I bought this for use with several cars: 1994 Lincoln Mark VIII, 2002 Chevy Astro Van, 2007 Honda Civic, 1988 Ford Mustang, 2003 Toyota Avalon, and a 1997 Mitsubishi Montero. That represents a good mix of OBD I and OBD II cars.
I found the OBD I functions to be a VAST improvement over the single-make only units I had before. Since I stink at counting beeps and flashes, a lot of user error is eliminated. It is also nice that the OBD I adapters use a long cord, since some of my cars have the connector mounted under the hood, which makes some tests and troubleshooting difficult.
OBD II functions are just as cool as you would expect, but I have yet to use the recording function, but I imagine its cool. I know my buddy has an Actron that locks up from time to time, this one has not locked up on me yet. The all-at-once screen and backlighing features are fantastic.
The software is very nice. It is simple and easy to use. I use an old Gateway Pentium III laptop running Windows 98SE with 288Megs of RAM, and it works like a champ. I did not see any information at all on what the minimum requirements are, but most of you will be running something newer/more powerful than my machine. The laptop is so old that it has a real serial port on the back of it, so no USB adapter was needed. Those who need a USB-to-Serial cable might want to consider getting an old used laptop instead, since the one I use was less than $30 on an auction site.
Others are having problems upgrading their software and firmware, but I had no such issues. Once I had the software installed I was able to update the software to version 1.33, restart, then update the firmware to 1.02. The software install took a few minutes, but the firmware update took over 15 minutes.
I am also impressed with the packaging of the unit. It comes in a cardboard box with a built-in handle and colorful slipcover, and inside the box are two nylon zippered carry cases, both of which can be zippered together so you keep all the parts together. The build quality of all of the parts is top notch, and the MASSIVE (tri-lingual) manual is easy to read. I am disappointed that no paper manual is included for the software.
Overall I am very happy with this unit, and am looking forward to using all of the extra features that I haven't gotten to yet.
| Manufacturer | Innova |
|---|---|
| Brand | Innova |
| Item Weight | 4 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 15 x 3 x 10.25 inches |
| Item model number | 3140 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Manufacturer Part Number | 3140 |
| OEM Part Number | 3140 |
