I've got a wanted ad in for a used gap iid (and asked duckworths for a new price) but I am also trying to weigh up some other options.

I know most here will recommend the gap tool, I'm trying to figure out why this has such a following here.

My reasons for looking at other viable options is the vin and manufacturer locking. For less than £400 the ancel fx7000 covers a huge array of vehicles and on the surface, looks to cover most of the typical things I feel like I'd need to do and covers my multi car family without dropping an extra £60 the next time I change or add a car to my collection.

Icarsoft seems limited in a similar way with it being LR specific but not quite as bad as the gap tool. I am sure there are others as eBay is awash with cheap as chips generic odb readers, of which some probably work reasonably well and some not so much.

Looking for others with experience to share their thoughts and maybe convince me why a gap makes more sense than anything else.

I can get access to an ancel fx6000 for my other cars but that takes a few days to get hold of and I prefer having my own kit.

I've had both an IID and a Nanocom and both are very good but the IID won the day and has / had become the default choice. The Autel seems to be making a bit of a play for the market now and is very reasonably priced but can't do everything the IID can.

The IID does ccf edits and suspension calibration which not all tools can do. Support is also excellent.

It's horses for courses really. 2016 Skoda Octavia VRS Estate
<gone>2009 FF Vogue TDV8 Buckingham Blue</gone>
<gone>2015 BMW 520D SE (not my favourite car)</gone>
<gone>2009 D3 HSE Galway Green</gone>

I had an icarsoft lr2 for a few weeks. Never gelled with it plus it was a hard lead only.
Gap iid Bluetooth now. App driven and very easy to use. Never looked back.
Go big or go home  2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE Buckingham Blue with Ivory and clear glass = "Rory"
New Defender D300 90 on order so "Rory" will be going to a new home....!
1974 Series 3 Lightweight = "Millie"
My preferred specialist: www.glenrands.co.uk
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We’ve had a Bluetooth IID tool for years. I’d not buy anything else now for several reasons:

1. Ease of use. Just an app on your phone and a tiny dongle.
2. Ability for flash ECU’s and custom firmware availability from GAP.
3. Ability to calibrate things such as air suspension, transfer box motors, etc.
4. Support from GAP. If you’ve any issues GAP always get you back on track and generally very quickly.

David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2007 Range Rover Supercharged in Java Black with Ivory Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior

Yeah I guess getting a feel for what the iid does that others don't is key, them weigh up whether or not the cost Vs flexibility is worth the loss in functionality. I believe the fx9000 can do suspension calibration although it's not blatantly clear if that's the case or not. I don't really know what benefits CCF editing gives me, I assume that's for customising stuff like the auto folding mirrors etc?

DrRob wrote:

I had an icarsoft lr2 for a few weeks. Never gelled with it plus it was a hard lead only.
Gap iid Bluetooth now. App driven and very easy to use. Never looked back.
Go big or go home

dhallworth wrote:

We’ve had a Bluetooth IID tool for years. I’d not buy anything else now for several reasons:

1. Ease of use. Just an app on your phone and a tiny dongle.
2. Ability for flash ECU’s and custom firmware availability from GAP.
3. Ability to calibrate things such as air suspension, transfer box motors, etc.
4. Support from GAP. If you’ve any issues GAP always get you back on track and generally very quickly.

David.

My fairly limited experience of generic or multi make diagnostic tools (foxwell, Autel & icarsoft) is that unless you spend big big money then they tend to have limited features. The IID tool does way more than any generic tool that costs less than an IID.
It maybe that a cheaper tool will do everything you want but you’ll only find it’s limits when it won’t do what you want.

And second hand BT IID tools sell for £250 to £300 so you always get a chunk of money back when done...  Pete

__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

1 word in recommending the iidtool, support, it’s second to none  Got - 2017 SDV8 Autobiography in Loire Blue
Had- 2008 TDV8 Vogue SE in Java black
Had - 2007 S/C in Stornoway Grey

I have a Hawkeye Total which covers the Land Rover range and can do everything that the IID Tool can do except CCF changes. Like many other diagnostic tools it's a hard wired unit and can be cumbersome when trying to view live data. I opted for the IID tool shortly after getting my L322 and hardly use the Hawkeye anymore. I would say that it is currently the best tool out there, it seems expensive at first but can pay for itself after just a few uses. Island 4x4 seem to be the cheapest place to buy from and as has already been mentioned, the second hand prices remain high for these due to demand so should you decide to buy one, you'll have some peace of mind knowing that if you ever decided to sell it, you'd get a good portion of your initial outlay returned. 2011 TDV8 Vogue SE

I use the Blue tooth -Autel AP200, its all what I need at the moment, as I just want to be able to read and reset codes, and get an understanding of the faults and workings etc. Car is under warranty, and therefore I cant even change the oil myself yet lol!

Its cheap at £45, aimed at family DIY'ers and if you select Landrover at start up you get free access to all Landrover models its not locked to 1 car. Great if you are 2 car (or more ) Landrover family. Also if you have a different mfg in the family ie Ford, then you pay an extra $20 approx and you can then use the same scanner on all Ford makes.
This link shows vehicle coverage https://www.auteltech.com/vehicle-coverage/coverage2

I have had LR assist out 3 times now, and the Autel diagnosed the exact DTC's as the LR assist machine. It claims to do the following minimum diy events, checking the coverage link shows you what is supported.

1). Oil Reset –Perform reset for the Engine Oil Life system, which calculates an optimal oil life change interval depending on the vehicle driving conditions and climate.
2). EPB Reset –Maintain the electronic braking system safely and effectively by deactivating and activating the brake control system, setting brakes after disc or pad replacement, etc.
3). BMS Reset –Evaluate the battery charge state, monitor the close-circuit current, register the battery replacement, and activate the rest state of the vehicle.
4). SAS Reset –perform calibration for the Steering Angle Sensor, which permanently stores the current steering wheel position as the straight-ahead position in the sensor EEPROM.
5). DPF Regeneration –Manage DPF regeneration, DPF component replacement teach-in and DPF teach-in after replacing the engine control unit.
not tested them yet as discussed above The DPF function looks interesting.
There are more special functions claimed for 2016+ FFRR includes Suspension geometry set up? but not going to test this yet


eventually the time will come to say Goodbye to warranty (once the gremlins are exorcised l) then I can do service resets (oil dilution) Brake pads etc etc. I can always upgrade to something more ET technical if the need arises, but honestly how often are you needing to flash ECU's etc.

Just another viewpoint

https://www.autelstore.co.uk/wholesale/aut...anner.html 2018 SE SDV8 4.4 Byron Blue

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Last edited by ur20v on 4th Oct 2021 8:16am. Edited 1 time in total

Thanks all for your input.

I'm not sure why some of you think spending thousands is required to get decent coverage though.

I honestly didn't expect the ancel 6000 to be able to do much but it read all of the systems for fault codes no problem, I didn't get into any of the special functions and obviously it's not going to do some of the things that the iid will do.

That said, I spent some time looking at the manual for iid and had a quick play with the app in demo mode, some things worked some didn't but I guess that's expected since it's not physically connected to anything. There's definitely something to be said for clear, concise documentation and the app seems straightforward to use.

In terms of ECU/firmware flashing, how useful is that realistically going to be for a 2012 car, I can't imagine most of those systems getting regular updates almost 9 years into its life, surely the underlying hardware in the car has moved on, followed by any development effort?

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Last edited by ur20v on 4th Oct 2021 8:17am. Edited 1 time in total