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OBDII options...?


DivingEngineer
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Hello all,

Just a quick introduction, picking up my 67 plate RAV4 Hybrid on Thursday after trading in my Audi A4 (costing too much to run and 9 years old). My names Dale and I live in the North East.

With my Audi I had access to software that plugged into the OBDII port and allowed customisation of basically everthing, called VCDS. If i wanted I could tell the car it was an R8 (but this would destroy the car...). Anyway my question is what is the Toyota version of this? And does anyone had any recommendations/preferences of communications methods/software? Basic stuff like a bleep when locked/unlocked, windows up/down with the unlock/lock button on the key etc.

Test drove the car on Sunday and loved almost everything about it...only a few niggly bits that I plan on fixing/improving myself. While on the subject, does anyone have any suggestions of things that they have done to their RAV4 that you'd recommend?

Thanks in advance!

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Hi, 

The nearest equivalent for Toyota would be Techstream, which together with the necessary cable can bought quite cheaply on eBay. However, please note that there is far less that can be customised on most Toyotas compared to VW group cars. I have owned VWs in the past and used VCDS to change settings on them such as making the heated rear window stay on for longer and enabling both rear fog lights, but that level of customisation is just not possible on a Toyota, even with dealer level software. 

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6 hours ago, yossarian247 said:

Hi, 

The nearest equivalent for Toyota would be Techstream, which together with the necessary cable can bought quite cheaply on Ebay. However, please note that there is far less that can be customised on most Toyotas compared to VW group cars. I have owned VWs in the past and used VCDS to change settings on them such as making the heated rear window stay on for longer and enabling both rear fog lights, but that level of customisation is just not possible on a Toyota, even with dealer level software. 

Thanks for clarifying, I'd spoken with my mate who has VCDS and he said that he wasn't sure that there was such software for a Toyota as they don't use the reprogrammable modules, they just need to be swapped out. Do you know what kind of options are available to adjust? It's relatively basic things I want to change like I mentioned before.

Do you have Techstream yourself? Had a quick search of Fleabay and there seems to be a lot of versions of it, just wondered if you can clarify which version works the best.

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The list of configurable options is usually at the back of the full owner's manual (downloadable for free from this Toyota website:  https://www.toyota-europe.com/tme#/my-toyota/ ) - this manual is a more complete one than the manual that now comes with the car.

Or, if you open this link for the Carista OBD2-based phone app, select your car make and model, then click on the "Customizations" menu, then "See sample Customizations".  There is a slider bar on the right hand side of the text which is not obvious.  Using this slider you can see what Carista says you can adjust with their app.

This list would be correct if you had a 'maxed-out' spec. on your car.  The Toyota dealer can change these options using their dealer Toyota Techstream software/hardware, or you could do this if you bought an eBay copy - which will be a 'cracked' copy of Techstream.  Although, as the Carista app is an internationally sold product (I think),  not all the features shown are on all cars suggested. The full Carista app is a 'paid-for' service, for what it's worth.

https://caristaapp.com/

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3 hours ago, Gerg said:

The list of configurable options is usually at the back of the full owner's manual (downloadable for free from this Toyota website:  https://www.toyota-europe.com/tme#/my-toyota/ ) - this manual is a more complete one than the manual that now comes with the car.

Or, if you open this link for the Carista OBD2-based phone app, select your car make and model, then click on the "Customizations" menu, then "See sample Customizations".  There is a slider bar on the right hand side of the text which is not obvious.  Using this slider you can see what Carista says you can adjust with their app.

This list would be correct if you had a 'maxed-out' spec. on your car.  The Toyota dealer can change these options using their dealer Toyota Techstream software/hardware, or you could do this if you bought an eBay copy - which will be a 'cracked' copy of Techstream.  Although, as the Carista app is an internationally sold product (I think),  not all the features shown are on all cars suggested. The full Carista app is a 'paid-for' service, for what it's worth.

https://caristaapp.com/

Cheers for the info. Decided to take the plunge and order a copy of Techstream, purely because of the subscription cost of Carista. As handy as a bluetooth module for my phone would be, I'd rather just a one off payment.

Had a flick through the Carista options for my car though and they seem to more or less meet the customisation options that I want, so seems like I should be happy with what I can do! At least in the early stages of tinkering!

Thanks again!

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Carista is nothing more than an app that uses the common knock off ELM interface

Techstream is a very powerful tool but it takes time to learn, basically trial and error as it's not all that logical or has any sort of flow for some tasks

Here's an example of some options i can change on the yaris

 

Click to enlarge

ac.thumb.JPG.6a9c86d861af5f69ad91b4d137e499f0.JPG581240442_doorchime.thumb.JPG.b64389731745f0c78d118b8cc27c1d4e.JPGwarning.thumb.JPG.0558ef373fb38ddf72b2d22b92a26695.JPG

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23 minutes ago, flash22 said:

Carista is nothing more than an app that uses the common knock off ELM interface

Techstream is a very powerful tool but it takes time to learn, basically trial and error as it's not all that logical or has any sort of flow for some tasks

Here's an example of some options i can change on the yaris

 

Click to enlarge

ac.thumb.JPG.6a9c86d861af5f69ad91b4d137e499f0.JPG581240442_doorchime.thumb.JPG.b64389731745f0c78d118b8cc27c1d4e.JPGwarning.thumb.JPG.0558ef373fb38ddf72b2d22b92a26695.JPG

Glad to hear I've went for the better option then. Thanks for that!

Nice to see it has some of the 'questionable' phrasing I'm used to from using VCDS on the Audi, I predict google will be my friend on that front. Thanks for showing me the examples!

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i have used a few systems over the years, VCDS can get highly complex - did a bit of work on a mk3 golf that had issues (early obd2) and borrowed a setup

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I have Techstream and it is certainly a lot more useful than Carista. I looked at Carista but the regular subscription and the limited range of features put me off.

VCDS definitely can get complex and needs a lot of patience to understand it for a start. It is possible to go too far and do damage with VCDS if you're not careful. I get the impression that Techstream is a bit more foolproof in that respect. One feature I did like with VCDS was the ability to correct the fuel computer MPG reading by a + or - percentage to make it bang-on accurate. I wish there was a way of doing that on Toyotas but I've never found one.

 

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4 hours ago, yossarian247 said:

I have Techstream and it is certainly a lot more useful than Carista. I looked at Carista but the regular subscription and the limited range of features put me off.

VCDS definitely can get complex and needs a lot of patience to understand it for a start. It is possible to go too far and do damage with VCDS if you're not careful. I get the impression that Techstream is a bit more foolproof in that respect. One feature I did like with VCDS was the ability to correct the fuel computer MPG reading by a + or - percentage to make it bang-on accurate. I wish there was a way of doing that on Toyotas but I've never found one.

 

What dongle are you using and from where please ?, I just sold my old VCDS for £350 so have some cash to buy something for the Rav.

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18 minutes ago, 182_blue said:

What dongle are you using and from where please ?, I just sold my old VCDS for £350 so have some cash to buy something for the Rav.

Only a £25 cheapy from eBay, purchased a couple of years ago. It came bundled with a cracked version of the Techstream software.

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1 hour ago, 182_blue said:

What dongle are you using and from where please ?, I just sold my old VCDS for £350 so have some cash to buy something for the Rav.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363025651764
 

I’ve just bought this one 2 days ago, expecting delivery in the next couple days. I’ll let you know how it is!

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On 8/26/2020 at 2:05 PM, flash22 said:

Carista is nothing more than an app that uses the common knock off ELM interface

Techstream is a very powerful tool but it takes time to learn, basically trial and error as it's not all that logical or has any sort of flow for some tasks

Here's an example of some options i can change on the yaris

 

Click to enlarge

ac.thumb.JPG.6a9c86d861af5f69ad91b4d137e499f0.JPG581240442_doorchime.thumb.JPG.b64389731745f0c78d118b8cc27c1d4e.JPGwarning.thumb.JPG.0558ef373fb38ddf72b2d22b92a26695.JPG

Out of interest can you add a second set of TPMS with this app ?

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It's not an app, its windows based, TPMS - remove the old numbers, key in the new ones or do a re-learn

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2 hours ago, flash22 said:

It's not an app, its windows based, TPMS - remove the old numbers, key in the new ones or do a re-learn

Sorry force of habit !, I was aware it was a program.

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