ELM327 Bluetooth OBD-II Wireless Transceiver Dongle

Pros:

Small and easy to use. Worked great on my wife`s 2011 GLK 350 and a neighbors Honda Pilot. Plugged it in, connected via Bluetooth to my phone and Torque picked it up right way. Allowed me to view a wide variety of engine data; including engine fault codes.

Cons:

Unfortunately it does not comunicate with my '07 BMW 328i's ecu and could not pull any data. It does not work with a coworkers '11 Toyota Camry either. I was surprised to find out this as both are Elm32 compliant...

Other Thoughts:

I'm not sure why it won't read the BMW's ecu, but if you are looking to purchase one for an e90 don't waste your time....

Bottomline:

Works great on some vehicles but not all.

Pros:

Easy to install, compact tool with fast enough wireless interface. Well working with Torque Android application.
Works well with Subaru Forester 07 MY and Suzuki SX4 09 MY OBD-II interfaces. Can read and erase error codes stored in car's internal memory. Allows to monitor many important parameters in real time.

Cons:

It could not de turned off, in some cars it may be difficult to uninstall it. I did not try PC software due to broken CD (maybe post service broke it). Price is high.

Other Thoughts:

Looks like well-made thing.

Bottomline:

Perfect tool, I like it :)

Pros:

Small and resistent. I have already used in 3 cars and worked well. I read all the informations about my car's ECU in my mobile phone, NOKIA E63.

Cons:

Until now, none... Just the case could be a little bit better

Other Thoughts:

The interface works fine with the programs send in the CD and I found other prograns to work with my mobile phone. I have all the information about the car in my mobile!

Bottomline:

Recomend for who like to fix your car by yourself. Much better than other sold in the market, and works with bluetooth protocol

Pros:

Easily connected to my HTC Inspire 4G phone running Android with the free version of the “Torque” application.
Small so it does not get in the way.

Cons:

The device stays on all the time, even after car has been turned off. This is because of how the OBD2 ports are wired and not because of this device, but it is still something to consider or else your car battery could be drained.
Bright blue color makes it stick out in the car so it is kind of an eye sore.

Bottomline:

I use Torque app on my phone to read the sensors and data. Works well. I am considering upgrading to the paid version of Torque to get more data.

Pros:

Worked fine with both my PC and PDA.
Bluetooth with a good range.
with no cables you can monitor a vehicle even from the back seat of the car, or in a moving vehicle not distuurbing the driver.
Simple, fast, and with a good amount of information.
Once you get used to it, it will become the first tool to diagnose.
it works with most of the obd II softs.

Cons:

The price could be a litle bit lower, but it's not excessive regarding the good quality.
It could be suplied with better software but ther's some options available over the internet, even free ones.

Other Thoughts:

A must have to Auto entusiasts.

Bottomline:

Very Good!

Pros:

Easy of using, good enough speed of data communication. Solid and quite compact box.

Cons:

Amateur-like appearance. Price a little bit high, but may be it's a pay for quality.

Other Thoughts:

K-line and CAN interfaces're working - it's all I need now. All "tambourine dances" around software and bluetooth communicatinon are not for the device - it uses commonly standard methods. Software that comes on shipped the CD is old enough. Smoke the google (ELM-interface), try alternatives if you use modern devices. This bluebox is just interface - all other capabilities are depend on software.

Bottomline:

It works and easy to use.

Pros:

-Had no problems at all to connect with Torque on my Samsung Galaxy S
-Software included for computers, tried it out aswell with an asus laptop with bluetooth without any problems
-Compact and durable
-Good Price

Cons:

-The dongle fell out of the OBD socket once when driving and got stuck under the gas pedal. (BMW e46)

Other Thoughts:

-If you use it while driving make sure it is securely in place so it won't get loose and cause dangerous situations.
-Airbag light reset would be great

Bottomline:

It does what it is supposed to for a good price!

Pros:

Does what it says and connects nicely to the Torque app on my Android phone.
A really cool gadget.
I have a BMW 530D from 2006.

Cons:

For some reason the car's battery drains totally in just 24 hours when the dongle is plugged in.
Not even using jumper cables helped. The car was completely dead save a few indicator lamps that flickered a little. I had to charge the battery for several hours before the car started to respond again I could start it.

Other Thoughts:

The bluetooth pairing code, which incidentally is "0000" should be printed on the dongle. It would make it a lot easier.

Bottomline:

Cool gadget but ware not letting it be plugged in when you don't use it.

Pros:

Inexpensive, easy to plug in and pair. Connects to Torque on my Dell Streak 5.
Seems solidly built, comes with a CD-ROM that I haven't tried yet, but not even a piece of paper for instructions. I guys it doesn't need one, urns simple to use.

Cons:

Not sure if it works on my 2000 Toyota Corolla, if anyone knows please contact me...
Torque sees the device, but can't start reading the diagnostic information.

Other Thoughts:

Not really...

Bottomline:

If I can get it going, I'm sure it will be great. Looking forward to using it. :)

Pros:

It does what I bought it to do. Using it with Droid Incredible running Torque. Works on Mazda 6.

Cons:

I have to unplug it when not using it. It drains the battery on the car.
When I tried to use it on my Dodge 2004 Ram, would not get codes.

Other Thoughts:

Recommendation: Put a power-switch (push-button latching on/off) and an LED so you know if its receiving power.

Bottomline:

Recommend it.
I might make a short cable adapter to include a power switch or better yet, enable automatically only when the engine is running.

Pros:

Plug and play. I have a Ford Mondeo MK3 (2001), plugged the gadget, paired with phone (galaxy s froyo), run torque app and DONE!
I love that no problems with sync after stop-start the car. I was worried by that but everything fine.

Cons:

No apreciated by the moment.
Maybe I recommend at least one simple page for paring (with password)

Other Thoughts:

Remember that password is '0000' for pairing!!
I don't need the CD for anything, for this reason I can't review about software included, or manual or whatever...

Bottomline:

Great gadget. Recommended!

Pros:

Just find the ODB2 socket (which has specified locations in every car within 60cm of the steering column) and plug in. Just be sure your car has a ODB2 socket. Many cars after 1996 have one and most cars after 2001 have one.

Cons:

You have to leave it in place for it to be able to work. Depending on the location, this may be unattractive looking

Other Thoughts:

Get one of the many (free and almost free) applications that work with the ELM327 chipset. Favorite is Torque on Android, which has some limitations (on some Android phones using the application horizontal will not align the graphs with the screen. I.e dials on page 1 will overlap 10% with the dials on page 2).

Bottomline:

Cheap, good working, auto-protocol probing ODB2 connector. I use it with a UMPC (Asus) and an Android cell phone (Motorola).

Pros:

It works flawlessly on my 2000 Mercedes S320CDI.
The dongle is quite rigid and there's nothing that can break under normal usage.
It's sealed without any cracks or openings.
Pairing and setting it up is very simple. Plug it in and discover the bluetooth device with your phone. Leaving the adapter in overnight doesn't drain the battery at all, and power-up time after starting car including pairing to phone is about 30 seconds.
I'm using Torque from Android Market on a GalaxyS i9000 (2.2 froyo). I do get an ECU incompatibility warning on startup, but this is unrelated to this device. Besides, it works anyway.
The adapter works much better than the wired adapter I bought off Ebay for 75$ earlier. That was a complete waste of money compared to this bluetooth dongle.

Cons:

I really cannot find any.

Other Thoughts:

My car's OBD plug is hidden far under the dash, therefor my dongle is out of sight and cannot be kicked accidently either.
Not all cars have their OBD plugs in such convenient places, so possibly the adapter could be made a bit less high.
Other than that. No remarks. It's a simple and rigid block.

Bottomline:

Well worth the money. Don't look any further, just get it.

Pros:

This unit is very easy to use. Just plug it in to Your cars OBD-port and start your program on your phone and you're up and running in no time. I've tried it with three of my cars and all of them is working fine. When connecting to my VW and my Audi I got a message that it may not be compatible with the cars computer but everything worked anyway. The BMW and the SAAB was no problems at all.

Cons:

As others have said before me it would be great if there was some kind of indication showing if the unit is conected or not. But it's not a big issue since it shows up in your phone immediately.

Other Thoughts:

I'm using it with my Android phone (Legend) and a program called Torque. I can strongly recommend this program. It's very easy to use and the interface is really nice.

Bottomline:

Buy if you need a OBD dongle with Bluetooth!

Pros:

Works great!! Using the android program "Torque" on my samsung galaxys phone and on my archos android internet tablet. Works perfectly with this program. Program costs $5 USD. Or there's a free version. It's worth the money to buy it.

Cons:

If using windows, the cd has a virus on it.. I use linux, so I don't have a problem with viruses. My recommendation, don't use virus-infested insecure, inferior operating systems like microsoft and you'll never have a virus problem. Personally, I just tossed the cd in the garbage, I'm sure there's nothing on there that's as good as the linux programs.
I wish the LED's were visible. They are completely covered by the opaque housing.

Bottomline:

Great purchase. Very happy with it. Glad I bought it.

Pros:

The price is fantastic.
Being able to pair with my BlackBerry and view real time diagnostics using LapLogger (a separate online purchase) has been an awesome experience.
This will pay for itself the next time I have a check engine light.

Cons:

I would like some external information about connections or power would be nice. I would also like more documentation to be included with the device.

Other Thoughts:

I recommend looking at third party OBD software like ProScan for a Laptop or any of the available applications for BlackBerry, iPhone or Android rather than using the virus infected disc that is shipped with this product.

Bottomline:

For the price, you sacrifice some build quality and documentation but the functionality is hard to beat.
If you enjoy tinkering around with cars and computers then this is a fantastic purchase.
Be prepared to obtain independant software to get the most out of this tool.

Pros:

Very compact design. appropriate software is included ( I check software only for PC not for PDA). Easy to install.This device is also working with other OBD-II diagnostic tools software. I keep it plugeed in my car for one week and did not get my akku discharged. It looks like power consumption is very low. all sensors availiable on my Mazda MPV was scaned and readed. DTC can be viewd and cleared. Relay nice tool for engine check.

Cons:

Did not found so far. I am not sure if it is compatiable with ELM327 but any way it does the job.

Other Thoughts:

Of cource id will not repair your engine but it will help to find a problem with engine and give you a clue what could be wrong and why "Check Engine" lamp is on.

Bottomline:

Price is quite nice. Build quality is good enough. Software is appropriate.Very nice tool.

Pros:

Small, easy to use gadget. Compatibility with 3d parties software is good.
Works good with Subaru Forester 2001, but shows only common parameters.

Cons:

No indication LEDs on lid, just inside. No ON/OFF switch so you have to unplug it to avoid battery drain.
Protocol version 1.2a.
Does not work with Alfa-Romeo 2001 which requires at least 1.3.
No native software for Symbian and Android.

Other Thoughts:

Price could be lower. Protocol version newer.
But despite deficiencies I'm glad to purchase it.

Bottomline:

Nice, convenient device. Happy to have no cords.

Pros:

It really works. I have tested it only with the software that comes in the CD shipped with it, but it works really well. It works like a serial device (COM) installed on a bluetooth port, so is easy to configure and use.

Cons:

It is a pity that you cannot change the pairing code (it is 0000), and that it does not have a led to indicate pairing/working state. But... any of these are not functional :)

Other Thoughts:

Would be nice to remove the autorun virus/trojan that comes with the software CD (winsock.dll).

Bottomline:

Really nice purchase, it works and seems very easy to use (and to code for it). I am not mechanic, but a programmer, so from my point of view it will be a very useful gadget: I have ask for another one!!!!

Pros:

Great product. Allows you to read a lot of information from the car.
Works awesome and is pretty responsive n fast in picking up realtime data.
Worked very well on my Hyundai Santro as well as Honda CRV

Cons:

Kinda hard to use, because pairing in Windows is a pain.
Finding a good software is also not an easy job as most OBDII modules come bundled

Bottomline:

Great Tool which will help you get a lot of Data from your car.
But then you need a great software to convert that data into information.

Pros:

works we as ELM327 device. supports toyota camry 2002 (JP-1914?) and toyota avalon 2006 (CAN). very small, compact design.

Cons:

no led indicator, included software has virus (avast shows 'trojan-gen' in winsock dll). always draws power while connected (small drain on battery, but will always remember after paired).

Other Thoughts:

using with other ELM327 compatible software, working great. pair code is 0000. data bus was only available after starting vehicles, but device recognized in 'on' position. I'm just learning more about OBDII.

Bottomline:

I would recommend this product. I'm happy with it.

Pros:

- Works GREAT with Voyager (Android 2.0 app).
- Currently these are the smallest OBD Bluetooth adapters on the net.
- Can be used to find out why your check engine light is on.
- Can be used for real-time data monitoring (requires an app).
- Super easy to use - just plug and play!

Cons:

- It's not made in USA?
- Not an authentic ELM327 chip?
- Cannot change the default encryption PIN
- Always discoverable, so potential for someone connecting to it wirelessly, but they can't do anything uneless your car is running. Also note that if it's connected to one device, it does go stealth so others won't see it in their Bluetooth device list.

Other Thoughts:

These adapters are fast, and super easy to use. The price is an absolute steal. Get one before all your friends do!

Bottomline:

Get an adapter, get an android 2.0 phone, and get Voyager =)

Pros:

It arrived (several days late). Build quality looks good, paired up OK. Using with an android app on a Nexus One phone.

Cons:

MS Security Essentials (not known for false positives) identified Trojan:Win32/Chiviper.B on the install CD when I ran USB_dongle/setupddd.exe.

Other Thoughts:

Install cd also had some nice greasy fingerprints on the recording surface.

Bottomline:

Don't install that driver unless you want to donate your computer to a zombie net.

Pros:

This is by far the cheapest price for a device like this anywhere. It works exactly as advertised and seems fairly compact given the size of similar products.

Cons:

I believe another previous poster stated the device could use an led light just to indicate its on, and I completely agree. That's about the only gripe I have, but its certainly not a detractor from the product in the least. I would certainly buy it again.

Other Thoughts:

I bought this product specifically for a project of mine. I must admit I have not used the included software myself, so I can not make a comment about that in particular. The fact that it even came with software was a bonus for me. But the hardware has worked as advertised out of the box!
Also kudos to DealExtreme for the great experience! Will buy again!

Bottomline:

If you're looking for an extremely user-friendly easy-to-use obd-ii code reader, you may want to look at the more expensive products on the market. But if you're just looking for a cheap and great device to simply read your obd-ii port, no frills attached nor inferred, this is the product for you!

Pros:

Works fine and very good price if you consider the other prices in USA.

Cons:

I wasted so many hours to figure out because the software that comes with CD did not work with my Omnia with Windows Mobile 6.1 professional.
I got
OBD Gauge 1.1
Dana Peters
http://www.qcontinuum.org/obdgauge/
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ab99342f-5d1a-413d-8319-81da479ab0d7&DisplayLang=en

Other Thoughts:

If this unit had LED, it would be much better. I can tell if it is working somewhat or not.
I might put LED by myself.
I found documet about ELM327
http://www.elmelectronics.com/DSheets/ELM327DS.pdf

Bottomline:

I learned about ELM327 very well thanks to incomplete software.

Pros:

With this bluetooth OBD2 interface you can easily connect to your cars computer if a OBD2-interface is available.
In the package included is software.
I use the software on my PDA with bluetooth, so I can connect when driving. I also used it to check an errorcode that appeared when driving. I could determine what was happening in my motor and decide what to do.

Cons:

The software on the PDA gives you many readings of sensors, but not all.
There is also other software available on the internet.

Other Thoughts:

If you are a professional with cars, you should probably need better (expensive) software.
For me, as a hobby-mechanic, is is good to check thing and read and reset trouble-codes.

Bottomline:

Price-worth OBD2 connection with bluetooth.

Pros:

I bought the deice for the man who service my car. I adviced him to buy less expencive SKUs with cable connection, but he preffered wireless device. When I received the device, serviceman couldn't to install any software from the CD which came with the device. He had to look for software in the Internet and found it easy. Other trouble was with BlueTooth adjustment, but this trouble was mentioned above, and it is also adjustable. Now the serviceman have more chances to repair different motors and now he will not loose the time to check error codes at 3rd part services.

Cons:

I can't say anything regarding internal parts of the device... it works correctly, the body is enough strong for use. Most of electronics from China and Hong Kong works correctly and costs near nothing.

Other Thoughts:

Looks more expencive than simple RS232 or USB OBD-II devices at DX site, but more nice in using. I heard that other ELM327 devices can cost up to $200-300 at other places... nice profit to buy it at DX!
If I'll test my car via OBD-II at the service here, I'll have to pay about $15-25 for readout error codes! Good idea to buy own ELM327 for it.

Bottomline:

Good device for somebody who can adjust it and to find the software applications. VERY COMPACT and HAVE NO ANY WIRES or CABLES!

Pros:

-Good price
-Small
-Seems sturdy (although I'd like to take it apart and see the inside)
-Software is better than I was anticipating

Cons:

-Might be too big for some cars? I haven't found one that has any issues though
-Some software idn't want to connect faster than 38400bps, but I didn't try very hard.

Other Thoughts:

It's ELM327, so there's a wide range of software that will work with it.
The code for pairing is 0000.

Bottomline:

Buy it. It's useful, and cheaper than you'll find a simple standalone code reader (if that's all you want, maybe another product here is for you). I always have a laptop or my Nokia n810 (Carman works wonderfully with this), so I'm fine with it lacking a display, etc for the added features.

Pros:

This is by far the cheapest by far I found. Elsewhere I've only found this unit for at least a hundred dollars.

Cons:

Software it comes with doesn't seem to be at all that sophisticated. Also the company is not around to support it as well.

Bottomline:

I use this with Carman on my Nokia tablet in my Pontiac G6. In certain review videos I've seen this to be pretty slow for some reason, but on my car it's near instant. I think it depends on the speed of the CAN bus of your vehicle, but on mine it's near real-time. Definitely recommended if you have a newer OBD-II vehicle, but you will have to bring your own software.

Pros:

This product is easy to use... Just plug it in your OBD plug, activate your BT non your computer, install the softare, et voila!
It's a generic chipset so it should work on every car using OBD protocol.
Gives basic informations about your car such as engine RPM, speed, coolant temperature...

Cons:

It's a generic chipset! Don't expect to get everything from your car.
I have a 1998 Dodge Neon and I can only retrieve the engine RPM, speed, coolant temp and some other things...
But I can't get it to "monitor all". I can't retrieve the fuel tank level for example.
Maybe a little slow... RPMs are updated every second approximately.

Other Thoughts:

As I had some problem using it with my laptop, I had to use it through my PDA...
I connected the device to my PDA by BT. Then I installed GpsGate on my laptop and PDA. This software sends what it reads on your PDA serial ports (GPS, Bluetooth, ...) to your computer. Finally it writes data to virtual serial ports on your computer.
Just configure your OBD software to use the virtual port, and you're set!
But it is still slow...

Bottomline:

Good product. Does its job.
It's not "complete", too generic, but you've got what you paid: an OBD reader and error code flasher.
Buy it if you just need basic information about your car.