What’s the best Mercedes diagnostic tool?
If you own or drive a Benz, chances are you ponder over that question quite a lot. And let’s face it, Mercedes mechanics tend to charge high prices for simple diagnoses and fixes.
There’s a solution though: equip yourself with the best OBD2 Scanner for Mercedes. In addition to doing your own diagnostics, you’ll be able to fix minor issues that don’t need a professional mechanic. Issues that you wouldn’t know existed if you didn’t have a Mercedes OBD2 scanner.
What’s a Mercedes Benz Scanner?
Just in case you’re wondering, a Mercedes scan tool is an on-board diagnostics (OBD) device for Mercedes Benz vehicles. It diagnoses your car, identifies problems that exist in various systems and then gives you that information.
If the issue is minor (like open gas cap), you can go ahead and fix it yourself. If it’s a major issue (like busted powertrain control module (PCM)), you can seek the help of a mechanic. Either way, the scanner will save you the time and money you would’ve spent getting a diagnostics report from the shop.
Now, the only problem is that there are so many brands and makes of Mercedes scanners. How do you know which one to pick? Below is a helpful review covering 7 of the best from which you can choose one.
Side Note: if you’re short on time, simply pick the FIXD™ scanner; it’s the best scanner for all Benz models. Otherwise read on to find out how it stacks up against other great Mercedes scanners.
Foxwell can genuinely challenge iCarsoft as the best OBD2 scanner for Mercedes. But not just any Foxwell, it has to be the FOXWELL NT510 Elite Mercedes Scan Tool. This is the upgraded 2019 version and it packs all the good attributes.
Full system diagnostics. This is one of the features that put the NT510 Elite among the best Mercedes Benz scanner diagnostic tools. It gives you unparalleled access to on-board systems like the engine, ABS, transmission, SRS, chassis, body and so on. It doesn’t matter where the problem is, this scanner will pinpoint it with utmost accuracy.
Vehicle info, codes and data. Speaking of pinpointing, the Foxwell NT510 Elite singles out problems using codes, freeze frame and live stream data. First it automatically identifies the model, year, VIN and CVN of your Mercedes Benz.
Then, it pulls trouble codes from all available systems, including the engine. You can clear the codes and turn off the Check Engine Light and other warning lights. That shouldn’t be so hard because the codes come with freeze frame data.
In case there are more issues, you can proceed to pinpoint them using live data. The NT510 Elite will show you exactly which parameters are out of the normal range. You can view that data as PIDs; which is good when you want to compare graphs.
Reset functions. Use the Foxwell NT510 Elite to reset the CEL, ABS light, SRS light, TPMS service, oil service, CBS service, EPB light and so on. Such resets are necessary after a repair or maintenance session.
Service functions. Here you can regenerate the DPF, bleed ABS, adjust throttle body, calibrate SAS, register and maintain battery, service TPMS etc. As you may have already guessed, these are all functions that keep on-board systems in good health.
Programming and bi-directional tests. Programming is not the NT510’s strongest feature, but you can still do TPMS programming. It’s actually TPMS adaptation, which is basically making a TPMS sensor compatible with the ECU.
Bi-directional test is where this Benz scan tool comes into its own. You can activate and deactivate components as if they were being controlled by the ECU. For example, you can turn the A/C on/off, roll the windows up/down and control any other system using the scanner.
