When scrolling through forums or Facebook pages we all get used to questions like: “I just bought my first Volvo. What cheap OBD tool can I use to scan and to make basic maintenance operations?”. Then usually such people were brought down to earth, that cheap tools like elm327 don’t work with Volvo and they need to invest into a good dice clone, go through the hell of installing a pirate version of Vida, or use Vdash. With the SPA platform the connection cable is cheap, but still one needs to have a computer with Orbit or Vdash installed. And it seems that the community is more focused on changing the car configuration rather than on maintenance and troubleshooting.
Well, it was true up until now. For some time I am working on a mobile application for our Volvos that everyone could have in their pocket and that would be powerful enough not only to read each and every module in the car, but also to perform calibrations, change some settings, perform maintenance operations.
For the beginning let start with some screenshots:
So what V-Tool OBD Scanner application can actually do? Here are only some features of application:
- V-Tool will read all cars starting from MY 2005 and up until newest MY 2025 models (all P1/P2/P3/SPA/CMA)
- unlike other mobile apps, V-Tool will read all modules of the car
- read/clear DTC codes – basics 🙂, right?
- read real-time sensor data
- perform multiple calibrations and adaptations like::
- Reset adaptation and Calibrate Transmission Control Module after oil change
- Calibrate Climate Control Module
- Calibrate adaptive suspension
- Perform ECM calibrations (like EGR, swivel, etc)
- Clear service reminder interval
- Perform DPF combustion
- Etc…
- change selected car settings like:
- SRI period/distance/motor hours
- CCM settings (eg. seat heat levels)
- DIM units
- etc…
- Perform some codings, like:
- TPMS sensor detection and coding
- Diesel IMA coding
- export PDF report…
Of course the above is not the full list of functionalities and the availability of the functions strongly depends on the car hardware and configuration. Also it is worth mentioning that the application is in active development so new features are being added almost every day. The best way to understand what is currently available for your car is simply to connect V-Tool to your car and check what is available.
What OBD adapter is needed to use with V-Tool? The answer is: it depends. If you have a P1/P2/P3 car, you will need a dongle that supports both CAN-HS and CAN-MS. The cheapest and reliable available dongle is VLinker MC, which starts at around $50. If you are an iPhone user, then you definitely need a “+” version which is a little bit more expensive. SPA/CMA cars are much “easier” to manage, as they use only CAN-HS. So much cheaper adapters like iCarPro or VGate could be used which are available at around $20. These devices could be still used with P1/P2/P3 cars, but then, of course, modules on CAN-MS could not be accessed. For detailed guide of choosing right adapter for your car please refer to: Supported OBD Adapters – V-Tool OBD Scanner
Where to download? V-Tool is available to download for free and basic features (read/clear DTC, read up to 3 Live Data parameters at once) are available completely for free. Advanced features (like calibrations, adaptations, PDF report, 10 Live Data parameters) are available in subscription mode. Subscriptions are available for 1, 2, 3 or unlimited number of cars. Until the end of November if you choose any of the subscriptions for a limited number of cars (1-3), then the first 3 days are free of charge – just remember to cancel the subscription before grace period ends. Minimum subscription period is one week, for those who want to do some maintenance work with the car once or twice a year. There is also monthly or annual subscription which is more price-attractive…
What V-Tool OBD Scanner IS NOT. V-Tool OBD Scanner is not the tool for changing car configuration, making software upgrades etc. Used OBD adapters are simply too slow for that. For such tasks we all know about Orbit, Vdash or p3tool.
More info about V-Tool OBD Scanner could be found on V-Tool official webpage: Front Page – V-Tool OBD Scanner
Please also note, that this application is a “one-man-project”, you may find some features still missing, you may probably find some bugs… I would really appreciate any feedback, here or through the contact form: Contact – V-Tool OBD Scanner