Anyone own a code reader?

Mini VCI cable is the BEST - it can do wonders (~$27 Amazon)
You just need an old laptop running WinXP (32bit), Win 7 (32 bit), or be tech savy to run an emulator if you a running a 64 bit windows Operating System. Just buy the cheapest Mini VCI cable, even w/ an older version of Toyota Techstream. You can always download the latest version of Toyota Techstream somewhere. It is highly recommended that this laptop be used only for connecting to your Toyota b/c of possible malware from the cracked software; therefore, no banking, no email, no nothing that requires a log on ID and password. Many people here have been using this with no problems. Hit up you IT friends, they must have access to obsolete laptops w/ XP 32bit or buy one off craigslist on the cheap.

I just bled my brakes at all 4 wheels w/ mini VCI. This would be very difficult to do w/o.
You can turn on your HV battery fan! There are 6 speed settings, and you will hear level 4, 5, and/or 6 when your HV battery is dying. Now I know what the HV battery fan sounds like, as I've never heard it before.
You can see all the voltages of the 28 battery modules that comprise the big 201.6Volt HV battery.

BAFX OBD2 w/ Bluetooth - $24 Amazon
I have this and it is solid. Bought this to diagnosis my first intermittent check engine light. Consistently connected to my Android phone, after the initial pairing every single time. This is why this one is more expensive than the others. Need to download the free Torque application, or pay for the full featured Torque app.

ELM 327, and all the other variations - $8 on up at Amazon
IMO, sucks! Will it work yes. But you have to consistently re-pair it to your phone when car is shut-down, or you remove the device from the cars OBD port. I bought this out of curiosity b/c looks identical to the BAFX, just 67% cheaper. When I disassembled, the ELM, I saw BAFX's claim: smaller circuit board, and missing a few chips that BAFX has; one of which must be some type of genuine bluetooth pairing chip vs a hacked workaround that must be in the ELM. I'm sure an electrical engineer can give the precise terminology of what I naively describe, but experienced, and saw.

People here have given junk codes from their universal OBD2 code readers whether BAFX, ELM327, etc. Mini VCI speaks Toyota and understands your Toyota. Universal OBd2 readers are like Internet language translators: stuff gets lost in translation.

Good luck.

 

^^ Excellent summary

A copy of XP can also be run off a Macintosh. I second the precaution to only use the XP/VCI for car interfacing.

 

If you go the ELM 327 route make sure you set the protocol to ISO 15765-4 CAN 11bit 500k baud. Don't auto detect protocol.

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I prefer this one;

It works with both XP 32 bit and 8.1 64 bit.

The $27 dollar one failed to connect.

 

Mike,

The image or link didn't attach/doesn't show.

Pls. re-post. Thx!

 

The Mini-VCI is definitely the best way to go if you have a laptop at your disposal.

For those without a laptop, the Android Torque app or the iPhone/iPad Engine Link app works well also. It takes configuration data to read the DTC codes but the spreadsheet with all of the needed parameters can be found on this site.

I use the Engine Link app with my iPad and an OBDII-WiFi adapter and it works well since I do not have a laptop available.

 

So what exactly would I need to purchase in this set up?

 

you can get the mini vci on amazon. compatible laptop of your choice. it's all a bit complicated, and can require some tech savvy.
lots of threads here, but no clean cut instructions. pretty much hit or miss, since it's all bootleg

B088RJSR5Y

 

You can also look at options such as apps and OBD2 adapters .There's a review thread here. [https://priuschat.com/index.php?threads/232741/]

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