers
  
  
• Sockets
  
  
• Electric Drill
  
  
• Putty knife and spackle
  
  
• Level
  
  
• Hammer
  
  
• Work gloves
  
  
• Stud finder
  
  
• Tape Measure
  
  
• A good, small flashlight--keep one in the car and one in the home
  
  
• A toolbox to store it all
  
  
  Specifically for my truck I have:
  
  a flexing spark plug socket like this one and spark plug pullers
  
  An OBD II Scanner
  
  Auto jack(s)
  
  An oil pan and an oil filter wrench or other tool that makes the filter easier to remove
  
  And, of course, jumper cables, a poncho or two, some spare water bottles and all that good stuff that stays in the truck too.
  
  
  Edit: Honestly, this is a great place to start--Stanley 65-Piece Homeowner's Tool Kit
  
  

Get an OBDII reader and the Torque app and see which code it is. Then look up the code and it'll tell you what happened.

Or a standalone OBDII reader.

You can get an ODB scanner dirt cheap on Amazon. It's 13 bucks and can save you a lot of money. With just YouTube and basic hand tools you can't get pretty far working on your own cars. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B011Q18D14/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1506661662&sr=8-8&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=odb2+scanner&dpPl=1&dpID=51aoLjwYQFL&ref=plSrch

OBDII scanners cost 15 bucks and anyone can use them in combination with google, but I dont see that replacing automobile mechanics. You are paying for the labor, not the diagnosis unless you are a moron.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B011Q18D14/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1474547085&sr=1-3&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=obdii+scanner

personally i wouldnt speculate on what your check engine light might be caused by, any of the answers listed by other people could be the cause. Someone else has mentioned going to an auto parts store and getting the codes read, thats the best idea, or buy your own reader, they're $15 on Amazon it spits out a code you look it up by googling 'chevy malibu code xxxx' and it will tell you the issue, and the chevy forums can tell you whether you need to worry about it or not.

OBD scanners are super cheap now

http://www.amazon.com/OxGord-CAN-OBD-Scanner-Tool/dp/B011Q18D14/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1459128073&sr=1-1&keywords=obd+scanner

These work and are cheap

Harbor Freight carries them for about the same price if there is one your town

https://www.amazon.com/Oxgord-Scanner-Engine-Diagnostics-Direct/dp/B011Q18D14/ref=sr_1_6?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1497729915&sr=1-6&keywords=obd+scanner

A cheap obd ii scanner only costs $15 on amazon https://www.amazon.com/Oxgord-Scanner-Engine-Diagnostics-Direct/dp/B011Q18D14/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473974197&sr=8-1&keywords=odb+reader

That's more expensive that free, but its not a bad thing to have in a car.

Also, spend the $17 and pick up one of these. All cars made in 1997 or later have ports for them (and some back as far as 1994 do as well).

Oxgord CAN OBD II Scanner Tool for Check Engine Light & Diagnostics, Direct Scan and Read Out https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011Q18D14/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_w5hlybCMQCXHT

I imagine you mean the check engine light codes? I haven't used it on a TL, but I used something like this before on another Acura:
https://www.amazon.com/Foseal-Bluetooth-Scanner-Diagnostic-Android/dp/B00T5G53ZM

I imagine something like this would work the same, and doesn't require a phone or other device to pair it with:
https://www.amazon.com/Oxgord-Scanner-Engine-Diagnostics-Direct/dp/B011Q18D14

So those should be able to tell you the specific codes needing attention as well as an option to clear them if you want. Of course, clearing doesn't do you any good if you don't do anything about the issues, it can very well come back. But once you have the specific codes, look them up online and see if you can pinpoint the possible issue and get it fixed. At the very least, you can know how serious it is.

Link for the lazy

Cheapest I could find was $15.

The answer to your question as-asked is that VA Tire for $114 is probably having a tech do a diagnostic and give you an estimate, which might or might not take a fair amount of time (some really generic codes, like an evap system one, can require a fair bit of testing to get down to the point where you can generate an estimate). Jiffy Lube is probably just scanning the code, which is only a few seconds of work, and if it happens to turn out to be something they can fix they'll offer to do it, but if it's not they're not going to go any further. JL is not exposing themselves to any risk of spending more than a couple of minutes, therefore they can offer that service for free. So that's the short answer.

I personally don't like JL (see my other comment if you care, it's sort of a YMMV situation), but there's nothing wrong with what they're offering. A free code scan like that -- which you can get at a lot of places, including most auto parts stores (or a buddy with an OBDII scanner, they are pretty cheap now) -- isn't a bad starting point if you've got a trouble light on the dash and need to pass emissions or something. Sometimes the code will tell you pretty much exactly what's going on and what needs to be done, and you can decide from there who you want to have fix it (or even DIY, if you're comfortable with whatever needs to be done). If the scan alone isn't conclusive, then I'd go to a real shop... and probably be prepared to pay a diagnostic fee if I have them diagnose the issue and don't have them then go and fix it; that seems only fair for their time.

Depending on what's going on that's prompting the question, you may want to ask or look at previous questions asking for recommendations of repair shops in N. VA... I don't have anything specifically against VA Tire, but I haven't heard anyone ever say that they were particularly awesome, either, and there are plenty of very well-regarded shops around who I'd probably go to first.

Your best bet is to get a code reader, if you don't already have one. Here is a cheap one on Amazon. Failing that, your nearest VIP or other auto shop will usually read the code for you for free.

Once you know the diagnostic code it's throwing, you'll have a better idea what happened.

I'm leaning toward it not being a frozen anything; if something froze in the injectors, you have a lot of water in your gas, which would cause problems even when it's not cold out.

Very often rough idle is caused by MAF and O2 sensors. You also might be having issues in the ignition system, so check your plugs, wires, and distributor.

Good luck, and please come back to post more question, or if you found the solution, post that.

Get yourself a cheap OBD-2 Scanner.

You also can get a bluetooth one and pair it to your phone, which requires a separate app, Torque seems to be the popular one for Android, EngineLink for iPhone

If the car is scanning P1000, it means the system hasn't run a full check yet, this code won't throw a check engine light, but will be visible on a scanner, its purpose is to show a shop if someone recently reset the computer.

Takes a couple of days of varied driving before this code goes away

Good, Here is a good/simple OBDII reader.

https://www.amazon.com/Oxgord-Scanner-Engine-Diagnostics-Direct/dp/B011Q18D14/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1467576362&sr=8-4&keywords=obd2+reader

This code reader on Amazon is on sale right now for $15.

As for a mechanic, you could try Fort Mill Automotive. It's about a 20 minute drive from Carolina Place.

Sure, and people who want to do that can spend $15 on an ODB-II code scanner. Very few people want to be able to do that, particularly as you describe for repair triage. A possible "real" code in this example (GM codes) is "P1114 Engine Coolant Temperature (ECT) Sensor Circuit Intermittent Low Voltage"

It's already included in most continental cars. (I don't know much outside of continentals) https://www.amazon.com/Oxgord-Scanner-Engine-Diagnostics-Direct/dp/B011Q18D14

get a obd unit for a couple bucks, cheap way to quickly determine what's wrong with the car

sometimes it could be just a blown fuse and that might fix it quickly

You can buy a code reader really cheap on Amazon. The one I linked, I use all the time, works well.

In my experience though, some codes don't stayed stored forever. So depending on when the light when off, from the time you get it hooked up to a scanner, the code could be gone.

For 14 bucks though, never wonder again!

>I don't know very much about cars obviously, don't really know what your saying or how to do it.

In this day and age: a lack of knowledge is a choice.

Google up: OBDII scanner. Here is a How To

Check Amazon: OBDII scanner. Here is one for $15 that will probably do the job

You need to learn about cars because your actual life and well being depends on it: literally, figuratively, financially and physically. It is the most expensive and dangerous thing that you will own. If you don't think your car is important: try getting by in life without one.

He's saying some people can be dishonest when they sell vehicles.

Just because there are the only two codes posted in the ad doesn't mean those are the only codes the trucks computer is posting. Without an ODB-II reader you can't verify that, you have to take the sellers word for it. If you own/buy/rent one you can verify for yourself.

It's cheap insurance to bring one with you and verify. You can buy one that hooks up to your phone for about 20$ from amazon and use an application like Torque on your phone to read the information directly to your phone. You can also buy one that doesn't hook up to your phone for about the same price.

Some automotive stores will even let you rent one with a deposit.

If only they existed