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Foxwell Scan Tool on Prius Prime

Discussion in 'Prime Technical Discussion' started by road2cycle, Jan 22, 2021.

  1. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    road2cycle, SFO and jerrymildred like this.
  2. road2cycle

    road2cycle Active Member

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    I’ve looked through the various posts on this forum for the Carista and OBD Link MX+. I’m on the fence for which dongle I should get. Both support iOS which is what I’m planning to use. I came up with a list of pros and cons. Will I regret getting the Carista, and end up with OBD Link MX+ anyways?Initially my sole focus is turning off the reverse beep, but eventually I’d like to monitor some real-time data. I don’t mind spending the extra money for the OBD Link MX+ if the extra cost is well worth it. Thanks for any input you have.

    Carista pros:
    There are lots of customizations available for the Prime. From what I can tell Carista supports the most customizations compared to other vendors.
    It can be used with other apps (noting there are more apps for Android compared to iOS).
    Should be able to read all diagnostic trouble codes with subscription. Otherwise I’m assuming it becomes a generic OBD2 code reader.
    Only $30 to purchase with one month app trial included

    Carista cons:
    Monthly/quarterly/yearly subscription required for full feature set.
    Slower processor compared to OBD Link MX+.
    Bluetooth not secure

    OBD Link MX+ Pros:
    Fast processing supports many PIDs simultaneously
    US based tech support
    Bluetooth is secure
    Compatible with many apps including Carista

    OBD Link MX+ cons:
    Higher upfront costs $100
    Might not get full customizations unless paying for a one month Carista subscription
     
  3. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    I bought OBD Link LX Bluetooth version. I think the native LX app is for Android and Windows only, but I think it can be used with third-party iOS apps. You may have to check this from someone who uses LX and iPhone. AFAIK it is as fast as MX+. Apps I have used it with Hybrid Assistant App, and it always gave me very quick responses. I also used it with the Carista app which is fully supported now at least on Android app. It is cheaper than MX+ (about half the cost at ~$60 new at most retailers, or you can pick up a used one for ~$20). I did purchase Prime-specific APP for LX for $10 (not a subscription, but the app is model year specific, so I bought one for 2017PP, but it would not work on 2020PP even though they may have the same functionality.

    I also bought a Carista dongle later when it was on sale, but by the time I received it, I realized that Carista App has expanded the supported OBD dongles, and OBD Link LX was one of them. So I never used the Carista dongle. If you are interested, I can sell you cheap. You do not have to buy the dongle to get the free 30 days Carista app. You subscribe to the app and they give you a 30days free trial, if you do not cancel it then the subscription fee will be charged automatically at the end of the trial period. A least that's the way the Google Play Store subscription worked on my Android Phone. I suspect it will be similar for iPhone and Apple Store.
     
    #23 Salamander_King, Mar 9, 2021
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2021
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  4. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    The OBDLink LX is only $60. Wouldn't that work?

    The potential "gottchya" for the Carista adapter is if you try to use it later on with Hybrid Assistant. Guess how I found that out. :oops: Several of the data fields on the display will just say, "bad data" or something like that with the Carista. The OBSLink LX shows all the data.
     
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  5. road2cycle

    road2cycle Active Member

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    Thanks for the detailed info. It looks like the MX+ is the only dongle from OBD Link which currently supports iOS. I foresee lots of things going wrong if the Android to iOS adapter doesn’t function properly, so if I go with OBD Link it’d be with the MX+ even though it’s $40 more than the LX.

    What app did you get for the LX? Did it not work on the 2020 Prime because it’s not supported? Or was it because they wanted another $10 for your second vehicle? If it’s the latter I could live with that since I normally keep vehicles long term.

    Let me know what you’d want for the Carista shipped out to CA. It would be a long drive to pick it up from you.
     
  6. road2cycle

    road2cycle Active Member

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    So did the Carista show all the data on Hybrid Assistant while you had the subscription, then scale back when you canceled it? I wouldn’t want to be locked into a paid subscription if that’s the case.
     
  7. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Latter is the case. For LX, the app you download is free. It will give you basic scan capabilities similar to any handheld device you can buy suitable for multiple models of cars. For vehicle-specific PID, you have to shell out $10. Although it should work for multiple-year models, they force you to buy another model year-specific app. In my case, I bought an app for a 2017 PP, but I traded 2017 PP for a 2020 PP. I had to pay another $10 for the app for now 2020 PP.
     
    #27 Salamander_King, Mar 9, 2021
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2021
  8. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I use the LX with my iPhone. Works fine. Of course, I had to dig up an Android phone to use Hybrid Assistant since they don't have an iOS version, but that's not what you're planning to do. All my iOS apps connect just fine with the OBDLink LX and with Carista.

    The Carista subscription is for the Carista app, not the adapter so would have no impact on another app being used on another operating system. The Carista adapter works extremely well without subscription (since there's no subscription for the adapter) with every app I've tried on the iPhone (OBD Fusion, Carista, Engine Link, Dr. Prius, & Car Scanner). It just can't do everything that that HA requires and that's the only reason I got the OBDLink LX. It was recommended by the HA programmers. And it also works perfectly with all my iOS apps.

    In other words, I've never yet seen anything the OBDLink LX would not do on either iOS or Android. I've seen one thing so far the Carista adapter could not do but it was a very demanding task.
     
  9. road2cycle

    road2cycle Active Member

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    Thanks for that info. It looks like they changed their business model for the MX+. They must have done some analysis and realized most people don’t pay for four vehicle specific subscriptions and decided to charge more upfront instead.

    4A944BFA-5A4F-40D6-B8E4-F5C80A7256B5.png
     
  10. road2cycle

    road2cycle Active Member

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    Thanks for the additional info. I wonder why OBD Link doesn’t advertise the LX as supporting iOS on their website. Perhaps it’s because they don’t have their own iOS app for the LX?

    It seems that the only benefit to the MX+ is “free” vehicle specific diagnostics compared to the LX’s per vehicle fee, with the MX+ costing $40 more upfront.

    You’ve just about got me sold going with Carista. For $30 there’s not really much to lose.
     
  11. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Right. I have never even considered using the software that comes with those adapters. I already have the apps I want. I just need a connection to the car The adapters themselves are OS agnostic.
     
  12. E-GINO

    E-GINO Active Member

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    I own OBD-Link LX which I use occasionally to record trip data with Hybrid Assistant and analyse later on with Hybrid Report. I don't like it too much because tends to unpair from the car BT without any specific reason.

    However, for the purpose of basic customizations such as belt chime and backup chime, I used Scangauge II, which usually I keep fitted in the RX. The Prius Gen III xgauge set on a Scangauge II demonstrated to work well for the removal of unnecessary and annoying chimes on:
    1) Toyota Prius Gen III 2) Toyota Yaris HSD MY 2012 3) Lexus RX450h MY 2010 4) Toyota Prius PHV MY 2017 (AKA Prius Prime '17).