Launch Tech® - X-431 Torque III Scan Tool Tablet

Actually came with more memory and ram than advertised and is working perfectly best money I’ve spent on tools it is working with the launch Tom’s tool the battery tester and camera exactly as said it would, I feel some of the negative reviews are from people not installing updates before using or not using it as intended or correctly if you follow the setup instructions and are tablet savy you will love this thing….;

For background information- I am an automotive technician with 17 years in the field, 12 at an independent shop and 5 at a Ford dealership, and I am certified Ford Senior Master Technician.

Our dealership has one IDS, and I have been using Forscan to do the majority of my diag. It’s kind of a pain to take the laptop to the vehicle, do my diag, then return to my box and type up the repair orders. I’m also the only tech at my dealership who has experience with non Ford vehicles, so I get all the non FoMoCo work. I had been looking for a scan tool for a while, and stumbled on this Launch.

I used the funds from 2021 Top Techs program to purchase the scan tool. I ordered it on a sunday, around 10:30pm. The package arrived Tuesday at lunch. For reference, I live in far southwest Texas, and I NEVER get packages this quick with prime. SUPER satisfied with the shipping. The scantool and it’s attachments are in a blow molded case, which is in a box, which was in another box, packaging was more than adequate. The VCI mounts into the casing itself, and securely locks in.

I excitedly powered up the scantool, grabbed the serial sheet and registered the product. Lo and behold, there were tons of updates. I selected update all, and it took roughly an hour over WiFi. After it was done, I set out to use it on a vehicle I had already diagnosed- a 2019 superduty. IDS flagged cylinder 4 as a concern with power balance at -20%, and relative compression at -14%. The X431 immediately showed cylinder 4 as an issue with power balance, and matched the IDS measurement of -14% on relative compression. Sweet. Next I diagnosed a forced idle superduty- the X431 performed a visual leak test on the SCR system and verified no reductant pressure. With no circuit dtcs, I verified power and ground at the reductant pump before tossing one in, and using the X431 to perform a manual regen. It performed flawlessly. Up next was a GMC Acadia with airbag warnings on. The X431 scanned all systems and pulled up passenger pretensioner as an issue. Data logger for the supplemental restraint was excellent- I could monitor component resistances in real time, and the passenger pretensioner circuit was showing 11.4 ohms. Wiggling wires at connectors while monitoring the scantool showed I had a pin fit concern in the connector under the seat, which was easily fixed. I used it on about 20 other vehicles in the first week, and each time it performed perfectly. I even used it to do a PMI on an electric steering rack for a Fusion, and perform a clutch adaptive relearn on a focus. The only issue I had, which wasn’t the scan tools fault, was on a 2019 ram. I had to create an AutoAuth account to access the Ram’s secured gateway module, but after doing so I could perform a regen after having the dodge dealership reflash the pcm.

The scantool let’s you save and print reports, which is nice for showing customers what I retrieved from the vehicle. Battery life is excellent- I haven’t had it go below 70% during any of my times using it. I am super, SUPER happy with this scantool. For $1,300 it’s a hell of a deal. Worth mentioning- it occasionally goes on sale for $999, so be on the look out.

The only gripe I can have about it is the TPMS tool that came with it- it only works for GM. Absolutely will NOT work on fords or dodges… I have no idea why, since they’re the same frequencies, but it is what it is.

I’m sorry for the long review, Iv been waiting 3 2 weeks before writing it because I wanted to be as thorough as necessary. While it doesn’t replace IDS for programming, it’s Ford, GM, Dodge, Toyota and Subaru coverages are absolutely awesome. You can bet your ass I’ll update if anything changes, but as of now I’d give it 10 stars if I could;

great buy;

Works out of box. Turn it on m, hook to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth to VCI. There are tons of features for ford, Mercedes not so much. Haven’t messed with it in the 2020 Mercedes but for a few hours.;

Su facilidad y rapidez; información técnica;