What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Blue Driver

Blue85

Blue85

Yooper
 Premium
GMOTM Winner
Joined
Jul 26, 2000
Posts
16,754
Reaction score
9,769
Location
Keweenaw
I don't see any detailed discussion of this scan tool. https://us.bluedriver.com/pages/bluedriver I recently picked it up for $80-something, justified by my last ELM327 tool being lost and having an airbag light on one of the Yukons. For reference, my go to app in the past was Torque Pro, but I'm also used to HP Tuners, the various Megasquirt tools and some obsolete stuff. There are good things and bad, but I thought this might help others understand.

1743855290198.png

Here's what I've learned:
  1. There are things Torque does that this tool doesn't do. It only supports base PIDs, so you can't graph the GM-extended PIDs like transmission temperature or misfire counts alongside regular stuff like fuel trims. To me, this is unacceptable for a tool at 4-5x the cost. I also can't find any way to graph or log GPS-based information, like speed. You can get more information using mode 6, but that's not always the convenient way to get the information. Their response: "Unfortunately transmission temperature is not part of the OBDII standard live data set and is not currently supported by BlueDriver at this time, however we are currently preparing a release with transmission temperature for Toyota. There is no ETA or a list of what manufacturers will follow."
  2. The biggest selling features don't work. (or at least it's hit or miss based on the vehicle) I wanted this above the Torque setup to get SRS and ABS codes. It doesn't do that for most of my vehicles. They're pretty shy about just publishing a table or something, so they have you manually enter each vehicle to see what works and what doesn't. Currently, we have 7 GM vehicles here and the only one that ticks all the boxes is a 2005. So much for finding my airbag fault :doah:. Their response: "That vehicle does not support TPMS or SRS/airbag code reading due to limitations in place from the manufacturer. The parking assist warning is a pre-programmed notification that does not produce a code for the BlueDriver to clear/interact with. This notification is set by the manufacturer and cannot be cleared using third party OBDII scan tools." This kind of implies that there is no tool that can do it, I guess nobody told Snap-on.1743856051733.png
  3. There are no bi-directional features. They use words suggesting you can fix anything, but it won't help you bleed ABS, do a CASE learn or anything else that requires writing.
  4. The graphing features are weird. I was expecting the kind of flexibility Torque Pro gives, but here graphing uses a sliding time scale and you can't turn that off. As you start scanning, it just keeps compressing the time scale until it holds enough seconds that you can hardly make anything out and then it starts scrolling. Why can't I set that? When you rotate from portrait to landscape, everything changes and it throws all of the traces on the same graph such that you can't see anything.
  5. The promise of constant support is misleading. From their website: "Unmatched Support Contact us anytime, anywhere, including in-app chat." My only experience with the app and with the website is that you are free to submit a support ticket anytime you want (golly!) and they get back with you during normal business hours. Hardly a gripe by itself, because we shouldn't need support. We should just need a tool that works.
  6. The dongle only works with their app. So you still need another one anyway. :dunno:

So my impression is that BlueDriver spends more on advertising and support than they do on development. (Isn't Torque a one-man show?) Sure, it's good for a lot of things, but not as fancy as they claim. They make a big deal about listing common fixes and showing what codes mean, but I don't think it adds much value.
Only BlueDriver gives you the complete set of diagnostics on a wide range of manufacturers.
Click to expand...
Without even mentioning the wide array of handheld OBD tools that do more (because they're not exactly direct competition), this almost blatantly ignores OBDLink MX+ :thinking:

Any other impressions?
 
Haven’t used it yet, but thanks for the detailed write up
 
If it isn't this, it's probably junk:
www.obdlink.com

OBDLink MX+

The OBDLink® MX+ is the top-of-the-line OBD II scan tool to use with forscan and comes with bluetooth. Get one here today and gain access to your vehicle!
www.obdlink.com www.obdlink.com

And just use it with whatever. I mostly use Torque Pro and JScan. I have two different HPTuners setups I use for real tuning.

When I looked at BlueDriver, it seems like they were planning on turning it into a license/subscription device but the stupid high price for a $15 dongle seems a bit pretentious.
 
CyberSniper said:
the stupid high price for a $15 dongle seems a bit pretentious.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you pay for the dongle and then the app is "free", but it's clear the hardware is only worth about $15 and everything they're asking for is app/support based. IMO, it's sort of the POR-15 of scan tools - more advertising than development. Sure, it's better than the 1/10th cost can of Krylon in some ways, but still doesn't do everything they claim.
 
CyberSniper said:
If it isn't this, it's probably junk:
www.obdlink.com

OBDLink MX+

The OBDLink® MX+ is the top-of-the-line OBD II scan tool to use with forscan and comes with bluetooth. Get one here today and gain access to your vehicle!
www.obdlink.com www.obdlink.com

And just use it with whatever. I mostly use Torque Pro and JScan. I have two different HPTuners setups I use for real tuning.

When I looked at BlueDriver, it seems like they were planning on turning it into a license/subscription device but the stupid high price for a $15 dongle seems a bit pretentious.
Click to expand...
Yeah I had this one for a few years until last month where I was helping someone and took it out of his vehicle but can't remember where I set it at.
I took off then thought to check on it but didn't find it.
Went back and looked if I put it down on the ground, nope.
I gotta get another
 
CyberSniper said:
When I looked at BlueDriver, it seems like they were planning on turning it into a license/subscription device but the stupid high price for a $15 dongle seems a bit pretentious.
Click to expand...
This is almost what has happened. They want you to log in every time you use it now, to make all of your data accessible across devices, but more likely it's so they can gather more data from their users. There are times the tool seems unusable if you don't have internet. Believe it or not, I have devices that don't even have SIM slots and sometimes your car can be broken where there is no internet.

I reached out to them for a workaround, and they are not providing one. So, they are providing an RMA number, instead.
 
I should also mention that BlueDriver doesn't work with my daughter's 2004 GTP. I can scan with HPTuners and Torque with no problems, but BlueDriver locks up the bus every time, so the instrument cluster stops working and the DIC shows error messages. Sometimes you get 5 minutes, sometimes it happens right away.

This is unexpected because I regularly have 8-12 items reading with the other tools. BlueDriver warns you to only use 4 at a time. There are no communication rate settings that seem to do anything.
 
I have a new one - Innova 1000 Dongle. So far, my impressions are pretty good. It does read BCM, ABS and SRS codes out of one of the Cadillacs (claims 39 modules, including the radars and such).

What I learned after ordering it is Innova sells this as HT500 through Walmart. Apparently, it uses the same app and has all the same features, but it's only $53.

EDIT: I'm having some issues with the RepairSolutions2 app. I'll report back later.
 
Last edited:
OBD2 scanners are one area where it's very important to read the fine print. While the Innova website talks about their scanners working offline, they cleverly omit "dongles". The RepairSolutions2 app appears to be the only one compatible with this device. It only works while you're connected to the internet and logged in. The login process fails more than it works and airplane mode stops the app from doing anything. Data mining is the clear reason. They tout "650M+ scans", which is data from their users. So somewhere in a database they know what cars you have, how many miles are on them and where you live.

Whenever the thing is unhappy, like unstable internet, or it doesn't like the car you plugged it into, it just says "servers unavailable". For how unreliable it is, I'll have to keep looking.
 
so most elm327 chips will work with many of the apps available on the google play store or apple. I had one elm327 ver1.5 chip and it did a lot. Everything a couple, 3, 4 apps were capable of, including Leaf Spy, Nissan Leaf only app, and Toyota hybrid/electric app, these apps were not from the Toyota or Nissan.
I liked OBD doctor, even bought the pro version, they have since gone to subscription base, I am grandfathered in. Torque is more the tuner crowd but has it's uses. I need a new elm237, left it in my daughters, didn't know where it went and when I found it in her glove box it wouldn't pair to what ever phone I had at the time.
Tried getting another but it would only function with the mfr'r propitiatory app, yep not going there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom