Kiwi 3 Bluetooth OBD2 OBDII Diagnostic Scan Tool for Android, Apple, & Windows Mobile

This little guy is flat-out wonderful, near as I can tell. Plugged it in to my OBD port, started up the ForScan app (that's a Ford-specific OBD app), and the Kiwi immediately connected to my iPhone X; no pairing necessary. Took me a few minutes to figure the app out, but now the amount of information available to me looks to be about the same that you'd get with a multi-thousand-dollar scanner. Want to know what gear your multi-gear trans is in while you're running down the road? No problem. Curious about the trans temp? No problem. Want to know which cylinder is causing that miss? No problem. Is the catalytic converter running too hot? Yup, that too, and about two hundred other bits of information (most of which can only be deciphered by a trained technician), is available. Amazing.The Kiwi by itself isn't of any use; all it does is transfer information, via bluetooth, to your phone, which needs an OBD-reading app. There is a 'Kiwi OBD' app available on the IOS app store, which can take a lot of the car's computer info and translate it into temps, speed, fuel efficiency, and the like. It will also report 'Check Engine' codes, give you some indication of what they mean, and, I believe, erase them (turning off the light in your dash). I've downloaded the Kiwi OBD app, haven't yet been able to try it on the road, but it does look useful.If you're a car geek, I think this is one of the coolest things you can own. In my opinion it blows all of the handheld scanners out of the water.Addendum, a couple of months later: I downloaded and tried pretty much all of the OBD apps available for my iPhone, and settled on 'OBD Fusion' to display the info sent by the Kiwi 3. Shortly thereafter my Ford SportTrac started having a serious misfire situation, and the Kiwi 3 saved me from having to spend hundreds of dollars at the dealer. The Kiwi reports misfires in real time, even the misfires you can't feel (I would get misfires reported sitting in the driveway, for instance), so I could try various possible solutions, and immediately see the effects of the changes I made. Turns out that I had mis-applied anti-seize when I last changed the spark plugs, and the anti-seize compound was preventing the plugs from being properly grounded. Who knew? Once I pulled and cleaned off the plugs, Kiwi 3 reported zero misfires. Five thousand miles later, all is well, and the Kiwi confirms that as I drive. An invaluable tool.

No lag, boots fast, let's me use Fusion OBD to its full potential. I've got near dealer level access with my 2008 Ford Crown Vic P71. I am using with Apple iPhone X and iPadPro 10.5. I've used many WiFi and Bluetooth OBD readers. This is the god level obd.Complaint: Someone stole my kiwi3 and now I have to buy another. This device is highly desirable and I hold plx responsible for that. I checked thoroughly to see what replacement brands have to offer. Kiwi3 remains King of the Hill. The Bull of the Woods. I am suffering from gauge rage without my kiwi3.Suggestion: Go to Tim Cooks office at Apple. Tell him John aka Steve's Tech Support sent you. Ask him to certify kiwi hardware and app for CarPlay. Succeed and you will receive money hand over fist from us fanboys. A real dash display running under CarPlay is the Holy Grail. Go forth with a pure heart, faith that Steve will intercede, and with everlasting belief in and obedience to the kingdom and the Glory of Apple. If you are tainted by Android:, Through your own fault, your deliberate fault, your grievous fault you have sinned mightily against Apple. My powers of absolution are certain. The fanboys forgive you. The Apple employees, genius's, Chinese laborers, and executives forgive you. And now bathed in the white light of Truth and ecosystem perfection, Steve forgives you. By the powers vested in me by and my blood oath to Tim Cook I declare you free from all sin. Nothing can stop you now. Go get them tiger!

This is not what I had hoped it was. I was hoping 'they' (meaning the new generation of smarties) had figured out a way to incorporate a small plug-in device with a smart phone, to emulate a real professional diagnostic scanner. This is not that at all. Even with the additional purchase of several of the 'PRO' version apps, this is not a professional tool. It is fine for those looking for 'basic' information, and the drive/trip logging functions work well.EDIT 12/29/2017:Scanners are complicated. And I am not the most qualified person to be trying to explain them, especially in such a limited space as a review on Amazon. But I will try.I categorize scanners into 4 categories.1. Basic Scanners- These get Codes and Erase Codes. They are very cheap.2. Generic Information Scanners- The 'Standards' (laws/rules) require a LOT of information be available to ALL scanner manufacturers, without any additional payments to the auto manufacturers. This info includes codes, freeze frame, clear codes, data of sensors and actuators, and the state of the onboard monitors. This information is available to all, for free. All you need is a generic scanner to access it.3. Vehicle Specific Scanners- These get all the generic information, but also get information for a specific vehicle. But this has to be paid for. That is why Snap-On Scanners cost so much. They have to pay the manufacturers for the additional information. And it is worth it to a professional. With these scanners you can access all the modules...Body, Transmission, Instrument Cluster, Tire Monitors, Anti-Theft, Auto-Temp Control, Lighting Modules, and MANY more. You can make the car do its own testing...like of the EVAP system, or on Fords, do a complete system test. You also get diagnostic information (built into the scanner), that is vehicle specific. With the Generic, they give you lists of what MIGHT cause the problem. With vehicle specific, it tells you what to check, the color of the wire, and in what order to check it. A big difference. Every car is different, but the difference between Generic and Vehicle Specific scanners is ENORMOUS.4. Manufacturer Specific Scanners- Each manufacturer has its own specific scanner. The manufacturer (the car dealer) is the only one authorized (by law) to re-program their own computers. There is a big heated debate about this. But for now the thinking is; only certain trained individuals, at specific known locations, are allowed to do this. They want to keep close track of this. (I used to do this.)5. Trip or Drive Loggers and Planners-Not really a scanner (in my view), but these do access information from the OBD 2 connector.This KIWI device is what I figure is a Generic information scanner, with a Trip/Drive Logger add-on. It actually shows quite a bit of information. And the graphs are very nicely done. I actually like this thing, even though many of its functions are still being worked on. (To be added later it says.) I honestly do not know if any cheaper devices will do what this one does (and I don't feel like experimenting), which is why I have decided to keep it.But what I wanted was a way to supplement my Snap-On scanner. You see...the vehicle specific part of the Snap-On scanners only works up to the year they are currently updated to. So if my scanner is updated to 2015, I can only do the specialized diagnostics on vehicles up to 2015. Anything after that, I can only do the Generic capabilities.