OBD Hijinks
I have used several low end OBD readers through the years and they were sufficient for prepurchase evaluation. However, upon purchasing a high mileage 2015 Yukon Denali, and spending ~$300 for a dealer diagnosis session that included a recall download, I decided that I needed to upgrade my own equipment and skills to do my own diagnosis. My cars all have Adaptive Cruise Control. This mandatory option for me usually also includes all of the other safety features that are available, hence a lot of control modules which contain more than 500 data points, or PIDs.
My first attempt at an upgrade OBD tool was an Amazon VXDIAG unit that plugged into a laptop. After 2 days and several connections with the Taiwan support office, I was able to make it work, but subsequent connection was problematic and I totally lost confidence in being able to use it with any reliability. My next attempt at an upgrade was a handheld $300 unit that the company sales rep assured me that it would troubleshoot body control sub modules and find the fault that I had “SERVICE PARK ASSIST”. These sensors, $200 each at the dealer, 4 in front, 4 in back, are connected in series and must all be functional and sending out their variable signals. They are positioned at the extremities of the plastic bumper facia and connected with very fragile wires that look like they were designed for the home telephone industry. That $300 unit could not find the OBJECT DETECT sensors, nor report any status or code. It was returned to Amazon.
The next iteration was an AutoEnginuity $200 USB connector and a $200 GM license. Within 10 minutes of receiving the unit, I was able to scan virtually every PID on that Denali and identify the failed sensor. I found a $40 sensor on eBay that looked identical, had a GM part number, and ordered it. A YouTube video starring an 80 yo fellow showed me how to remove the facia and the new part was snapped in. I ran a scan before reassembling the fascia and it proved success. The facia was remounted and no more codes. I’m quite sure the dealer would have charged more than the OBD costs and the part cost.
I’ve since bought a new Lenovo Yoga Tablet Laptop computer, strictly for garage OBD work. The best feature is that the screen can hang on the steering wheel as the software functions primarily on touchscreen. I’ve now gained a high sense of confidence in troubleshooting my Denali, in addition to my 2019 VW GTI and my 2012 Volvo S60, all with the most possible modern electronics.
I have used several low end OBD readers through the years and they were sufficient for prepurchase evaluation. However, upon purchasing a high mileage 2015 Yukon Denali, and spending ~$300 for a dealer diagnosis session that included a recall download, I decided that I needed to upgrade my own equipment and skills to do my own diagnosis. My cars all have Adaptive Cruise Control. This mandatory option for me usually also includes all of the other safety features that are available, hence a lot of control modules which contain more than 500 data points, or PIDs.
My first attempt at an upgrade OBD tool was an Amazon VXDIAG unit that plugged into a laptop. After 2 days and several connections with the Taiwan support office, I was able to make it work, but subsequent connection was problematic and I totally lost confidence in being able to use it with any reliability. My next attempt at an upgrade was a handheld $300 unit that the company sales rep assured me that it would troubleshoot body control sub modules and find the fault that I had “SERVICE PARK ASSIST”. These sensors, $200 each at the dealer, 4 in front, 4 in back, are connected in series and must all be functional and sending out their variable signals. They are positioned at the extremities of the plastic bumper facia and connected with very fragile wires that look like they were designed for the home telephone industry. That $300 unit could not find the OBJECT DETECT sensors, nor report any status or code. It was returned to Amazon.
The next iteration was an AutoEnginuity $200 USB connector and a $200 GM license. Within 10 minutes of receiving the unit, I was able to scan virtually every PID on that Denali and identify the failed sensor. I found a $40 sensor on eBay that looked identical, had a GM part number, and ordered it. A YouTube video starring an 80 yo fellow showed me how to remove the facia and the new part was snapped in. I ran a scan before reassembling the fascia and it proved success. The facia was remounted and no more codes. I’m quite sure the dealer would have charged more than the OBD costs and the part cost.
I’ve since bought a new Lenovo Yoga Tablet Laptop computer, strictly for garage OBD work. The best feature is that the screen can hang on the steering wheel as the software functions primarily on touchscreen. I’ve now gained a high sense of confidence in troubleshooting my Denali, in addition to my 2019 VW GTI and my 2012 Volvo S60, all with the most possible modern electronics.
