If you want to have more control over your car’s health, you’ll want to ensure you use OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) software.
One to try is the OBD Auto Doctor, which is a leading type of software to help you communicate with your car’s OBD system.
What is OBD Auto Doctor? It’s a tool that can monitor your car, such as via real-time data, and enable you to reset your engine light yourself.
Seeing as though every car has an in-built computer that gains information from its sensors, software such as OBD Auto Doctor can communicate with it to send you that important data.
But, there are some things you need to know to help you figure out if you should use OBD Auto Doctor or not. So, let’s see what it’s all about.
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How OBD Auto Doctor Works
Before we can see what OBD Auto Doctor is all about, it’s important to know what OBD is and how it works. OBD is basically a computer-based system that’s built into modern cars.
It monitors the engine’s performance and any problems that you need to have repaired. If your car was made in 1996 or later, it will have an OBD2 system on board.
If it was made before then, it will probably have OBD1 one, which is a system that’s more basic and doesn’t run as many diagnostic tests on your car.
In order to make use of the information from your car’s computer, you will need a small OBD adapter that will serve to collect the data. This device gets attached to your car’s OBD port.
Then, you’ll also need software, such as OBD Auto Doctor, that will communicate with the car via the adapter. It then will display the diagnostic information about your car on its screen.
There are many scanners out there that offer you car-related information on their screens so you can view what’s wrong with your car and some even enable you to send the information to your email or print it out for greater convenience.
To make it easier than that to monitor and diagnose your car, OBD Auto Doctor is software that you can download in the form of an app to your phone. It’s compatible with both Android and Apple devices.
There’s a free and paid version of the app available.
The good news is that the free version will allow you to read and interpret a variety of diagnostic trouble codes and clear error codes, view real-time engine parameters such as coolant temperature and ignition timing, store and share your DTC data, and also access the VIN/chassis number for your car.
If you decide to upgrade to the paid version of the OBD Auto Doctor, it will allow you to record real-time driving parameters, read and record multiple parameters at the same time, and get GPS support.
The paid version of the app costs $2.99, so it’s nothing expensive.
However, what’s great about OBD Auto Doctor is that you probably won’t even need the paid version of the app because the free version will give you a lot of valuable information and tasks.
This is especially the case if you’re not a professional mechanic and just want to be able to diagnose your car in your own garage.
Is OBD Auto Doctor right for you or should you purchase alternative OBD software? To find out, here are its pros and cons.
OBD Auto Doctor Pros
- When using a car scanner tool you will want it to be quick and easy. OBD Auto Doctor ensures this because it takes less than a minute for the software to diagnose a fault and display a fault code once it’s been connected to your car’s OBD port.
- It comes with general information that provides you with diagnostic trouble codes. OBD Auto Doctor enables you to search and browse the trouble code database for both generic and manufacturer-specific trouble codes. The OBD Auto Doctor database has over 14,000 trouble codes so you’re sure to be able to diagnose what’s wrong with your car.
- The app’s layout is really user-friendly, so you won’t battle to use it if you’re a beginner.
- OBD Auto Doctor is compatible with all OBD2 vehicles that were manufactured in the United States in 1996 or later.
- This app supports Bluetooth and WiFi adapters. This gives you more options when it comes to how you want to connect the app.
- This app can check your emissions levels, which is useful ahead of getting your emissions test, which is something you have to do annually in some states depending on your vehicle model and make as well as the rules in your state.
- You know how horrible smartphone battery drain can be, so you’ll be glad that this software doesn’t consume a lot of battery life on your phone.
- You can view your vehicle’s fuel consumption via OBD Auto Doctor which will help you to save money over time. This can also alert you to problems with your car, therefore keeping you updated on your car’s wellbeing.
- You can choose a graphical or numerical view of the sensor data, which enables you to customize the display to suit your preferences.
- You can send the diagnostic reports you receive via emails, such as to yourself or your mechanic for his or her input.
- For further convenience, this software works on computers and mobile phones. You can access it on iPads and PCs. It’s compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux.
- OBD Auto Doctor gives you real-time data from your car in the form of digital gauges. You can view this real-time data while you do functions on your car. When combining this with your freeze-frame data, you can better analyze your car’s faults right away.
- It’s easy to download and set up this app, and once you have a scanning device adapter to use it with, you’ll be able to start using it within mere minutes.
- Once you’ve plugged the device in and switched on your car, you will see the information begin to be displayed on the app, such as when it comes to the car’s RPMs, intake air temperature, and engine coolant temperature.
- OBD Auto Doctor will be able to receive lots of information from your car’s sensors so that you can better monitor your car. These are what send the computer all the info it needs about your vehicle. Examples of sensors include those related to fuel pressure, coolant temperature, airflow pressure, and manifold absolute pressure.
- The OBD Auto Doctor app will actually create a graph in real-time. How it works is that you’ll choose to view the sensor information in the app and click on one, such as engine RPM, and then a new screen will come up showing you a graph of the RPMs. When you accelerate your car, the graph will change. This is great for monitoring your car while you drive.
- The device offers both metric and imperial systems. This makes it much more universal for use.
- This app is very versatile because it will enable you to monitor all OBD2 vehicles, not just those in the U.S. as Asian and European cars are also compatible with this excellent software.
OBD Auto Doctor Cons
Although OBD Auto Doctor has many benefits and useful features, it’s good to know its potential drawbacks. These include the following:
- A problem you might encounter with this app is that it doesn’t give accurate fuel consumption information for diesel vehicles.
- This app won’t monitor ECU (electronic control unit) systems.
- If you have an Apple device, you might encounter problems when installing it as it’s not suitable for iOS devices that have firmware of 9.0 or lower.
Is OBD Auto Doctor Worth It For You?
Since OBD Auto Doctor is free and doesn’t cost a lot of money if you’re buying the paid version, it should be put to good use otherwise what’s the point of even having it?
There are really good reasons to use this software but is it right for you? Consider the following points:
- If you’re a car enthusiast and enjoy tinkering with your car, this software will be really useful to enable you to do tests on your car to keep it in good condition.
- Another good reason to invest in this app is if you’re a mechanic in your spare time because you’ll be able to find what’s wrong with your car and fix it yourself without having to take it to a mechanic. This is especially useful if your car doesn’t have a major problem and you can fix it yourself, therefore saving you money.
Often it’s said that if you don’t intend on using OBD2 software to diagnose your car’s problems regularly, it’s not worth having it.
But OBD Auto Doctor has so many other features that will benefit you besides for its range of diagnostic ones.
For instance, being able to monitor your fuel consumption and engine RPMs is great. These can be useful for you to help you monitor your car even if it’s in good condition without any problems being reported.
So, in this way, OBD Auto Doctor will be good to purchase for any car owner because it will contribute to your regular car maintenance, especially because it’s so quick and easy to use.
What Else Do You Need To Know About OBD Auto Doctor?
OBD Auto Doctor is known for its excellent features, one of which is its versatility. But you might wonder if the software will work properly.
There are some things to know about the software, depending on the device you intend to use to connect your car to OBD Auto Doctor.
If you’ve got an iPad or iPhone that you want to use with OBD Auto Doctor, you will need to ensure that it’s a Bluetooth Low Energy adapter in order for it to work properly.
Now, what happens if you want to upgrade to the premium version of OBD Auto Doctor? You will have noticed that you can’t find this Pro version in Google Play.
This is because the software update is done with the Google Play In-App billing mechanism. In order to activate this version on your device, you will have to follow a few easy steps.
Once you have launched the app on your device you will have to select “Extras” from its bottom menu. Then, scroll down until you see “Upgrade.”
When you choose the “Upgrade now” option, you’ll be able to purchase it and start making use of OBD Auto Doctor’s extra features.
Related Questions
Can you run OBD Auto Doctor in dark mode?
If you’re using the software in low-light conditions, you don’t want to hurt your eyes with a bright device screen, so you can definitely make use of dark mode.
Can you check a purchased car’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) with OBD Auto Doctor?
Yes, this will help you to correctly identify the vehicle and be able to ensure that the car has the correct engine in it.
Conclusion
If you need to monitor your car for any faults, you should make use of an app such as OBD Auto Doctor. You just need a compatible device to be able to use it.
In this article, we’ve looked at its pros and cons, but it’s clear to see why it’s one of the best OBD2 apps on the market.
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