Feature Packed Car code Scanners Under $100 Reviewed

I have written about inexpensive car code scanners on other pages. But today I wanted to talk about a newer model that has some interesting features at an affordable price point of around $75. The scan tool is made by innova and the model is called the Equus 3040.

Although I do not own this tool I do own the Equus 3120 so I am familiar with this line of products. I first saw the 3040 at a parts store where employees scanned a customer’s vehicle to see what codes were set in memory. What makes this inexpensive car scanner worth writing about to me are the advanced features available for the low price.

Although some features I'm about to discuss are not new to the automotive scan tool as far as I can tell they are new to scanners that are below the hundred dollar price mark. In fact there are so many cool features and problems with them I'm not exactly sure where to start.

Automotive code scanner featuresI guess a good place to start would be with the standard features that you would normally find on a scanner in this price range. This tool will retrieve diagnostic trouble codes and provide on-screen (back lit) definitions in your choice of languages. Like other OBDII auto scanners they are made for vehicles from the model year 1996 and newer.

One of the features that I was most surprised to see at this price point was the ability to read live data. You can pull up a list of sensors scroll around and read their changing values in real time. This is a feature I hate to perform diagnostics without.

There is also a freeze-frame function so that you can take a snapshot during a fault situation and review the data stream to try and pinpoint problem areas. I wrote an article on my blog about the general use of Auto Scanners and Snapshot Mode. if you need more information on that function.

One of the more interesting and possibly troublesome features that are included is the access to Innova repair solutions. This type of auto repair data base is not entirely new to the car code scanners business. As in other companies also have similar options. But again this is the first time I have seen this type of feature in such an inexpensive tool.

Check engine light repair solutions

The ability to connect the 3040 scan tool to your personal computer sounds very cool but this does come with pluses and minuses. The first plus is the needed cable comes with the scan tool.

This is a standard USB cable that you can plug into your PC. The car code scanner also comes with a software disk on CD that will also need to install on the computer. This it when it can get tricky.

Whenever you have a wide variety of personal computers being utilized, your experience will also vary greatly. Some people with old windows 98 computers have a lot of trouble hooking the auto scan tool up to their PC, where others with newer computers have no problems at all. So remember I specified your results will vary.

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