Innova OBD2 Scanner 3160RS, ABS SRS Diagnoses

First off, this scanner, as a scanner alone, is very capable and I didn’t have many issues with it. That said, I think it’s important to understand everything what’s being marketed to you: the scanner, the RepairSolutions2 (RS2) software, and the “Support.” Here are some bullet points to consider and things I found annoying:

– If you just want a capable scanner, this one is fine. It picked up and erased codes as needed.

– The RS2 software is hot garbage. As far as I’m concerned, it exists primarily as a means to sell you more cr@p. Push this button to buy an extended car warranty. Push this button to buy a “full history report” on your vehicle. Here’s a list of parts that “might” fail in the next 12 months or 15K miles. Wanna buy them? Push this button!

– In their videos, website, and the docs included with the scanner, they promote that they have an army of ASE certified techs that will be there for you if you have any questions about the product. Basically that they have incredible tech support. This is COMPLETE AND UTTER BS! I called the 800 number and got an answering machine. I tried to initiate a Live Chat during business hours but was informed it was unavailable. I emailed support and over 24 hours later, no reply or even an acknowledgement of my inquiry. I can’t compare Innova’s support to other vendors in this space, but just know that they are completely full of cr@p on their tech support claims.

– As soon as you connect the scanner to the vehicle, it initiates a “Quick Scan.” I don’t want a quick scan, I want a thorough one, but I have to wait until the “Quick Scan” completes before I can initiate a different one. Cool “feature” for novices that don’t know what they’re doing, but obnoxious for those of us who know what we want to do and have to wait for this to complete.

– Want to export, email, or save a report you generated in RS2 so you have something you can cut & paste from as you research an issue or simply want to keep for historical purposes? Wah, wah, wah: no facility exists to accomplish this.

– Want to delete or manage the list of reports that have been generated (like the “Quick Scans” it automatically generates every time you connect your scanner)? Wah, wah, wah: can’t do it.

– Want to cleanly exit the RS2 app without logging out of it, so it doesn’t stay running in the background, and so you don’t have to login with your credentials the next time you need it? You know the drill: wah-wah-wah.

– Want to update the firmware on this scanner to the latest code? Cool, just connect it to your computer. But wait, you need a USB 2.0 Mini-B cable to connect it and Innova doesn’t provide even a cheap one in the box? You are sadly correct! USB 2.0 was standardized 22 years ago, so how many of you have a USB cable with a Mini-B connector on it? I’m surprised there’s not a button in the RS2 app that says, “Click here to buy the most basic things you need to fully use your scanner, suckers!”

I’ve worked in IT for over 2 decades and have been playing with computers and technology for 40+ years. Ya know what strikes me about this scanner tech? It’s really primitive. For $200-400 dollars, you can get a very capable smart phone running the latest OS (iOS or Android), plenty of RAM and storage, modern ports, a quality display, and it can do a TON of other stuff. The same money in the “scanner” space gets you piece of plastic with cheap circuitry, a lousy display, an ancient OS (Android 7.0), limited RAM and storage, and no simple way to export the data it collects. And then they take the same innards, put them in slightly modified plastic cases, and deliberately cripple their capabilities to create different models at different price points. Want to scan 4 systems and reset 5 functions, buy this POS hardware for $200. Want to scan all systems and reset 7 functions, buy this nearly identical POS hardware with a few more bits enabled for $400. And so on. What a racket!

I don’t know how much annual revenue is in this “scanner” space, but we as consumers are being screwed. I’m amazed that Apple, Samsung, or any number of other mobile phone manufacturers haven’t looked at this mess and put these guys out of business with quality hardware & software. It would literally take them 4-6 weeks to do so. Instead, we’re so mesmerized by the idea that we can pull information from the vehicles WE OWN, and without obnoxious dealer costs, with garbage hardware & software, that we sing the praises of these companies that provide us with this crap. It’s really pathetic…Rant over.

Bought this product then realised you have to download a app for it but app only available in usa and Canada no good for uk

I had my doubts at first after relooking at the other Innova code readers 5000 series. But I then tried it out on a 2005 subaru. At first I thought it was a glich the reader telling me that device fuses needed to be replaced. After I did that the battery began holding a charge the previous owners said it wouldn’t. The engine blew after several attempts to get it started. It nearly did start. Anyway, I am very pleased with the Innova Code reader i purchased. I only gave 4 stars as I still haven’t put it thru other tests on other vehicles.

The proprietary scanner for my ’98 bmw no longer works. I wanted to purchase a more universal scanner the could also reset oil and other indicators, and that would also work for my other cars. This one fits the bill. It also come with a free app that allows me to look at the codes in more detail. Very good quality.

Bought for my husband. And he’s used it a number of times. Really helped him. He does the repairs on our vehicles and believe me it saves loads of money not having to take a car to the dealership and get charged like 75 dollars an hour for repairs

I bought this scanner so I could replace the brakes on my 2018 Equinox, which has the electronic parking brake, this scanner did as it said retracted the rear parking brake and reactivated them afterward. It worked as it described, it took a little navigation through the menu, but not terrible. Download the manual from the website, it tells you all. I haven’t used the other functions of the scanner yet, but I’m sure it will work as described.