For a while, I've been wanting a new vehicle diagnostic computer that does more than just reading and clearing DTCs, service intervals, etc., and that was all my Innova 3100j from Crappy Tire was capable of at the
best of times. My research found that there were some Foxwell and Autel units that were pretty capable, but for big money. Then I found the Launch X431 series, but even the cheapest X431 (Pro Mini) was $749 USD for what was really just a tablet, Bluetooth diagnostic interface, and an app, and you still have to pay per-year for a full manufacturer-specific diagnostic suite if you want to get deep into that brand.
Here's my little discovery to share with all of you: the ThinkDiag.
If all you care about is getting damn near full manufacturer functionality (on par with the above professional units) and don't mind using your existing phone or tablet, it's hard to beat for $109 USD. The same manufacturer subscription model as above still applies; you can allegedly buy hacked versions that includes everything, but I wasn't willing to take that risk. I also didn't want to get my iPhone all gross working on a car while also trying to use diagnostics on my phone, I still needed a dedicated tablet for it. The X431s and other shop-grade tools come with a nice rubberized casing which make them suitable for being used in a shop environment, most consumer tablets are relatively fragile and still somewhat expensive.
So I picked up the following:
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ThinkDiag (obviously) - $109 USD / $140 CAD
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Amazon Fire HD 8 32 GB - $75 CAD on sale
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Black foam rubber Fire HD 8 case with foldable handle - $19 CAD
Total: $234 CAD for a setup that does the same thing as the X431s and Autels of the world.
If you're doing this yourself, you'll need to sideload the ThinkDiag+ 2.3.5 APK; it isn't in the Amazon Appstore, and the Google Play Store -- once it, too, gets sideloaded -- claims the app is incompatible with the Fire tablets, presumably due to running Fire OS and the devs having not checked a certain box somewhere during app publishing; it operates just fine.
Should you desire a smaller and $10 cheaper version, the
base model Fire 7 is only $69 and has the
same rubber case available for it at the same price. I did the HD 8 because it's a better tablet for the money, but that same case is available for a ton of different tablets so, hell, find a cheap one on Kijiji or eBay if you want. The star of the story is the ThinkDiag. I really recommend it if you wrench on your own vehicles.
End result:
