I believe the J2534 adapters are the future of car diagnostic tools for home mechanics as they can give you professional OBD-II functionality for a cheap entry price. I bought and compared 5 of them, ranking them from best to worst in the following table.
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Thinkdiag2
XTool A30M
Kingbolen Ediag Elite
Topdon Topscan Lite
Ancel ECHO
Who tested product & wrote this review?
Tester & Editor for this review: Juraj Lukacko
Hello, I am Juraj (Yuri) and I tested this product to help you decide if it is something you would want to buy, and if yes, show you how to use it.
I make honest reviews based on personal testing in my own garage and If I see the product is bad, I will make it very clear in review.
Read more about how I do reviews on Iamcarhacker.com in my review policy.
Thinkdiag2 for unlocking hidden features
Thinkdiag2 has the fastest scan of all wireless scan tools I have tried. It also does everything needed for beginner and intermediate DIY mechanics, including ECU coding.
That means it can unlock hidden features on top of being a full-featured diagnostic scan tool. The only problem with Thinkdiag2 is the pretty high update cost and it probably makes more sense to go with Mucar VO7 which comes with 3 years of free updates + has better resell value.
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(Think car Thinkdiag2 and Kingbolen Ediag are the same tools)
XTool A30 is the easiest to use + free updates
xTool A30 is a Bi-directional scanner with decent vehicle coverage for its price. The best part of this scanner for us DIY mechanics is that updates are free for a lifetime.
So you only pay once and you get to enjoy this tool for as long as it works without having to pay a yearly license.
It does everything you need to diagnose car problems and even used car checks.
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Ancel ECHO works with ELM327 apps
When I saw ECHO for the first time on Amazon, I ordered it straight away because it comes with a very unique concept.
Not only do you have a bi-directional scanner, but it can also connect to hundreds of ELM327 apps you can find in the app store for free.
If ECHO couldn’t connect to ELM apps I would not recommend it. Yes, you have bi-directionality and some other PRO features but it doesnt have vehicle coverage as big as other scanners on this list.
For example, I tried connecting it with my Renault Kangoo, but it does not support Renault at all.
However once I switched to one of the ELM apps (car scanner OBD2), I was able to connect and use a scanner to get faults and data from the engine.
If you intend to use a lot of ELM apps, ECHO makes sense. But if you want just one reliable tool to scan all cars I would rather go with xToolA30 or Thinkscan 689.
I also made a full blog post and shot a video review of this scanner, check it out in a separate Ancel ECHO review post.
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Kingbolen EDIAG Elite
Kingbolen EDIAG elite is a cheap bi-directional adapter that will let your smartphone scan all systems in the car, check live data, do bi-directional tests, and even use 15 service procedures!
Best part? No subscription and free lifetime updates are included.
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Topscan Lite is best for a used car check
Topscan is currently the cheapest way that I know of, how you can add a Bi-Directional scan tool to your tool set. (If I don’t count next Kdiag but that has limited vehicle coverage).
And it is amazing for used car check with professional PDF used car reports.
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BONUS: Konwei KDiag
Konwei Kdiag is a scanner I discovered just a few months ago when someone pointed it out in YouTube comments on my channel as a great budget pick.
It can scan all modules, do bi-directional testing, and even perform some service procedures like oil reset, brake pad reset, etc… a total of 4 procedures.
It does not have a large brand coverage so I suggest you download the app KDiag first and check if the brands are a good fit for your needs.
Mucar Driverscan is a cheaper Thinkdiag2 version
Mucar driverscan is very similar to Thinkdiag2, as it comes from the same company.
The only difference is a little slower reaction for some procedures and a missing ECU coding function.
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I have tested 7 of these Bluetooth Bi-Directional scanners
Which ones I think are the best?
J2534 adapters: Test winners
Thinkdiag2
XTool A30M
Kingbolen Ediag Elite
Hi, I am Juraj “Yuri” Lukacko. I got frustrated by unhelpful and scammy mechanics, so I decided to learn everything about car diagnostics myself. I test dozens of new car diagnostic tools every month along with learning new strategies to fix and customize cars. About Juraj Lukacko (Yuri)
I’ve tested 100+ OBD2 scanners.
Get my free PDF to help you choose the right one for you!
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