Good scanner for 2003 Tacoma 6 cylinder (under $300.)

Hi All
I have a Toyota Tacoma crew cab 2003 with 6 cylinder eng 4WD
I have a check engine light on and some loss of power going up hills and my friend said I should get a scanner. He is a retired mechanic but lost his scanner.
Any suggestions on a scanner good for Toyota Tacomas 1st generation?
Thanks and Happy New Year
Richard

 

Kind of a difficult question to answer. There is so much involved in scanners, what is it that you wan to do, just check your current issue or are you looking to get more involved? If all you want to do is check out your truck right now your local O’ Reiilys or Auto Zone can do that for free.

 

Take a look at the offerings from Autel, Launch, and TopDon, see which one meets your needs.

If you just want basic generic engine/trans codes and data there's a ton of stuff for well under $100.

At $300 you should be able to get one that does all systems (which on 1st gens would just be PCM, ABS, and SRS (Airbag)) and maybe even one with basic bi-directional controls.

 

Will be hard to find a bi directional scanner at $300. I bought a Top Don around that price and it doesn't do half of what I was expecting.

For a good scanner that can read codes, clear ABS codes, see plenty of live data I recommend the

$100 Innova 5210 OBD2 Scanner & Engine Code Reader, Battery Tester, Live Data, Oil Reset, Car Diagnostic Tool for Most Vehicles, Bluetooth Compatible with America's Top Car Repair App

Innova 5210. About $100.

To find a scanner that can command things like abs pump on, I'd imagine it will be well over $500.

 

Actually if you have a decent smartphone there's several smartphone based ones out there at around $100 although they do require a subscription but it isn't much. They will do almost everything the top end scanners will do.

I have the Thinkdiag, there's also the TopScan from TopDon

But yea if you want a standalone with those features your gona be in the $300-500 range.

 

Check out these guys......the latest and greatest...

supposedly these are as good as a $400+ one......

but only work their magic on one or two models...

LAUNCH Elite for TOYOTA OBD2 Code Reader Full System Car Diagnostic Scanner Tool | eBay

 

The spelling in their descriptions scare me lol. English is definitely not their first language.

 

Most likely a Launch CN product or clone of one, the Launch CN stuff is legit but it's meant for the asian market so support is non-existent here in the US should you need it.
I just bought the X-431 Pro 3S+, been great so far.

 

I'm eying the Snap On solus + myself. Scared of that update cost in the future though lol.

 

Yea SnapOn scanners are stupid expensive for the relatively low capability when compared to almost anything else and they have bugs too (never 100% trust your scan tool I don't care what brand it is).
Where SnapOn scanners shine is graphing and data recording.

I have a Verus Pro that I don't use anymore and a Verus Edge, both bought used and I have no intention to update them.
If I'm doing driveability I grab the SnapOn, anything else I get the Autel or Launch.

If you work in a shop you pretty much need a minimum of 2 scanners from different manufacturers, I can't tell you how many times I've had a vehicle that didn't like one or more of my scanners.

 

I have 4 scanners and one computer based tuner/scanner all of different capabilities. Like Dm93 says you have to use them to figure out which ones do “this” better than “that”. For simple readiness monitor / smog issues I use Bluedriver. Depending on how many data points you want to monitor/store it works just fine ~ $100. Some of the more sophisticated ones you will spend more time fiddling through the interface looking for what in my opinion, should be easier to find. I have people who go larger on tires and they need the revolutions per mile number changed (non Toyota) and finding that particular menu takes minutes and is frustrating.