Advice on a diagnostic scanner for Asian vehicles .

Folks,

I've taken up the metaphorical pen several times to write this but each time have put it back.

It would be remiss of me not to first thank Mr.Danner and all who make such invaluable contributions here and on the youtube channel. I've been following the latter for over two years. Due to certain constraints, my internet time is basically limited to a few hours each Saturday and I invariably first open Gmail to enjoy whatever video was posted for the week.

You post a wealth of information on electrical troubleshooting of any modern vehicle.
Most material as expected, covers US domestic and Asian imports assembled to US specs.
In my humble domicile all vehicles are imports: We make do with new Japanese and Korean cars specifically assembled for this region and also significant numbers of used Japanese cars. Make and models include Mazda626,323F,Axela and Familia, Nissan Almera,Korean Hyundai Elantra and Kia, Toyota RAV4, and Toyota Noah (esp.NZFSE engine).

My hesitation mentioned at the start is born from confusion as to which automotive diagnostic scanners (aside from the Launch X.431) communicate with the imports listed above. After many months of reviewing forums, manufacturers' literature and other articles, it is still unclear to me. I mentioned the Launch because I've only seen two diagnostic scanners in real life - both being the X.431; one was connected to a vehicle and I saw that it worked.
I eventually got a quote on the Launch from a USA authorized dealer. When shipping, duties, levies ad nauseam were calculated, the cost of the X.431 was that of a nice little timber bungalow here!
The value of the Launch is the variety of manufacturer specific connectors that are in the kit. I assumed there'd be other brands with lower cost kits that would be adequate if not equal. And so I came across the Autel brand. One prominent Hong Kong dealer on the internet asserted that their Maxisys line works on Asian cars but a number of posts elsewhere argue that they do not.

Asian vehicles imported into the USA are not necessarily the same as those shipped to our region even if the make and model numbers are identical. The type of specs that must be adhered to for states-side entry make that vehicle an entirely different animal when the bonnet is lifted. No doubt this would also determine which diagnostic tools work and which don't.

So what do forum members think? Am I stuck with a buy-and-try scenario ?

I cannot afford to make a mistake on this. Investment in a kit will be a near one-time matter.
A used x.431 in good working order with all original connectors would be adequate since I don't necessarily need a 2017 model or most recent software updates.But who can be trusted as a vendor if there are discrepancies with respect to the transaction?

Kind regards.

First of all wellcome You are asking a fairly complex question that I will move into the Diagnostic Tools & Techniques section where it can be better answered.

Thanks 'ole chap. I don't know how on earth I got that in the wrong place.

What scan tools work with what vehicles has always been a grey area. However for basic engine and transmission diagnostic there are some international standards. OBD1, OBDII, EOBD, JOBD and ADR79. OBD1 was very limmited and not really properly standardised. On many Asian vehicles that were built to OBD1 it is no more useful than reading blink codes from dash which give a very restricted number of falt codes.

The OBD2 standard and its European, Asian and Australian equivalents which are almost identical in every respect and were a major step forward and over OBD1. The Asian standard JOBD is the same as OBD2 being based in Europe I am not sure of the year JOBD was introduced but any Asian car I have worked that was built since 2001 has a standard 16pin OBDII connector and has let me read and clear faults and read and graph live sensor data.


Going beyond generic OBDII mode into the manufacturer's specific diagnostic mode is more of a step into the unknown as to what will work and what won't work but it is needed more and more as vehicles become more complex and are fitted with computerised modules. Of course generic OBDII won't allow you to do bi-directional tests.

Autel are a good manufacturer and the Asian market it important to them but they have different software versions of the their tools depending on which market the told is intended to be sold in, this can cause problems when buying "grey imports" off Amazon or eBay. There are also a large number of counterfeit version of Autel tools on the market so of which do work but some don't.
A fairly basic handheld scantool that not only reads and clears fault codes but reads and graphs live data, captures freeze frame data and reads onboard component monitors and won't cost the earth and will take you a long way.

I, too, have searched on the Internet and read the Owner's Manual to no avail for the Crank Relearn for our 2010 KIA Soul. I found this ScannerDanner Forum, which is perfect as I too enjoyed watching Paul on his YouTube channel. Last, I am not sure if my Launch can do it since the company says the scanner can do it, as well as the vehicle coverage list. If I find it, try to do a relearn, then I will post again.