For years, OBD Fusion has been a go-to OBD2 tool for many car enthusiasts. Like many, I relied on it for vehicle diagnostics and monitoring. However, recent updates introduced frustrating issues that significantly hampered its usability. After months of persistent problems since the latest version, I decided it was time to explore alternative OBD2 apps.
Initially, Torque Pro surfaced as a potential option, favored by some in online communities. However, delving into user reviews, particularly from BMW owners, revealed widespread dissatisfaction. Compounded by the fact that Torque Pro hasn’t seen an update in three years, it was quickly dismissed as a viable replacement.
This led me to Car Scanner Pro, a surprisingly affordable app at just $3. After using it, I can confidently say that Car Scanner Pro surpasses OBD Fusion in several key aspects, most notably in real-time data visualization and logging capabilities. The “dashboard” feature is a significant upgrade, allowing for the display of up to 15 gauges simultaneously with vastly improved graphics and customization. Users have extensive flexibility in how data is presented, choosing from text readouts, animated gauges, and various graph formats.
Crucially, Car Scanner Pro boasts a superior data update rate, averaging around 3 updates per second. This is a noticeable improvement over OBD Fusion and provides a much smoother and more responsive real-time monitoring experience. For those hesitant to commit, a free “Lite” version is available, albeit with limitations on the number of parameters that can be displayed or logged concurrently (limited to 4).
While my exploration is still ongoing, Car Scanner Pro has already proven to be a more robust and user-friendly tool for quickly assessing engine performance compared to my recently problematic OBD Fusion experience.
The only minor drawback I’ve encountered is the CSV log file format, which isn’t directly compatible with Excel for graphing. However, this is easily overcome with a simple script to reformat the data. Furthermore, the app itself provides convenient in-app log viewing.
Has anyone else made the switch to Car Scanner Pro or explored its capabilities further? I’m interested to hear about your experiences.
