Volvo car diagnostic software

Volvo car diagnostic software

Author
Discussion

IAmTheWalrus

Original Poster:

1,049 posts

51 months

Monday 22nd November 2021
quotequote all
Hi,

Are there any particular type of car diagnostic software available for use in Reading codes or the state of the car parts eg dpf?

Davie

5,022 posts

222 months

Monday 22nd November 2021
quotequote all
Depends on the age and how in depth you want to get - but you can get anything from a £5 Bluetooth dongle to use with a free Android app right the way up to several thousand pounds worth of Snap On gear. You can also get Volvos "VIDA" dealer based stuff which is superb, if a little difficult to navigate. There's a couple of sellers who do plug and play laptops from about £200 upwards.

IAmTheWalrus

Original Poster:

1,049 posts

51 months

Monday 22nd November 2021
quotequote all
Hi there,

Thanks for the response, what do you recommend for someone who is new to car maintenance but doesn't mind getting their hands dirty, I want to know if this diesel car has issues with the dpf or egr, on a side note I'd like to clean parts where I can as a pre emptive move..

I guess the battery needs to be programmed to use. I switched the battery to another one at the weekend and the car didn't like it, I noticed a wired that attaches to the main cable. Its annoying I bought a new battery for my old car recently and I wanted to put it into my new volvo but it didn't work.. Software that can do that would be useful.

Edited by IAmTheWalrus on Monday 22 November 21:08

Blert

10 posts

36 months

Tuesday 23rd November 2021
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Hi, I'm new here, but not new to Volvo. Depending on the year of your car I'd recommend Vida. The thing is that you can only get the offline version that covers up to cars up to and including 2014. It will still read cars younger than that bit won't cover all aspects. There are loads of ways to get it, and loads of YouTube bids on how to use it. You need a Dice unit to connect it to the car, again available from various sources.
Good luck and enjoy!
Regards
Bob

IAmTheWalrus

Original Poster:

1,049 posts

51 months

Tuesday 23rd November 2021
quotequote all
Thanks for your response, I'll look it up. Does it detail the condition of the dpf?

Blert

10 posts

36 months

Tuesday 23rd November 2021
quotequote all
Absolutely. In fact if that's all you need then an android or IOS dongle off ebay, connected to a smartphone app will give you that. I use it as a quick check, it shows grams of soot in the DPF and miles since last regen.

IAmTheWalrus

Original Poster:

1,049 posts

51 months

Tuesday 23rd November 2021
quotequote all
Blert said:
Absolutely. In fact if that's all you need then an android or IOS dongle off ebay, connected to a smartphone app will give you that. I use it as a quick check, it shows grams of soot in the DPF and miles since last regen.
Could you recommend one and appropriate software for code reading and diagnostics? Thanks a lot in advance.

IAmTheWalrus

Original Poster:

1,049 posts

51 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
quotequote all
Blert said:
Absolutely. In fact if that's all you need then an android or IOS dongle off ebay, connected to a smartphone app will give you that. I use it as a quick check, it shows grams of soot in the DPF and miles since last regen.
I don't suppose you know how to disable daylight running lights? I just see them as a waste of energy.

Blert

10 posts

36 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
quotequote all
I bought one of these off Aliexpress.

Viecar ELM327 OBD2 OBD 2 WIFI Auto Scanner Bluetooth-Compatible 4.0 for Android/iOS ODB2 Car Diagnostic Tool

Costs about £20. An app called Car Scanner ELM OBD2 is also very good. I just use it to read sensors, anything else I use vida/dice, which will also sort out your DRLs.

IAmTheWalrus

Original Poster:

1,049 posts

51 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
quotequote all
Blert said:
I bought one of these off Aliexpress.

Viecar ELM327 OBD2 OBD 2 WIFI Auto Scanner Bluetooth-Compatible 4.0 for Android/iOS ODB2 Car Diagnostic Tool

Costs about £20. An app called Car Scanner ELM OBD2 is also very good. I just use it to read sensors, anything else I use vida/dice, which will also sort out your DRLs.
Hi thank you for your response. So will the Car Scanner ELM OBD2 also tell me about the DPF status? I think I found an in-car hack for sorting out the lights.

Blert

10 posts

36 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
quotequote all
Yes, the app tells you about the soot levels etc..

Enjoy the car - there's a lot to learn about volvos!

IAmTheWalrus

Original Poster:

1,049 posts

51 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
quotequote all
Blert said:
Yes, the app tells you about the soot levels etc..

Enjoy the car - there's a lot to learn about volvos!
Thanks, I will buy one asap.

LOL well I had a BMW 320 CI Sport coupe and it also had a lot to learn, far more than I would have liked to given the number of issues it had. I believe most of them stemmed from the LPG conversion it had and a head gasket change from a dodgy garage. Anyway, I only bought the Volvo at the weekend so still learning, on the way home the boot opened itself, is this a cause for concern? The BMW had this issue sometimes.

IAmTheWalrus

Original Poster:

1,049 posts

51 months

Wednesday 24th November 2021
quotequote all
Blert said:
I bought one of these off Aliexpress.

anything else I use vida/dice, which will also sort out your DRLs.
I am not familiar with these terms, when I search for this I get a range of products, what do these two terms mean please? Can you recommend a standalone product that just works, ie no pratting about with bluetooth? Would like feature to show soot in dpf and its statues, and remove daytime headlights too. Thanks a lot for your help.

Edited by IAmTheWalrus on Wednesday 24th November 19:53