Sorry if this has been covered on here. Anyone have a preferred scanner for this era A3? Several options out there.. Tough to make a choice. Any help is much appreciated
Best current (2020) scan tool - 2012 Audi A3 TDI
- Thread starter paulmolive
- Start date
For me it's OBD11.
With a free app on your phone and a cheap dongle, it will do everything you need on any VAG car you come across.
Far cheaper than VCDS, all/most the features and fits in your pocket.
With a free app on your phone and a cheap dongle, it will do everything you need on any VAG car you come across.
Far cheaper than VCDS, all/most the features and fits in your pocket.
Thanks! Just checking them out. Looks like some are free, some not. BlueDriver OB2 looks good. Is the OBD11 the best for VAG? You can use OBD11 without purchasing the bluetooth plug? Must be a subscription no?
Last edited:
As a Vcd's user ( genuine cable ) i can only give you an opinion on it. To me its one helluva good cable and unlocks a lot more than other cables ( especially new cables ) and 99% off fault codes are able to be checked via Google . But at the end off the day you only get what you pay for.
theres a few tools available for vag cars, most popular/well known is probably vcds but thats quite expensive for a hobbyist or diy mechanic. vcpsystems also available and is the same sort of price and usage as vcds.
you then have bluetooth dongles like obdeleven and carista which offer similar features to the above but are priced a lot lower. obdeleven work on a credit system, where you get credits for watching ads etc. long coding is free. carista have a subscription. id go with obdeleven personally. cant use it without their dongle, no.
things like bluedriver, and generic eobd scanners will scan fault codes, but you wont be able to scan specific modules or do any coding.
you then have bluetooth dongles like obdeleven and carista which offer similar features to the above but are priced a lot lower. obdeleven work on a credit system, where you get credits for watching ads etc. long coding is free. carista have a subscription. id go with obdeleven personally. cant use it without their dongle, no.
things like bluedriver, and generic eobd scanners will scan fault codes, but you wont be able to scan specific modules or do any coding.
Looks like there is an IOS version of OBDeleven now. Leaning towards the "Pro" version. More options and credits. Does anyone know if OBDeleven will work on any other model cars? My wife's car is a Mini. Would be nice to have that option
I have Carista but it’s very expensive for the annual licence for what it is.
I’m now on VCDS (genuine) which is perfect. 3 VIN is enough for most (I have 10).
Never tried OBDElevin as I think they were/are Android only.
I’m now on VCDS (genuine) which is perfect. 3 VIN is enough for most (I have 10).
Never tried OBDElevin as I think they were/are Android only.
What did you go for in the end @paulmolive and how have you found it?
Just looking into this again after subscribing a couple of years ago for a year when I got Carista. It cleared some codes now and again and I changed a couple of settings. Didn't really use it as much as I initially thought. Now I could do with clearing a couple of codes I've looked at renewing it & found the annual subscription for Carista is £34 which seems to be a bit more than I recall (and makes me maybe consider the Ancel VD500 which is just over £50 at Amazon and doesn't appear to have annual subscriptions). I'd rather avoid an annual licence at these prices, and predominantly need it for code clearing and diagnosing. Any other thoughts gratefully received.
Just looking into this again after subscribing a couple of years ago for a year when I got Carista. It cleared some codes now and again and I changed a couple of settings. Didn't really use it as much as I initially thought. Now I could do with clearing a couple of codes I've looked at renewing it & found the annual subscription for Carista is £34 which seems to be a bit more than I recall (and makes me maybe consider the Ancel VD500 which is just over £50 at Amazon and doesn't appear to have annual subscriptions). I'd rather avoid an annual licence at these prices, and predominantly need it for code clearing and diagnosing. Any other thoughts gratefully received.
If I remember correctly, OBDeleven PRO version will only get you a bunch of credits to spend on one click app and unlocks long coding. Credits can also be gained by login in the app (1 per day if thats not changed). I have pro but to be honest, for what I use it for (checking faults, reading data and some minor coding), I shouldn't have gone for the PRO licence. With that being said, a bunch of one-click apps were added lately for the 8p, something like 20 of them. Havent tried them out yet, but that is very convenient.
Keep in mind, I had to buy a new dongle after a little more than 2 years (classic just out of warranty luck...) cause my old one failed. Not too expensive but still.
Keep in mind, I had to buy a new dongle after a little more than 2 years (classic just out of warranty luck...) cause my old one failed. Not too expensive but still.
In the end I've gone for the Ancel VD500 via ebay which has cost me the same as a years subscription to Carista. Seems to do what I want (and I'd rather pay outright). I'll put a few thoughts down in a separate thread once I've had to use it for a few times.
You can gain more credits by watching ads. By doing this you can earn up to 6 extra credits a day.
Personally I think pro should have all these options available without credits being required, but it's still a fantastic tool and has been used on my own car regularly and some mates car's too, most recently a 14 plate RS7.
