Does anyone else keep a scan tool in the car just in case?

Posted by rivers1141@reddit | Autos | View on Reddit | 45 comments

I’m not a mechanic, just a regular car owner who doesn’t want to feel totally lost every time a light comes on.

For a while I kept one of those cheap OBD scanners from Amazon in the car. It worked, but barely. Slow connection, clunky app, and the code descriptions were usually so vague that I still didn’t feel much better. After a couple of those “can I still drive this or am I making it worse?” moments, a friend told me to get something a little more reliable, so I ended up trying the carpal.

It’s honestly felt a lot more like something a normal car owner would actually keep in the glove box. Not just for codes either. The other day I checked the oil maintenance reminder on it and realized I was pretty close to my next service interval, so I just scheduled it early instead of waiting for a warning light to pop up. For someone like me who isn’t super into cars, that kind of small thing is actually pretty useful.

Now I’m curious what everyone else keeps in the car for peace of mind. Scanner, jump starter, inflator, basic tools, or nothing at all?

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CoomassieBlue@reddit

I have a whole-ass packout that gets moved from car to car depending on where I’m going - I don’t fuss about it if staying local, but a road trip or even regular errands that take me through a desolate area? Packout comes with.

I gotta think for a minute and I’m sure I’m forgetting some things but generally speaking:

jump pack
tire inflator
spare fuses
assorted spare body clips
duct tape, zip ties
magnetic parts dish
work light(s)
gloves
combo jack/jack stand
Harbor Freight impact
impact sockets
hand tools (socket wrench, ratcheting wrenches) in most commonly used sizes
compact torque wrench
vice grips

Not in the packout obvs, but I have a full size spare for my Subaru - never came with one but when you’re many miles from civilization or the nearest human or cell reception, it’s good to have.

I keep meaning to add a multimeter to it when I get a chance…once again, god bless Harbor Freight.

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willmaineskier@reddit

What about a reflective vest so cars see you if you are using any of the rest of your kit at night?

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CoomassieBlue@reddit

I have some reflective gear stowed away under the trunk mat but honestly I forget it’s there.

Important addition though, thanks for bringing that up! I could probably use some triangles too lol.

I swear the packout gets used a good bit, but some of the other bits and bobs - I feel like having them is almost a guarantee that I won’t have to use them.

Spring__Warrior@reddit

Yes always. The other day while driving a check engine light came on, pulled over plugged in the scanner, stopped at autozone on the way home and got the part. Problem completely solved within hours of getting the code.

ccarr313@reddit

I keep a full functioned shop scanner in a case in my trunk.

Hero mode activated when you need it around friends.

Tammy-Manuel8440@reddit

Same mindset here, not a mechanic at all. Having a reliable Xtool scanner on hand saves so much stress whenever a random dash light pops up. No more panicking or overpaying shops for basic code checks.

homelesshyundai@reddit

I keep an obdlink mx+ plugged into the port all of the time and daily use torque to see battery stats (chevy volt, extended range ev) or I use the voltage app to force the engine to run or to stop. Been using the heck out of that feature the last week or so, had an injector die so it's only running on 3 cylinders. My drive to work burns up about 60% of the battery and I've found when parked, if I force the engine to run and rest my foot on the gas, the engine will sit at 2k rpm and it feeds 8-12kw into the battery.

Otherwise if I rely on the change over, I get to deal with the engine locking in on RPMs that shake the hardest. The engine only exists to produce power to charge the battery/power the drive motors, so while driving there is a large disconnect much of the time between how the engine is revving vs how you're commanding power. Quite frequently it'll slowly climb in the revs while your actively decellerating.

Goose it to go around someone and about a second after returning to a neutral throttle input, the engine will start revving to the moon to replace those electrons.

But the daily carry depends on the car. This ride has been beyond extremely reliable so I just have my obdlink and a tire inflator but I've carried full toolsets/jacks in the past due to needing them every other week.

Suprnova70@reddit

Sure do, both truck and car have a scanner, jump pack, tire inflator, and extinguisher.

One scanner is a topdon, the other is a obd link lx.

Truck used to have a bunch of tools in it but took em out because weight, but needless to say, changing a flat tire took about 5 min because of that lol.

NJORTHRBIARTR@reddit

I don’t keep my topdon in my truck just a cheap $30 Amazon one. I keep the same stuff you do and also a 3-ton floor jack and 24-inch ratcheting wrench with 19mm lug socket.

Got a flat tire yesterday and had my tire changed in probably 3 minutes and was back on the road.

I tried using the bottle jack my truck came with once just for shits and giggles and I just couldn’t trust it on uneven ground

IntheOlympicMTs@reddit

For long trips I take a tool kit but nothing for daily use. I like to travel lite.

Redoron@reddit

Yes for my car with 267k miles. Plus an extra coil pack.

JustCallMeBigD@reddit

Yeah, but I drive a Volkswagen.

Sublethall@reddit

I drive soon 20 year old Audi. VCDS lives in the glove box

I picked up a 2011 manual Sportwagen TDI about 8 months ago and this is indeed the way.

Also, sunroof grease.

imamick@reddit

Yes, both of my vehicles

-Insigwitz-@reddit

I don’t because my car doesn’t have issues often enough, but I would recommend something like the bluedriver. Works great, it’s compact so you can store it in the glovebox when you aren’t using it, and then you just use an app on your phone to connect via Bluetooth.

BZJGTO@reddit

$90 for a bluetooth OBDII reader is crazy, you can easily get one for $20 or less.

Heavy_Gap_5047@reddit

my car doesn’t have issues often enough

You'd presumably be surprised how much goes on behind the scenes that doesn't really show as an "issue" or warning light. Assuming you know what you're doing and have good enough software, checking periodically can catch small issues before they become big issues and assist with preventative maintenance decisions.

WestonP@reddit

I design OBD dongles, so definitely yes… Rare that my cars will throw a code, but nice to be able to know what’s up right away. I more commonly look at data streams to see sensors and temperatures that aren’t shown on the dash, and then I especially use it for data acquisition while at the track.

ontheroadtv@reddit

I have a reader to track my miles (I work freelance so I have to keep a log of work miles) and it has a reader built in as well so it’s always in. In my 97 jeep I have a jump box/inflator but the daily driver I just use AAA if something comes up since it’s newer and much more reliable.

BelisariusR@reddit

It's car dependent. In my 18 year old Jeep I keep ....a full 3/8th socket set, a serpentine belt, a quart of oil, a jump start pack, a tire inflator, a breaker bar, and of course .....a scan tool.

I'm my Honda I keep a jump start pack and that's it. Lol

UnLuckyKenTucky@reddit

Id wager more dont than do, but i have 2 in my car. One that is VERY good, but extremely slow to set up and use ,then I have the elm327 type Bt, set up is instant, but ypu need to have the right apps for the right car to make the damn thing work, so ive got like 12 obd2 apps in a folder on my phone, because some apps will talk to one car, but probably not all cars.

pgcooldad@reddit

As an engineer - Yes!!

For the price of cars nowadays it should be included in the screen/menu. The CEL is obsolete.

Citroen_CX@reddit

Yes

The_Bubbanbrenda@reddit

Yes I have a code reader and a jump pack.

adale_50@reddit

Yep. Super cheap one just to clear my usual codes so I can react if an import one pops up.

WoodpeckerPlus9272@reddit

I keep a basic OBD scanner and a small jump pack in my trunk, saved me a few times already. Nothing fancy but enough to check codes and not feel completely stuck.

mr_lab_rat@reddit

Absolutely.

OBD2 to wifi adapter and a car specific phone app (BimmerLink) that shows all the codes, not just basic ones.

Total cost about $50 for adapter and app.

This and an air compressor can help me deal with most of the trouble I can run into.

choppermick@reddit

Same here 👍

stupidfock@reddit

Yea or on long trips I’ll bring my entire diag kit lol. Project car life

Yep, hard same. Not project car these days so much as a deliberate choice to drive older cars because I don’t want an iPad on wheels, but I’ve saved myself a lot of hassle by being able to fix something in a parking lot hours from home.

Yup, i have a really functional app on my phone, and connect to the car with a bluetooth adapter.

I don't feel the need to carry a jumper, the car has systems to monitor the battery and I bought a really good one. But I do carry a little 12v compressor and tire patch kit, nails happen, can't do anything to prevent that.

verdegrrl@reddit

You need to visit the brand/model specific or mechanic subreddits to find the best tools.

JP147@reddit

Maybe I would if I ever owned a car modern enough to have EFI

AskingFooAFriend@reddit

When you drive a 2003 Toyota MR2, a scan tool comes in very handy.

plaugedoctrwithradar@reddit

I keep a cheap obd2 scanner in my glove box. My car is too new to use it, but it works for all of my buddies cars. I end up using it every other week, mostly just for seeing if whatever is causing the code is bad enough to require the car to be towed… but that’s about it.