On my old fabia I used to have an ultra gauge plugged in

Which allowed me to read some data and any engine lights and clear them

I used carista to code stuff like alarm beep, lane flash, MPH etc

Now with the superb

I would love to code a few things

Maybe headlight DRL stripes, maybe rear DRL on

And alarm beep to name a few

But I really want to be able to read any codes that come up, need a half decent code reader

To be able to read any future issues

Any advice please

I use carscanner app and this dongle

https://amzn.eu/d/02erD0i9

It’s £36 for the dongle and £8 for the pro version of the app. No subscriptions.

It does all the basic reading and clearing of codes, live data etc.

It has the majority of the “tweaks” you would want to make pre programmed as selections. This includes service things like opening the rear brake calipers and coding battery etc. As per this list:

https://www.carscanner.info/coding-mqb/

You can also do long coding but it doesn’t have the same helpers such as a tool like VCDS but most of the time I need to do it I’ve asked people on the forum and found what I’ve needed to do.

There are a few things it can’t do like some adaptations and dataset coding but often you would need VCP or ODIS for that sort of thing anyway.

It also has a CarPlay app where you can make dashboards from any data source so you can monitor things like transmission temperature etc.

I have found that for the price it’s unbeatable and does nearly everything that a mid level DIYer would want to.

The ultimate tool would be VCDS but that is around £225 but can do everything you need except dealer level online coding things like component protection. https://m.gendan.co.uk/product_VCV23.html?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=2009361245&gclid=CjwKCAjwo5bXBhAEEiwAkgpgXDjr7VRHYIiufMXCWsIb8mS_SSSj7lprJkcTEbAkCM7cPZszbZEBnBoC96kQAvD_BwE

I have an OBDeleven with Pro Lifetime subscription.

Tis great for lots of things, including Long Coding and Adaptation changes.

I never use One-Click Apps.

I've made so so many changes, bout 6 yrs ago I made a 15-pg PDF of various code changes that work on the mk3 pre-facelift. It's OBDeleven and VCDS ready.

Happy to share it if u want.

There is also a "Tried and Tested Codings" page on this forum somewhere.

22 minutes ago, JR RS said:

I have an OBDeleven with Pro Lifetime subscription.

Tis great for lots of things, including Long Coding and Adaptation changes.

I never use One-Click Apps.

I've made so so many changes, bout 6 yrs ago I made a 15-pg PDF of various code changes that work on the mk3 pre-facelift. It's OBDeleven and VCDS ready.

Happy to share it if u want.

There is also a "Tried and Tested Codings" page on this forum somewhere.

So with obd eleven you don’t have to get credits? What’s the advantage over vcds, that it can be done from your phone rather than laptop?

I found most of the coding items on the vcds thread on the forum are one click things on carscanner. I’ve had to use long coding very little. The list would be handy to have though thanks.

Edited 31 minutes ago31 min by Binx1310