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Which OBD2 Interface and App

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by rogerthat, Apr 12, 2020.

  1. rogerthat

    rogerthat Active Member

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    I am prepping for when my hybrid battery fails. I've got a fairly low mileage 2009 and I suspect that sooner rather than later I'll need to replace my hybrid battery - at which time I'll either go with new oem or 2K1Toaster's replacement pack.

    But in the meantime, my goal is to be ready. Since I would prefer to avoid the dealer diagnostic fee, can anyone recommend a simple low cost (under $50 total) solution - all I would like to do is confirm that the battery has failed without taking the car to a mechanic. I'm not interested in the Toyota Techstream/VCI dongle route as this seems overly complicated for my needs. I just want a simple plug and play option. So which bluetooth interface do you guys recommend and which app - Torque Pro, Dr. Prius etc?

    I've got an older ELM 327 Mini that I used to check the battery health of a few Nissan Leafs about 5-6 yrs ago. I've never tried this on the Prius - I recall reading somewhere that certain interfaces caused issues with the Prius computer so I just avoided trying it out. I don't mind buying a new bluetooth interface if it is recommended.
     
    #1 rogerthat, Apr 12, 2020
  2. royrose

    royrose Senior Member

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    I'll give my opinion. I use the Dr. Prius app to periodically check my battery health. Hybrid assistant and Torque Pro can be used as well but I like the Dr. Prius tests. You do have to pay a few bucks to get an ongoing license to use the tests. I think any of these apps would show you if the battery is shot.

    The problem that I am aware that Prius has with OBDII adapters is mostly if the device is not seated well. That happened to me once where the ABS light came on and the regen braking stopped working. Re-seating the device and restarting the vehicle fixed that.

    Then there is the issue of whether your adapter will work with these apps. Hybrid Assistant and Dr. Prius both warn against cheap knockoff adapters. Dr. Prius recommends the Carista adapter and Hybrid Assistant the OBDLink LX. I have the LX and for me it works well with both apps. Since you already have an ELM adapter, you might as well try that with these apps first. Carista is about $30 OBDLinkLX about $50.
     
    #2 royrose, Apr 12, 2020
  3. rogerthat

    rogerthat Active Member

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    Thanks, I'm leaning towards trying Torque Pro with my ELM adapter. If that doesn't work, I'm going to buy this Bafx adapter which appears to be highly rated. Does anyone know if I would need to download any add-on software for Torque pro to get it to recognize Prius codes or is it already native to the app?
     
    #3 rogerthat, Apr 12, 2020
  4. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    You young whippersnappers and your miserly tendencies.

    Back in my day we paid thousands for the dealer scan tool plus hundreds or thousands for in annual subscription fees.

    Then one day scangauge came along with a way to scan codes and see a few parameters on one box costing at $180. And we were happy with that.

    But now...now.. you folks cant even see clear to spend $50 on a scan solution?

    I guess it's all about perspective

    An OBDLink LX ($50) + Torque Pro ($6) seems like a good deal. Get a coupleore apps like Hybrid Assistant and Dr Prius and it still is less than $100 all in.

    Even better, spend another $75 for the cracked version of the Toyota software, and do laptop, and a communication cable (like minivci).
     
    #4 ericbecky, Apr 12, 2020
    05PreeUs, Raytheeagle and davecook89t like this.
  5. davecook89t

    davecook89t Senior Member

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    #5 davecook89t, Apr 12, 2020
    Graeme1949 likes this.
  6. rogerthat

    rogerthat Active Member

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    eric - all I need is to pull the codes to verify hybrid battery failure when it does eventually bite the dust...I'm not looking to do anything else. If I can do this for $25, then no point spending more. Heck if I can only do it for the $5 cost of Torque Pro and using my old ELM adapter, then I'll try that first. The only reason I would buy another adapter is if my ELM has the potential to cause issues with the Prius. If that's the case, I'll just buy that $20 BAFX adapter which many have recommended.

    Dave - I just watched this youtube video and it appears that the Prius PIDs are available through the app, but just require loading.
     
    #6 rogerthat, Apr 12, 2020
    davecook89t likes this.
  7. ydpplqbd

    ydpplqbd Active Member

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    On my 2006 Prius, I am using the following: vgate iCar Pro Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE) OBD2 Fault Code Reader OBDII Code Scanner Car Check Engine Light iOS iPhone iPad/Android Compatible ELM327 Adapter

    See:


    I purchased the above OBD2 reader from Amazon for $29.99. I also purchased others from Amazon for $50 and $100. The above OBD2 fault reader worked the best with my Gen2 (even better than the $50 and $100 OBD2 readers). Just my two cents ("$0.02").
     
    #7 ydpplqbd, Apr 13, 2020
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