Warning: I dropped $800 on a fancy diagnostic scanner for my shop truck and it basically just told me the same thing my cheap code reader did.

It was for a 2018 Duramax with a persistent limp mode, and the expensive tool gave me the same P0087 code but with a slightly fancier graph. My old $120 reader from the parts store got the main code just fine, and the fix was a simple fuel pressure regulator. Has anyone else felt like the high-end scan tools are overkill for most basic diag work?

3 comments

3 Comments

amy48323d ago

Oh the fancy graph, that's what you paid the extra $700 for. It's like buying a gold plated hammer, it still just hits the nail. My cheap reader spits out the same angry code without the need for a second mortgage. Sometimes the simple tool gets you to the same broken part, just without the fancy animation.

john_cooper14d ago

Honestly, the "same angry code" thing misses the point. A basic code tells you what, but a good graph shows you when and how bad. Seeing the exact misfire pattern on a graph pointed me to a bad injector, not just a coil. My cheap reader would have had me throwing parts at it. The extra info saves time and money.

troy_bennett9023d ago

My $40 scanner found the same misfire code last week.