Topdon ArtiDiag500 OBD-II scanner review

Our Verdict

One of the nearly capable OBD-II scanners bachelor, the Topdon ArtiDiag500 has a large color touchscreen, Wi-Fi and the power to dig deep into a vehicle's operations. It deserves to exist in your toolbox.

For

• Excellent array of diagnostic tests
• Large color touchscreen
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• Rugged design with soft edges

Confronting

• Large and heavy
• Short cable
• Cumbersome to hold
• Doesn't fit in case

Tom's Guide Verdict

1 of the well-nigh capable OBD-II scanners bachelor, the Topdon ArtiDiag500 has a large colour touchscreen, Wi-Fi and the ability to dig deep into a vehicle'due south operations. It deserves to exist in your toolbox.

Pros

• +

  Excellent assortment of diagnostic tests

• +

  Big color touchscreen

• +

  Wi-Fi connectivity

• +

  Rugged design with soft edges

Cons

• -

  Big and heavy

• -

  Short cable

• -

  Cumbersome to concord

• -

  Doesn't fit in example

Topdon ArtiDiag500: Specs

Size: 9.1 ten 4.9 x one.4 inches
Weight: 1.6 pounds
Live information: Yep
Display blazon and size: Color touchscreen, 5-inch
Number of keys: 4
Bluetooth & app: No
Handheld: Aye
Warranty: 2 years

One of the best OBD-2 automotive diagnostic scanners, and 1 that straddles the line between amateur and professional users, the Topdon ArtiDiag500 not but has a big colour touchscreen and Wi-Fi capabilities simply besides includes an automotive health written report and can turn off the "change oil" low-cal.

The ArtiDiag 500 is big and heavy, and its cablevision is too curt. Still, information technology just might be the all-time $170 a car possessor can spend on a diagnostic tool. It's one of our two Editor's Pick picks for best OBD-II scanners.

Read on for the residuum of our Topdon ArtiDiag500 review.

Topdon ArtiDiag500: Pricing and availability

When you lot consider all the Topdon ArtiDiag500 does, its $170 price tag makes it a bargain. The company sells a range of OBD-2 gear, from the $20 TD300 code reader to the flagship $three,300 Phoenix Pro professional organization.

Topdon ArtiDiag500: Design

Aimed at both professional mechanics and wannabes, the Topdon ArtiDiag500 is one of the best horizontal OBD scanners available for the price.

The unit is 9.one 10 4.9 x one.four inches, making information technology one of the biggest scanners available. Its soft rubber edging means that it tin can stand to beingness dropped in a garage or outdoors. At one.four-pounds, notwithstanding, it's twice the weight of many of its competitors.

(Prototype credit: Topdon)

Despite inset grips in the back, the ArtiDiag500 can be cumbersome to hold in one mitt. It comes with a padded case, but the scanner won't fit with its cable attached. Fortunately, it's easy to disconnect the cable when stowing the unit of measurement.

Looking like an overgrown portable gaming console, the ArtiDiag500 has a 5-inch horizontal colour touchscreen that shows 1280 ten 800 resolution and reliably responds to touches and swipes. It's significantly larger than the 4.three-inch non-touch screen on the other horizontal OBD-Two scanner we liked, the Foxwell NT614 Elite.

Based on Android 7.1, the ArtiDiag500'southward software is icon-based and always displays a battery indicator in the upper left corner displaying the scanner'southward current charge level.

The main screen has sections for Diagnose, running a I/Grand pre-inspection test, OBD-II details and the vehicle's battery voltage. There are also icons for upgrading the scanner'due south system, looking at the raw data and making configuration changes in the settings.

(Image credit: Topdon)

The ArtiDiag500'southward four-way navigation knob has an on/off switch also as buttons for Dwelling house, OK and Go Back. But the touchscreen is a game changer for this class of OBD-Ii scanner. I found myself using the touchscreen more than the buttons.

The ArtiDiag500 can monitor the anti-lock brakes, airbags and bombardment, and also display and graph live car data.

The scanner's battery tin can power it when it's not connected to a motorcar, but information technology requires a USB ability source to recharge information technology; the device includes a USB cable but not an AC adapter.

Topdon ArtiDiag500: Performance

Later I plugged the Topdon ArtiDiag500 into my car'due south OBD-Two port, I started the scanner'due south innovative Automatic Arrangement Detection fashion. It plant a couple of things that needed my attention, showed me the vehicle identification numbers (VINs) for each of my cars and found the fault that I manually introduced (a disconnected oil-temperature sensor).

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The ArtiDiag500'southward Wellness report took about xxx seconds to compile and showed me areas of potential major concern, such as the engine command computer or the ABS arrangement. It also let me pick the categories for automatic scanning and turn off the oil maintenance lite.

Epitome 1 of 2

(Epitome credit: Tom's Guide)

Epitome 2 of 2

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

I was able to read the data stream from a multifariousness of automotive sensors and colorfully graph them. Anything I retrieved could be sent as an electronic mail via the Wi-Fi connection. The Wi-Fi link is also for updating the system'south software.

Topdon ArtiDiag500: Setup

Because of its Wi-Fi capabilities, the Topdon AritDiag500 took a few actress minutes to fix. After selecting my language, I needed to option my Wi-Fi network and enter the passcode. It worked fine on my dwelling's wireless LAN too as on my phone's hotspot.

The ArtiDiag500 took roughly 20 seconds to link with my automobile, simply with a cable of merely 47 inches, it barely reached into the engine bay. However, it worked well with a third-party OBD-II extension cable.

The scanner comes with a curt booklet that Topdon calls a User Transmission but getting the most out of the scanner volition require some trial and error. Its two-year warranty and lifetime updates get beyond the bones coverage that other scanner makers provide.

Topdon ArtiDiag500 review: Lesser line

Topdon'southward ArtiDiag 500 offers an in-depth look inside any car's operations and does a lot for $170. Its fantabulous array of diagnostic tests, Wi-Fi connectivity and game-irresolute 5-inch touchscreen are held back past the ArtiDiag500'south large, heavy and cumbersome example, besides as its likewise-short cable. However, it's a lot of OBD-II scanner for the coin.

Brian Nadel is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in engineering reporting and reviewing. He works out of the suburban New York Metropolis surface area and has covered topics from nuclear ability plants and Wi-Fi routers to cars and tablets. The erstwhile editor-in-primary of Mobile Computing and Communications, Nadel is the recipient of the TransPacific Writing Award.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/topdon-artidiag500

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