5 Best Car Diagnostic Software in 2024

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If you have any issues with your vehicle, the best car diagnostic software will help you learn what is amiss. It allows you to diagnose car problems without any prior knowledge. For instance, you can use it to check whether you need to take your car to the service or you can quickly solve a problem by yourself.

Top 5 Car Diagnostic Software

  1. ProScan - Allows generating diagnostics report
  2. TOAD Scanning Tool - Monitors real-time data
  3. OBDwiz - Export data logging to CSV format
  4. FORScan - Easy to find codes
  5. PCMScan - Highly configurable

Vehicle diagnostics tools are easy to use as you just need to plug them into your dashboard. After that, you will be notified if there is any problem with your car.

Using the best car diagnostic software, you can be sure that you will receive a short summary of every issue. It will allow you to understand the severity of a problem and get detailed instructions on the steps you need to take.

1. ProScan - Our Choice

Allows generating diagnostics report
  • Fuel Economy adjustments
  • Convert between English and metric units
  • Calculate performance statistics
  • Test vehicle’s oxygen sensors
  • Slow updates

Verdict: If you keep your ProScan car diagnostic software, you can always check your engine pressure, tire pressure, and a host of other factors that can cause you to spend more money on your vehicle repairs. Not only can this system tell you if there is a problem, but it can also tell you how long the problem has been going on, and if you can fix it yourself or not.

This OBD2 software for Windows is designed in such a way that it will automatically notify you when problems occur so that you can address them right away.

proscan interface

2. TOAD Scanning Tool

Monitors real-time data
  • Diagnosing common problems
  • Great for optimizing fuel consumption
  • Shows and fixes many problems without a professional mechanic
  • Revealing car’s CO2 emissions
  • Interface is confusing

Verdict: The TOAD Scanning Tool is the most widely used software program for the purpose of performing scan tests on cars. The software can be used to check engine lights, fuel system, tire pressure, and even the status of airbags.

The TOAD Scanning Tool is also used to diagnose a variety of common problems in cars and other automobiles like problems with the accelerator, brakes, transmission, signals, etc. This software runs very fast on AMD Ryzen laptops and has no major drawbacks.

toad scanning tool interface

3. OBDwiz

Export data logging to CSV format
  • Supports all OBD-II compliant vehicles
  • Customizable real-time dashboard display
  • Record and playback of monitored data
  • Diagnostic trouble codes
  • Only for Windows

Verdict: OBDwiz is a computer-based tool that will help you diagnose and repair your vehicle's computer system. This system includes the Diagnostic Trouble Code Registry (DTCR), the Vehicle Data Recorder (VDR), the CAN bus Emulator and the PC accessory interface. These components are used to interface with the OBD computer.

The OBDwiz software can be used to make the repairs for you or even to refer to the existing diagnostic scan results and the maintenance logs. I also advise you to get an engine tuning laptop if you need a good device to run this car diagnostic software.

obdwiz car diagnostic software interface

4. FORScan

Easy to find codes
  • ​Easy to find codes
  • Displays live sensor data
  • Runs service procedures
  • Save and store information for later
  • Outperforms competitors

Verdict: This car diagnostic software not only aids the technician to determine the faults of the automobile, but it also aids the technician to fix the fault of the automobile with a minimum cost. This is possible because the software has been modified to make it compatible with the computers that are manufactured by different car brands and make.

This way, whenever there is a problem with a particular brand of computer, the software uses the same program that is used by the manufacturer of that specific brand of the automobile to determine the fault of the automobile and to fix it with a minimum cost.

forscan car diagnostic software interface

5. PCMScan

Highly configurable
  • Works on both computer and mobile device
  • Wireless capabilities
  • Easy to read backlit screen
  • Contains all Honda’s codes
  • May not work on all vehicles
  • Requires a separate scanner

Verdict: PCMScan is a simple program for troubleshooting Asian, American and European vehicles. To activate it, you just need to connect any device that supports the Obd2 protocol to the car, after which you can use all its functions, such as determining data from a freeze frame, displaying error codes, testing various elements and providing general information about the car.

Please note that this utility does not support machines older than 1996.

pcmscan car diagnostic software interface
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