Have European cars (vag, MB, FORD, Peugeot, Renault, Porsche, Citroen) to perform diagnosis, live date, injector coding etc. Which is better Autel MaxiPro MP808K or Launch X431 Scanner?
launch x431 reviews:
- I like launch x431 v or x431 pro but x431 v is good tool and price and with 2 years update.
- There is nothing perfect!
More equipment, more features.
Launch - old company. I like.
- had issues with launch x431 internal rechargeable battery, mine started to pack-up after 7 years
- I had one issue def batteries from 37 sold tools after 3 years.
5.
To start on this model if you take it out of its case you can insert a Micro SD card to expand its memory! Peel the rubber surround off to get in to the Lenovo Tablet.
I have had this unit quite a while now and it is very good, it does have some limitations and does not program ALL Keys it will do some and not others and to add, certain keys it will only program central locking, the biggest problem is trying to get in touch with Launch themselves, but!
Pros and cons!
Pros: Value for money ? Yes it is
Does diagnostics on all major manufactures models
Easy to use
Updates often
Robust construction
Can marry up a lot of ECU’s
Comes with plugs to test a good variety of units off the vehicle,
Has plugs to plug in to pretty much all 12 Volt Vehicles.
It will auto search for all modules on the car using a health check so you know what is does and does not have.
Works very well on jaguar land rover / Range rover,( WILL NOT MATCH KEY ON P38 range rover)
Cons: When you have the fault code it gives you an area of which to check, then when you hit help 99% of the time it takes you to youtube which can be very embarrassing in front of a customer, ( although making a joke about it often allows the customer to associate with you :) )
Getting in touch with the manufacturer or support.
Certain aspects of the unit could allow you to do a lot of damage to ECU’s reprogramming ( not a con if you know what you're doing but only trained staff could use parts of it)
It searches for all modules on the car eg air conditioning, door control, but it can be limited as to what it can do when it opens certain modules.,
Verdict ... am I happy with my purchase HELL YEAH, a fabulous unit and I can honestly say having it with gives me an extra little edge when going round checking cars, does 99% of service resets, has a good range of “activate and test of units on the vehicle” all in all 9.5/10 I'd give it a 10 but the program key feature is not as good as it was made out to me
Isn't as in depth as eg,
fords own software or Volkswagens but, to buy each companies individual software would cost a fortune
I’m not sure why it wouldn't work but I shut it off and back on and it let me enter the codes, I have tested it on my VW polo today and indeed it works very well, I will update this in a few days, however, I would have given it 5 stars if the unit had come with more clear instructions, they are not exactly vague but it didn't say anything about if you had a problem registering.
- Launch X431 V is a fantastic diagnostic tool, it has handled every job I have asked it to do so far. Coverage for most manufacturers is present, don't be fooled by the cost. This tool is very capable, from programming new keys and remotes to DPF regens, Injector coding, re-writing chassis numbers etc. Everyone I show this tool to is blown away at how much it can do. I love that after you carry out a full health check, you have a clear all Dtc button, this saves so much time. Cant do this tool enough justice with the small review I am writing here. I own much more expensive scanners, but the Launch Diagun is now my first choice Go to tool. 2 years free updates come included and updates are available often. It just works and guides you through each process if you are unfamiliar with it. Launch you have a winning product I would recommend to anyone looking for a very capable diagnostic tool at a very reasonable price.I normally don't write reviews for anything, but felt compelled to share my experience of this product. Excellent.
- Launch X431 V BMW 7 series 730 2016 review:
Having tested other scanners to try and get proper compatibility with my car;
BMW 7 series 730 2016. This ticks all the boxes. The carry case full of connectors , a Bluetooth 16 pin plug and a Lenovo base tablet. proprietary software took an hour to update and then it successfully diagnosed a difficult fault on the car - it requires a new module as an intermittent fault.
I have tried seven scan tools , 3 from 1 manufacturer (hoping more expensive is better - not the case.) before using the Launch X431 V.
If luck had been on my side, I wouldn't have purchased nearly £3000 of goods before getting the right one.
The launch is maybe to some a bit plain, but I'd sooner have a competent plain Jane, as a no good but looks good item.
Autel reviews:
- Both Autel MaxiPro MP808K and Launch X431 are good on euro, Autel probably a bit better in my experience. updates are expensive on Autel although but if you use it every day it's worth it.
saying that though I currently run a Launch. most workshops I visit have Autel
- Review on Mercedes-Benz
Solid platform from Autel. The software overlay is very stable and fairly snappy. The only thing that can be a tad sluggish are the transitions between modules (at least when connected to a
Mercedes-Benz). The MP808K comes with a separate case for the non-OBD2 adapters, which is a nice touch (the main tablet case and OBD2 interface is come in a smaller case...much easier to haul around). Autel updates the vehicle specific modules very often, and the main software has updated twice for me since I received mine almost 2 months ago.
I have several vehicles but mainly use it on a diesel MB SUV. I've been able to initiate DPF regen cycles, as well as reset adaptations when changing filters and other components. This alone is worth the price of admission.
- Review on Ford 6.0L diesel &
I was looking for a diagnostic scanner that would do a power balance check on my
Ford 6.0L diesel. I also wanted
bi-directional capability. This
MaxiPro MP808K has all of the bells and whistles, including the power balance and bi-directional capability. The interface was easy to navigate and I was able to get the balance test done quickly. I confirmed that my #2 injector is going bad.
Overall I believe this scanner has the most bang for the buck. I looked at many scanners, including cheaper OBD2 interfaces that plugged into my laptop. This scanner does exactly what I needed it to. It will also be useful on other vehicles that I have and may acquire in the future. For example, it will control the electronic parking brake on my
VW Passat for pad changes. Very well built and the overall packaging and execution are top notch. Support is also readily available through the unit, phone, and internet/email. Glad I picked this one!
oem software reviews:
I was your situation before, and I decided to go with OEM vci route because think about you have to pay for software annually if you buy those aftermarket tool (some of the update is like close to $900 ANNUALLY in the case of top tier autel scanner). For OEM, you can get updated software from this forum FOR free. Top of that, OEM tool can read all of the PIDs and can do coding etc. For some of aftermarket tool, you cannot read all of PIDs although depends on brand. If you do euro car a lot, you should get oem vci or clone. Clone vci for those euro car is not that expensive. For instance, genuine vas5054a is like $300, genuine BMW vci is like $500, and MB passthru (MB vci is exceptionally expensive so recommend passthru route).
If you get passthru, you can use a lot of oem software like
HDS,
techstream,
ODIS, SSM4 etc with much less limitation comparing with aftermarket scanner. OEM VCI is best, but costs a lot if you want to get all of OEM vci. If I am you, I will get base passthru like cardaq at first. Then, if buy specific OEM vci if passthru cannot handle oem software.
If you are really on aftermarket tool, I recommend Launch. I had autel before. To work with Peugeot, Renault, Porsche, Citroen, both can work.
www.obdexpress.co.uk
Source:
http://blog.obdexpress.co.uk/2020/06/15/diagnose-european-cars-autel-maxipro-mp808k-or-launch-x431-v/
