ThinkCar ThinkDiag TKD01 OBD-II scanner review

Our Verdict

One of the largest Bluetooth-based OBD-Ii automotive diagnostic scanners, the ThinkCar ThinkDiag TKD01 shows yous extended fault codes and can plough off the oil change light, but can be hard to install and has a pricey subscription plan.

For

• Comes with hard example
• Reads basic and enhanced codes
• Lots of paid optional abilities

Against

• Large and heavy
• Difficult to install
• App costs $xl later a year

Tom's Guide Verdict

One of the largest Bluetooth-based OBD-II automotive diagnostic scanners, the ThinkCar ThinkDiag TKD01 shows you extended fault codes and can turn off the oil change lite, only can be hard to install and has a pricey subscription program.

Pros

• +

  Comes with hard case

• +

  Reads basic and enhanced codes

• +

  Lots of paid optional abilities

Cons

• -

  Large and heavy

• -

  Hard to install

• -

  App costs $forty later on a year

• -

ThinkDiag: Specs

Size: 3.1 x 2.0 x ane.ane inches
Weight: 2.7 ounces
Live data: Yeah
Brandish: None
Number of keys: None
Bluetooth: Aye
Handheld: No
Warranty: i year

Big and ofttimes hard to install, the ThinkCar ThinkDiag TKD01 Bluetooth-based OBD-Two automotive diagnostic scanner rewards the user with the ability to figure out both generic and manufacturer-specific mistake codes.

Unfortunately, in a world where free software reigns supreme, the ThinkDiag'south base app requires annual subscription payments after the first year, and the scanner's wide variety of addition software costs even more.

In other words, the $110 y'all pay when ownership the ThinkDiag scanner is merely the showtime. The ThinkDiag is still one of our all-time OBD-II scanners, but continue those ongoing payments in heed.

Read on for the remainder of our ThinkCar ThinkDiag TKD01 review.

ThinkDiag: Pricing and availability

With a $130 price tag, the ThinkDiag Bluetooth scanner/transmitter tin can tell you a lot most your motorcar. ThinkCar makes a huge range of automotive diagnostic tools, from the $21 ThinkOBD 20 to the $2,000 ThinkTool Pros+ system for professional mechanics.

ThinkDiag: Design

Officially known as the ThinkCar ThinkDiag TKD01, but better known and marketed as the ThinkDiag, the scanner is an oval-shaped cylinder that's amongst the largest and heaviest Bluetooth-based units available.

(Image credit: ThinkCar)

At 3.ane ten 2.0 x i.1 inches and ii.7 ounces, the ThinkDiag is 15% larger and more than twice as heavy equally the BlueDriver Pro Scan Tool. The ThinkDiag is then thick that it didn't fit into the OBD-Two port on my 2014 Audi A4 Allroad, so be certain to accept an OBD cable extension on hand.

This is the OBD-II Bluetooth scanner for those who tend to corruption their tools, considering the ThinkDiag device is ruggedly congenital and comes with a blackness, hard carrying case. The black-and-blood-red scanner's LED ring shows its status, ranging from solid bluish for connected and green for normal operation to flashing blueish to show that information is moving. A solid-red light signals that a recent firmware update has failed.

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

The companion ThinkDiag mobile app is bachelor for Android phones besides as iPhones, merely ThinkCar engineers warn that the app may not work with tablets.

Rather than displaying icons, the app'south interface is dominated by text, with the main screen showing everything from Maintenance to OBD-II to a full vehicle diagnostic report that tin be emailed, sent to a social networking business relationship or printed directly from the phone or tablet.

(Image credit: ThinkCar)

While most of the app's screens are vivid and colorful, the live data's white-and-lite-bluish color scheme gets washed out in sunlight.

In add-on to working with the generic OBD-Two codes, the ThinkDiag app can dig up many manufacturer-specific codes. In the U.S., it'southward free to use the app for a single car make for a year. Afterwards that, the software costs $40 a twelvemonth for a unmarried brand of machine manufacturer. If you accept two cars from 2 different makes, you'll take to pay double.

In addition to performing a pre-inspection test, the device can check the tire-pressure-monitoring system, the anti-lock brakes and the car's airbags. The ThinkDiag app'due south Total Vehicle Modules Report summarizes the meridian items that can get bad.

(Image credit: Tom'south Guide)

The ThinkDiag's access to live data is excellent, but the scanner stops short of offer to show you the parts that might be needed for repairs. Finally, each manufacturer-specific software packet includes the power to turn off the oil light.

ThinkDiag: Performance

One time the scanner was plugged in and paired with my Galaxy S9 phone, the ThinkDiag app immediately showed me my motorcar's vehicle identification number (VIN). The scanner allows a single download of vehicle-specific software before you lot have to pay extra, then I was only able to apply information technology with my 2014 Audi A4 AllRoad. Still, the ThinkDiag picked up the error I had manually introduced (a disconnected oil-temperature sensor) and was also able to turn off the Check Engine light.

(Image credit: ThinkCar)

With a 35-foot wireless range, the ThinkDiag scanner allowed me to walk around the machine and stick my head into the engine bay while monitoring the machine's inner workings. Unfortunately, the ThinkDiag app doesn't advise possible repairs for the problems it detects.

ThinkDiag: Setup

Getting the ThinkDiag scanner was only the start. I also needed to download and install the companion mobile app, enter the scanner's serial number and activate the scanner online.

Following that, the ThinkDiag device and app each got an online update, and I was finally ready to use it — or so I thought. I and so had to enter the manufacturer, brand and model yr of my motorcar to download the vehicle-specific data. It took about 5 minutes for me to get started with the ThinkDiag, versus less than a minute for many other OBD-II scanners.

The ThinkDiag comes with a rudimentary start-up guide, merely that'due south about all you get. There'southward no instruction transmission, but ThinkCar has extensive FAQs on its support website. The ThinkDiag scanner comes with a 1-year warranty.

ThinkDiag review: Lesser line

Among the biggest and heaviest Bluetooth-just OBD-Ii scanners, the ThinkCar ThinkDiag TKD01 earns its buy price by checking on faults and digging deeply into the operation of your vehicle with a comprehensive written report.

On the downside, it doesn't advise repairs or parts, and after the showtime twelvemonth, the ThinkDiag app costs equally much as an cheap scanner.

Brian Nadel is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in engineering reporting and reviewing. He works out of the suburban New York City area and has covered topics from nuclear power plants and Wi-Fi routers to cars and tablets. The one-time editor-in-primary of Mobile Calculating and Communications, Nadel is the recipient of the TransPacific Writing Laurels.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/thinkdiag

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