Product review: Atrosteve Digital Air Compressor for Car Auto Pump Portable Tire Inflator

 

 
This air tire compressor has two features I like:
★ Auto shut off at a set air pressure
★ Connector to the tire valve has a flip lever, not a screw connector

This air tire compressor also has some things I don't like:
★ It works much slower than my old tire compressor
★ It does not remember that I selected PSI as my measure unit, and I need to reset it every time
★ The display is very small; I need to wear my reading glasses since I have to reset the target every time
★ The LED light is pretty dim

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Qihoo Car Cup Holder Tray Car Cup Holder Expander Adapter Car Tray (tested with Honda and Tesla)

 

The cup holder does not fit well either of our two cars (Honda CRV and Tesla Model 3). The cup of the tray is more narrow than the cup holder in the car. There are adjustments to make the base wider, but it never gets to be a good fit because both cars has a channel that connects two cup holders. It is also slightly taller than the car's cup holder. The tray does not fit firmly, and the arm has a lot of shake. It is not suitable for food that can spill. In addition, with Tesla, in positions the tray can rub against the screen, and it is more difficult to find a good angle that works and is convenient.

The overall quality of the tray assembly is not good. The plastic knobs that hold the position do not grab onto the thin screws well and continue to spin. The tray part is held only by tension; there is no screw to hold it down in place. If I touch it with my hand with light pressure or hold it at an angle, the entire tray falls off the assembly.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: DONG NI Stainless Steel Skinny Tumbler, 20 oz Double-Insulated Water Tumbler Cup Vacuum Travel Mug

 

 I would not call this tumbler skinny. It is 2.75" wide at the bottom and 3.5" wide at the top.  It just fits into my car's cup holder.  It is plastic on the outside and stainless steel on the inside with a transparent plastic cover. The cover has a sliding opening valve.  It is leak-free, it works well.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: LAOPAO Mini Tire Inflator Portable Air Compressor for Car Tires Handheld Air Pump

 

 This inflator works very unreliably with my car.  

I used the tire inflator on all four tires of my Honda CRV. I was able to get it to work on the first tire (after several failed attempts when it did not turn on), but I could not get it to work on the other three and I tried many times.  After trying LAOPAO inflator on the three tires that did not work, I immediately attached my old tire inflator, and it worked, bringing my car to the desired tire pressure.  So the tires were not overinflated, and they needed more air to bring the pressure to the desired level.  

The air hose of LAOPAO is very short (9 inches), so I needed to be uncomfortably bent over to operate the unit.  With my old tire inflator, I can comfortably stand holding it in my hands while it is connected to the air valve on the car.

I thought the interface was not as easy to use as any other tire inflator I have used in the past. The two main controls look almost identical. One is a circle within a circle; another is a circle with three arrows that almost touch each other, so they they also look like a circle.  They look very similar in instructions, written in a small font.  In addition, instructions are not accurate. For example, a command to switch units does not take a double click of the three arrow control; it also requires a press of a circle control, in my experience. Each operation takes about three seconds to work, so it is not immediately clear if the command worked or not. In most cases, I waited, and nothing happened.

I was looking forward to making this unit something I carry in my car because its dimensions are so attractive ( 6 inches long and 2.25 inches wide), but I found it frustrating to use and not reliable enough to use during an emergency.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: Vesafe Wireless Tire Pressure Monitoring System

My Honda CRV has a built-in tire monitoring system, but it only tells me that one of the four tires has low pressure.  It does not give me any numbers or tell me which one of the four tires is low. Vesafe tire pressure monitor solves this problem by showing the pressure of all four tires on the display plugged into the cigarette lighter.

The display runs off power in the cigarette lighter. Each of the four monitors has a battery (CR1632).  When the monitor is removed or the battery runs out of juice the display gadget generates an alarm (I show this in my video).

Installation of the tire monitors is a little fussy, as they require tightening the hex hut with a wrench (this wrench is included in the package).  You also need to loosen the hex nut with the wrench when you remove the monitor to add air to the tires.  The hex nut holds the monitor in place and one cannot remove it without loosening the hex nut. This means you always need to have a wrench in the car in case of an emergency.

Overall, the system worked well.  However, the reading it showed on the display was lower by several PSI compared to measurements by several separate tire pressure testers.  On the positive side, the difference was consistent between several measurements, so it is something I need to keep in mind as I look at the readout.  This monitoring system gives me an early warning and shows which tire is lower than others when the car's build-in system tells me one of the tires is low.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: NEXAS NL101 Code Reader ODBII

I used this scanner with the Honda CRV. It worked without problems.  This is all in one unit, it does not attach your phone, instead it displays information on the build-in the screen.  This unit feels a bit dated because it does not have a touch screen face. Instead one needs to use up-down-left-right controls on the unit.  I found myself touching the screen as it is hard to untrain yourself from using modern apps on the phone.

The Nexas scanner is simple to install and simple to use. All cars and light trucks built and sold in the United States after January 1, 1996, were required to be OBD II equipped. The connector is very distinctive looking, I am including a picture of it in my video for reference. In my car, the connector was located under my dash, slightly to the right of the steering wheel.

The scanner showed me diagnostic information in my car, including the health of my car battery.  You can use it to clear codes if necessary.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Aukee Memory Foam Car Neck Pillow

We purchased several neck pillows because our new Tesla Model 3 has non-adjustable head supports that are not well suited for short passengers (or drivers).  The fixed-position headrest pushes my head forward because my height puts my head at the bottom of the support.  I need to put something under the Tesla support, so my head is not bent forward. This neck support was working pretty well.

The pillow itself is made well and has no odor. One side of it is made from leather, the core is made out of memory foam, and the side that goes towards the seat is made out of the fabric. The back has an elastic belt that goes over the back of the seat.

So annoying to have a new beautiful car that does not feel comfortable. This pillow provided some relief to a poorly designed seat.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Memory Foam Seat Cushion. Orthopedic Car Seat Cushions to Raise Height - not a good car seat booster

This is a 2-star car cushion and 5-star chair cushion  This pillow is NOT designed for a car seat, it is much shorter then a car seat and if when I put on the car seat, its edge cuts into my thighs very uncomfortably and cannot be used. I tried positioning the seat with the signage forward and backward, both orientations are equally uncomfortable.

It is, however, an excellent cushion for a chair or theater/concert seats because it has a good fit for that size seat. 

It is 3" hight and compresses slightly when you sit on it. It has no straps, no anti-skid markings on the bottom. I bought it for a car, so I was disappointed but was able to re-purpose it as a chair cushion for concert halls.  It ads comfort and lift, which is helpful for a short person like me.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Dreamer Car Balanced Softness Memory Foam Driver Seat Cushion Seat Pad with Adjustable Strap for short people

This is a 1-star car cushion and 3-star chair cushion  This pillow is NOT designed for a car seat, it is much shorter then a car seat and if when I put on the car seat, its edge cuts into my thighs very uncomfortably and cannot be used.  It is an ok cushion for a chair or theater/concert seats because it has the size of that seat, not a car seat.  The reason why it is not a great cushion that it compresses so much that it gives me almost no lift at all.

Its loft is about 3" hight but it compresses significantly when you sit on it. It provides very little lift. It has a strap, which works well if you are putting it on an office chair. It has a textured bottom which makes it somewhat non-slip.  I bought it for a car, so I was disappointed but was able to re-purpose it as a cushion for concert halls for my husband who is okay with not getting any lift.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Feagar Car Seat Neck Pillow, Headrest Cushion for short people

 

My husband purchased several neck pillows for me because his new Tesla Model 3 has non-adjustable head supports that are not well suited for short passengers (or drivers).  The fixed-position headrest pushes my head forward because my height puts my head at the bottom of the support.  I need to put something under the Tesla support so my head is not bent forward. This neck support was the best of several we have tried.

The pillow itself is made well and feels pleasant to touch. Most of the problems come from the design of the car seat rather than the neck pillow.


Tesla headrest and seat are one piece, they do not have adjustable headrests with metal stocks. To place the neck pillow where I need it (below the built-in fixed-position of the headrest), I had to make the straps longer so the neck pillow can hang at the lower height.

To make a Feager neck fit the seat, I had to make both the top and the bottom straps longer (so it was lower on the seat) and I needed to remove about 1/2" of the loft, so it does not push my neck forward.  The pillow's design allowed me to make all the adjustments, and its quality is very nice.  So annoying to have a new beautiful car that does not feel comfortable. This pillow provided some relief to a poorly designed seat.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: LANGRIA Infinity-Shape Car Neck Pillow Memory Foam Headrest for short people

My husband purchased several neck pillows for me because his new Tesla Model 3 has unadjustable head supports that are not well suited for short passengers (or drivers).  The fixed-position headrest pushes my head forward because my height puts my head at the bottom of the support.  I need to put something under the Tesla support so my head is not bent forward. LANGRIA neck pillow was slightly helpful but not ideal because it really designed to work with the metal adjustable stocks of the headrest.

Tesla seats do not have adjustable metal stocks, so to place the pillow where I need it (below the built-in fixed-position headrest) I had to make the strap longer so it can hang at the lower height. Because of how the pillow is attached, I have to hold it with my neck by pushing it into the seat which is tiresome.

The pillow itself is made well and feels pleasant to touch. Most of the problems come from the design of the Tesla car seat rather than the neck pillow.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

ILIVABLE Seatbelt Adjuster, Comfort Universal Auto Shoulder Neck Strap Positioner Clips for short people, Vehicle Seat Belt Covers

My husband bought this seatbelt adjuster because our new car is not well designed for short people, even with the seat in its highest position the seat belt was pushing uncomfortably on my neck.

This is an extremely simple gizmo that just works.  It is a sleeve made out of faux leather that locks around two parts of the seatbelt - the part that goes around one's torso and the part the goes over the shoulder. By doing so this sleeve shifts where the seatbelt angles up.  You can adjust it to fit your body.  For me, the portion of the belt that goes up to the side of the car is not pushing on my neck but rather lays on my collar bone.

Once I found the right location for the sleeve and locked in in place, I leave the sleeve on the seat belt so it is there when I need it next.  This worked so well that I took the second sleeve and put in my car as well.  Even though I did not have a chocking problem the way my seat belt fit me in my car, I still found a more comfortable position for the seatbelt with this sleeve on.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Alloyseed Portable Tire Inflator with Auto Shut Off

This is a very fast tire inflator.  It works much faster than my old air pump.  My favorite feature is that it has auto shut-off when it reaches the pressure I pre-set in advance. I do not have to stop and measure the pressure until I get it right.  The valve has a lever closure, so very little air escapes when I open and close it. I prefer it to the valve that require screwing in.

I attached video you see how I set it to the goal of 33 PSI.   When I set it to 33 PSI my 4 tires ended either with 32PSI.  At each step I double checked the pressure with a different pressure meter and the pressure was correct.

This inflator has a long power cable that allows me to reach the front and the back tires easily.  In addition it has a fairly long air hose that reaches the nozzle even if it is at the top of the wheel.  The unit weighs 1 pounds and 14.4 oz.

The unit is easy to operate: pressing 'M' button on the front of the pump changes pressure unit (bal Kpa, psi,kg/cm). Up and down arrows change the pressure.  Big on/off button starts/ends the air flow.  The light on the unit is not super bright, but it is okay.  The light has sos mode and warning light, the mode can be changed by pressing the button on the front.

I also like how easy it is to pack up.  The power cord wraps around a wheel in the back,  The tire hose easily fits into a compartment on the side.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: UEB Portable 4 Ports USB Car Charger - used with Nexus 6p

  

We usually travel with a lot of gadgets so a 4 port car charger is very useful to us. However, the key question how well it performs with Nexus 6p which is used for navigation, so it needs to be able to charge at an optimal rate. Nexus 6p has a capability for rapid charging, which means it can draw up to 2.5A when the battery is low. Rapid charging is incredibly fast, it is such a nice feature that any charger that cannot support this rapid charging is disqualified.

Prior to testing the charger, I read the specs of the charger and I was disappointed to see that it has very rigid specs for each port (best chargers have a smart chip that allow each port of a charger to work equally well with different mobile devices).

The spec listed the following information:
iPhone port provides 1 A/5V
iPad port provides 2.1 A/5V
Samsung port provides 1.3 A/5V
Android port provides 0.6 A/5V

Fortunately, when I tested each port the spec information proved to be incorrect and each port is not limited to stated limits.
I tested Nexus 6p with both 3.1 compliant and 3.1 non-compliant charging cables.

What is 3.1 compliant cable? USB 3.1 spec specifies that the termination resistor that advertises the maximum available current should be set at 22K which advertises 1.5A of current. Benson Leung has a series of excellent reviews of Type C cables. Benson works for Google's Pixel group and has pointed out that many type-C cables violate the USB 3.1 specification that states that the termination resistor that advertises the maximum available current has been set incorrectly at 10K which advertises 3A of current rather than the correct value of 22K which advertises 1.5A of current. The "bug" in non-compliant cables can be used as a feature of allowing rapid charging for Nexus 6p. The phone does not draw more than 2.5A so it does not damage the phone. The non-compliant cable could be harmful to devices that are not limited to 2.5A such as the ones that Benson evaluated in his reviews.

Nexus 6p, charge level 46-51% keeping all other variables the same (at this level Nexus 6p uses rapid charging if possible)

* Using Tenswall USB 3.1 non-compliant cable
Android port_.._.._.._.._.._.._ 2430 mA (excellent)
iPhone port_.._.._.._.._.._..__ 2320 mA (excellent)
iPad port_.._.._.._.._.._.._.._ 2330 mA (excellent)
Samsung port_.._.._.._.._.._.._ 2310 mA (excellent)

* Using PECHAM USB 3.1 compliant cable
Android port_.._.._.._.._.._.._ 800 mA (bad)
iPhone port_.._.._.._.._.._..__ 1280 mA (ok)
iPad port_.._.._.._.._.._.._.._ 1330 mA (ok)
Samsung port_.._.._.._.._.._.._ 1320 mA (ok)

With a rapid charging non-compliant cable Nexus 6p is getting rapid charging on every port. With a compliant 3.1 USB cable I am not getting rapid charging, but it performs reasonably on every port but the port labeled "Android".

I received this car charger for evaluation and review. Getting a free product to review does not effect what I say. My review and opinions are purely my own based on testing and my experience with many different car chargers.

You can find UEB Car Charger on Amazon via this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: K&F Concept® Full HD 1080P Car Video Camera 2.0" Mini Car DVR Dash Cam

The video quality that KF concepts camera records is pretty decent especially at night, however I ran into several problems with it. First, the camera is shipped with the default language set to Chinese. The manual is not detailed and has no information on how to change the language. I had to manually select every option on the menus one by one remembering what I already looked at by position (I do not read Chinese) until I found a menu choice that allowed me to switch the menus to English. I show where that option is located in my video. The second problem was the mount does not stay on the windshield during cold weather. We had a cold stretch of weather (12°F in the morning) and the suction cup mount does not stay on the windshield at this temperature. In the afternoons when the weather warms up I am able to mount it and stays for as long as I need. So if you live in a cold weather this dash cam will not work well for you. The mount is custom made for this camera, so you cannot replace it with another better mount.

On the positive side I like that the dash cam's compact size (2.25" x 2.25" x 0.75"). It does not block much of the windshield. The video quality is fine. It is not as good as 4K cameras, but quite reasonable and it does quite well at night. My video includes snippets under various conditions - day and night. 170° wide angle lens gives a good view of the entire road.

It turns on as soon as it gets power so you don't have to remember to turn it on. It can be turned off manually if desired. It is powered by a regular mini USB cable. The package includes a 32GB Class 10 micro SD.

When the dash cam writes out files to disks it saves them every few minutes, this is good, because if there is a problem you lose just a small segment not the entire video. I have not had any corrupted files with camera, but from experience with other cameras I now it can happen. I should note that the camera does not write out files to a standard directories. It creates three directories: event, jpg, and video. It uses JPG directory instead of DCIM for photos.

I received this camera for testing and review as part of a new product introduction. Overall, the camera has its pros and con. Hopefully, the manufacturer will fix the default language in the future versions of the camera, and I provided some help in how to do it now. So the only serious issue here is for the folks in the cold climates is the issue with the mount.

YOu can find K&F Concept Dash Cam on Amazon via this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Z-Edge Car DVR Dash Cam

Through the years we owned a few dash cams which gives me a chance to compare Zedge with other car dvrs. Zedge video quality is pretty decent, the colors seem to be a little washed out, but the clarity is good during the day and during the night. The suction cup worked well even on very cold days (it never let go and fell off). The user interface however was not as intuitive as other dash cams. It has a menu driven interface which I like, but the navigation though the menus were not as intuitive or easy to remember.

' This camera comes with a 32G Class 10 micro sd card, and will work with 64g gig card.

' I had no technical issues of any kind. All files were readable. The camera writes out video frequently, by default it saves a file every 1 minute. The size of each segment in my video was about 125.9MB. Writing small files improves overall reliability. It is much better than writing one large file at the end of the trip.

' The dash cam uses stands micro USB cables, the package includes a charging cable and a cable with car port charger.

' Audio is recorded clearly, the default setting is to record with the microphone turned on. It can be turned off with one button push on the side.

' Motion activation mode/parking mode is very sensitive. I hear the camera turning on and off without any particular reason. I am not sure what is activating it. As a result there is a lot of uninteresting files saved in 'event' mode. On the positive side it records even with the car not running.

Overall, I thought this dash cam falls in the middle of the pack. The video is reasonable although not the best, user interface is menu driven and logical but navigation through menus is not as simple as other dash cams.

I received this camera for testing and review. Getting a free unit does not effect what I say. The review is based purely how the dash cam worked in my experience based on my experience with a variety of different car dash cams. So far after two weeks of use the dash cam had no issues. I will post an update if it dies prematurely as I saw some people reported problems after more extended use than the 2 weeks I had with it so far.

You can find Z-Edge dash cam by following this link to Amazon.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: KEHAN KH903-50VP Super HD 2560*1080 Car DVR Dash Cam

Through the years we own a few dash cams which gives me a chance to compare Kehan with other car dvrs. Kehan video quality is on par with the best and it has a couple of unique features. Note that the video included with this review is highly compressed and does not represent what you get straight out of the camera.

♦ The unique feature I value most is that it works with 64G micro SD cards (where as my other dash cams could only do 32G).

♦ The second difference is that the dvr itself is very compact both in thickness and overall size. The buttons that control the action are on the bottom of the camera. The labels are on the front of the camera above the controls. This configuration decreases the dimensions of the dash cam, which I like because it covers less of the windshield.

♦ One other small but nice thing is that I did not have to set the time, the dash was automatically set using GPS as soon as I turned on the camera for the first time.

♦ The video quality is very good. Attached video shows the camera under different conditions: overcast, sunny, driving into the sun, driving when it is totally dark. It has done well even under challeging condition, driving into the sun and at night it was able to adjust for high contrast better than the other dash cams.

♦ I had no technical issues of any kind. All files were readable. The camera writes out video frequently (not one large file at the end as some cameras do) which improves overall reliability. By default the camera writes out files every 2 minutes, each file is 188.9MB when shot in 1920 x 1080 (the default).

♦ This camera has an excellent suction cup mount, stayed on even on rough roads.

♦ The dash cam uses stands micro USB cables, the package includes a chargine cable and a cable with car port adapter. One minor quip is that the USB cord just reaches the usb charger in our car. I would have liked it about 3 inches longer, but replacing a USB cable is so easy that this is really very minor.

♦ The cam has an LED display so I can tell that the cam is aimed correctly, by default displays on so I can see the camera is capturing.

♦ Audio is recorded clearly, the default setting is to record with the microphone turned on.

♦ Keehan camera has an auto turn on/auto turn off feature. It turns on as soon as it gets power so you don't have to remember to turn it on. It can be turned off manually if desired. When it is turned on and turned off it greets you and when you turn it off it says good bye. For me it is a don't care, but for some reason my husband really likes it and talks back to it!

♦ The user interface is straightforward and the manual is one of the better one I have seen explaining every function in a grid table.

♦ Here are a couple of notes on usage that were not in the manual.
- To see the menu you need to hit "ok" to stop recording first
- To get to settings you need to hit the mode button followed by the menu button, then navigate with up and down keys
- While you are driving the microphone can be turned on and turned off by pressing "mode" button, which is the second one from the right when looking at the screen

Overall, I was impressed with the camera and the video it captured.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: AUSDOM Dash Cam Recorder, All-in-One Automobile Car DVR

We own a couple of dash cams and this one does pretty well compared to the others:

1) video quality - decent during the day day and during the night. You can see the video it took during the day in the sun and at night. The colors are a little bit washed in the sun, and at night the oncoming lights are slightly overexposed in order to capture video in the dark. Both are acceptable for a car dash cam, although I would not use it to capture a special occasion as I would want the colors captured better.
2) This camera has an excellent suction cup mount, stayed on even on rough roads.
3) The dash cam uses stands micro USB cables, the package includes two cables long (47") and longer (138").
4) The cam has an LED display so I can tell that the cam is aimed correctly, the displays does turn off while I am driving and so far I have not found an option that would allow it to stay on permanently.

Ausdom cam records video, GPS, and audio. It has an auto turn on/auto turn off feature. It turns on as soon as it gets power so you don't have to remember to turn it on. It can be turned off manually if desired.

This video recorder has many options: video quality, recording in a loop or stopping when disk is full, recording all the time or only when motion is detected, and so forth. The camera records full HD 1080p video, the clarity of the video is very good.

In attached video I show video of the Ausdom cam as well as the video recorded by the cam.

The Ausdom package includes the camera, two mini USB cables, and cigarette lighter USB adapter.

The user interface is straightforward and even though the manual does not contain details for each button and each option, it contains a picture where each button's function is labelled. I found the manual sufficient to configure my video cam. All defaults were very reasonable.

Overall, I was impressed with the camera and the video it captured.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: AVANTEK In-Car Universal Wireless FM Transmitter Radio Adapter Car Kit

I have been using FM transmitters in my car for many years as I like listening to audio books in my car. I have used several FM transmitters in the past and this one falls in the middle of the pack.

First thing you need to know that this transmitter is not bluetooth enabled. You can use either with an audio cable to connect to the phone or MP3 player or by streaming audio from a USB memory stick. So this transmitter is ideal for MP3 players that are not bluetooth enabled and my favorite method USB stick, but I don't see it being particularly useful with a phone that is bluetooth enabled.

As you see in the video it works the memory stick well. The sound is as good as your car speakers, of course. The main job of the transmitter is to stay in contact with an empty FM station for a clear sound, and this transmitter allows you to select any station you want - no limited number of pre-sets as some of the other FM transmitters I encountered.

To find vacant FM stations in my area I used a web site "radio-locator (dot) com/cgi-bin/vacant" where you can enter your zip code and get a list of stations to try.

Once the station is selected Aventek remembers it even when I unplug the transmitter and then plug it back in.

Since I listen to audio book having a bookmark capability (i.e. ability to return to exactly where I left of last time) is key. My favorite FM transmitter by Satechi has a bookmark capability, Aventek does not. This feature is most useful to audio book listening, for music it is not all that significant.

Aventek fits my cigarette firmly. It does not move even when I go over bumps. However its neck is pretty short and it is a little awkward to reach in my car as the car port is very close to the floor. Satechi has a remote control so I don't have to bend down and touch the unit, Aventek does not have a remote.

At the time I am writing this review Satechi transmitter is twice as expensive as the Aventek. So for the music lover who does not need bluetooth the feature difference is not significant, if you need bluetooth or you listen to audio books that the bookmarking feature might be worth the extra money.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Memoscan U380 OBDII Car Diagnostic Scanner Trouble Code Reader

I just got a replacement unit. Unfortunately the second unit also generates "Linking Error!". It appears that the seller has a bad batch of these. I have reviewed another OBD II scanner (a bluetooth unit) and it worked it both cars, so I know the connectors are not faulty. This connector is always on according to documentation. Just in case I have tried running it with the engine off, with the engine on, and with the key on ACC setting.

Original review:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Memoscan scanner did not work with either of our cars even thought both were listed as compatible.

Both Honda CRV and Chrysler 300 work with another OBD II scanner but with Memoscan we get "Linking Error!" which indicates that Memoscan has trouble communicating with the vehicle.

All cars and light trucks built and sold in the United States after January 1, 1996 were required to be OBD II equipped. The connector is very distinctive looking, I am including a picture of it in my video for reference. In both of our cars this connector is located under the dash, under the steering wheel.

The scanner displays information on a small screen on the hand held unit. The scanner works as soon as car is turned on. There is no need to turn on the engine. The scanner goes through a series of messages (see video) but for both of our cars the sequence ends with "Linking error!"

Memoscan comes with an impressive manual. It is well written and easy to understand and includes 36 pages of trouble codes.

I received this device from the manufacturer with a request for testing and review as well as some documentation on how to use the device. The manual and the device look impressive, but it was not able to give us any readings. Note that both units were received via Fulfilment by Amazon, which is my requirement for evaluation products so I could get random sample not a pre-tested unit.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆