Once you have your own OBD tool you can monitor fuel trims and such things as pending codes.
Even the cheapest elm327 ($25 ebay) will do.

 

So I took a quick look on Ebay and it seems like the ELM 327 requires a laptop to display and operate? I have one but I rarely use it and I'm thinking it might be great to just carry a reader in the car.

The one I used the other day Autozone was pretty basic but it did the job. I guess one feature I'd like to have had was the ability to record the data and then load it up to the PC to look at.

But I still want to be able see at least something and reset a code without having a laptop in the car.

My cell phone is a smart phone but it's 5 years old so I doubt that's going to be of much help here.

Thoughts & ideas folks?

Thanks

Bob S.

 

You can use a desktop to check for codes and fuel trims etc. But don't drive far LOL

Any other device than a laptop and you will in due course rue the lack of a decent size display and that there will likely be no-one you can usefully send recorded data to.

A rarely-used laptop is fine. Not convenient if you just want to read codes at any time you're out on the road - but why would you want to? If you do, get a cheap hand-held unit. But if you get a P1xxx code, it will tell you the WRONG meaning

You really don't want to reset a code when out and about because you lose all the diagnostic data and sooner or later you'll sure wish you had it. Codes should NOT be popping up (most need 2 cold-to-hot drives) at all let alone so that they're casually reset.