Hi, is the VAGCOM some bods on here use better than dealers software or does the dealers have more chance of picking up faults....

spevie

If a fault it logged, VAG-COM will be able to read it..........

Chris

VAG-COM is as close to the dealer VAS system as you'll get.

It is very good. I can't comment on the VAS5051 as I have never used it, but from what I have heard it gives you a guided procedure to find the fault.

It is better than the VAS predecessor the VAG1552 in that you can send the results to the printer, it has tool tips on the cursor which guide you and you can log various parameters for the engine and play them back in a graphical format after a test drive. It can do some things that the dealer system can't.

As with any electronic diagnostic system it will read error codes, which must be treated as a symptom of the problem, it is then down to the Technicians knowledge and experience to work out the cause of these error codes.

VAS 5052 is a small portable touch screen unit, very usefull on road tests etc. VAS 5051 has now been replaced with the much improved 5051B which is alot quicker. Both have full multimeter and DSO functions. They can also flash program from either online or a CD.

reason i ask is that my mate has system in his garage that has most make of cars on it and can get my car read for free ( which i will need reading cos i removed the pod and have the air bag light on) but it is booked in to dealers wednesday for a reading to try and find the fault with the flashing pod lights. is it worth the 30-60 quid there gonna spank me for or just go see my mate at his garage ????

spevie

No, for fault reading I don't think its worth it. Is this scanner your mate uses a snap-on one? My mate has one too for his garage and it reads my car fine and resets codes, etc. Doesn't do the logs of boost, torque, temps, etc that vag com does though.

so i would be better getting the read from dealers to cover bases then.

Cheers.

spevie

PS, also i suppose if it throws summat up the machanic might now the problem if it has happened on previous cars he might have looked at.

It's OBD-II compliant so any OBD-II compliant reader will be able to pull off the fault codes. You can then look them up in the "big book of fault codes" and find out what it means. VAG-COM is VAG specific so interprets these codes for you so you don't need to look them up. If you have access the OBD-II tool, why not go there and see what it throws up. If it doesn't throw anything up, find someone with VAG-COM or pay a dealer............

Chris