Autologic Review? Comparable Diagnostic Scanners?

[Black96m3]

Hey all. Thinking about buying an Autologic unit for when I move into my new location. These questions go out to those who have knowledge of how useful the unit is and also compared to other comparable units.

What features are lacking from the Autologic unit that say a dealership would have?

How functional is it?

For reflashing, how comprehensive is it for say... a performance reflash on a OBDII E36?

I was told the GT1 is not being supported. Are there any comparable systems out there?


Thanks!~

[eleet]

I don't have autologic, but frankly all the third party tools are lacking. They all proclaim to be the final solution.

"winkfp" can reflash control modules. It's functional equiv. the GT1 facility but you can more easily insert arbitrary firmware to flash. Also, KWP2000+, PAsoft, and cartune should be able to write flash.

For all around diagnosis & repairs GT1 is the best thing to have. The factory tells you it's unsupported, but there is unofficial support available from me and others.

[Black96m3]

im treading into unfamiliar territory... mind if I PM you?

[eleet]

Of course not!

[ccupani]

The Autologic is the best aftermarket tool on the market, period. Don't waste your money with a BMW Factroy tool because they are always changing tools every few years. They also have excellent support when you have a problem.

The Autologic will do everything you can think of. I have used it for 3 years now. Call me at the shop if you want to talk about it.

336.931.0007

Carmine

[Black96m3]

The Autologic is the best aftermarket tool on the market, period. Don't waste your money with a BMW Factroy tool because they are always changing tools every few years. They also have excellent support when you have a problem.

The Autologic will do everything you can think of. I have used it for 3 years now. Call me at the shop if you want to talk about it.

336.931.0007

Carmine

Carmine, thanks I will give you a call.

[NickG]

My friend has the Autologic unit (for BMW and Mercedes) at his shop. While initially it appeared to be a great unit, I can no longer recommend it. The problems are:

- Lately, the tech support is non-existant. My friend has been calling them all this week, and the phone just rings and rings, with nobody answering.

- LOTS of features are missing. For example, I tried to retrofit and recode some modules in an E36, and it said that "this feature has not been implemented". WTF? It's advertised to do it.

- The Mercedes Benz diagnostics were woefully inadequate from the very beginning. Hardly anything worked, and the system needed constant updates for every little feature/function.

- No battery backup. If you power it from the car, and there's a voltage glitch (like starting the car), the unit will reboot. This really hampers productivity

[UltimateM]

The Autologic is the best aftermarket tool on the market, period. Don't waste your money with a BMW Factroy tool because they are always changing tools every few years. They also have excellent support when you have a problem.

The Autologic will do everything you can think of. I have used it for 3 years now. Call me at the shop if you want to talk about it.

336.931.0007

Carmine

I very surprised to hear you think the factory tool is a waste of money, we've been using a GT-1 in our shop for the last 5 years. The only changes that have been made was the addition of the Software Service Station for programming (the programming portion of the GT1, "CIP" was phased out around version 39.X). The SSS also works VERY well and makes the programming via OPPS (optical) possible. The GT1 has had 1 screen failure (touch screen) that occured at the beginning of this year and Siemens sent a replacment unit at a fraction (10%) of the original cost (after 5 years that seems reasonable).

Does the Autologic tool offer Test Plans? Is capable of programming via the MOST bus? These things have become critical if your a full service BMW shop.

[UltimateM]

My friend has the Autologic unit (for BMW and Mercedes) at his shop. While initially it appeared to be a great unit, I can no longer recommend it. The problems are:

- Lately, the tech support is non-existant. My friend has been calling them all this week, and the phone just rings and rings, with nobody answering.

- LOTS of features are missing. For example, I tried to retrofit and recode some modules in an E36, and it said that "this feature has not been implemented". WTF? It's advertised to do it.

- The Mercedes Benz diagnostics were woefully inadequate from the very beginning. Hardly anything worked, and the system needed constant updates for every little feature/function.

- No battery backup. If you power it from the car, and there's a voltage glitch (like starting the car), the unit will reboot. This really hampers productivity


Nick, if your friend needs help with anything coding/programming and it concerns a BMW or MB give me a call (you have my number, Santiago @ Ultimate) I'll be more then happy to help you.

[Tefal]

i thought the Autologic Logic scanner was a excellent tool when i was working at a BMW specialist, Ours had a plug so u could power it from the mains so starting the car had no problems with it reseting/turning off. It will recode units on later cars that i was told by Bmw techs have to be recoded along with alot of the other ECU's,which obviously takes longer

[HBpredhunter]

My friend has the Autologic unit (for BMW and Mercedes) at his shop. While initially it appeared to be a great unit, I can no longer recommend it. The problems are:

- Lately, the tech support is non-existant. My friend has been calling them all this week, and the phone just rings and rings, with nobody answering.

- LOTS of features are missing. For example, I tried to retrofit and recode some modules in an E36, and it said that "this feature has not been implemented". WTF? It's advertised to do it.

- The Mercedes Benz diagnostics were woefully inadequate from the very beginning. Hardly anything worked, and the system needed constant updates for every little feature/function.

- No battery backup. If you power it from the car, and there's a voltage glitch (like starting the car), the unit will reboot. This really hampers productivity



you need to get the power pack adapater to plug into 110ac. then you can restart the cars. without loosing it.

i use an autologic for bmw/merc. at first, Merc sucked but they are updating it pretty good and its almost as functional as the bmw software, which is great. (i was able to on a 2007 ml 350 code 6 different control modules without problem on a car that got the battery hooked up backwards ((sweet!))

i havent had a problem with bmw on anything yet. if you do, just call em up they wil get to u pretty quick.

one rant about autologic is you have to buy new car models... we had to pay extra when the new 6 series came out. i was pissed. its alot of money for autologic too. we have 20,000 tied up in it with both softwares, and we still have to pay a big yearly fee. (something like 1000)

[530alf]

hello ,
530i 2003 e30 , e29 fail transmition program my tac are not working and temperature hot , but the car is not,
Please help.

[JamesM3M5]

hello ,
530i 2003 e30 , e29 fail transmition program my tac are not working and temperature hot , but the car is not,
Please help.
Is this supposed to be a real question?

Take the car to Carr Industries, http://www.carrindustries.com, 336-931-0007 or some other shop in your area. Carr Industries may be a bit far, but your problem is going to need professional diagnosis.

[JamesM3M5]

We use the Autologic as well, and have been rather pleased with it. However we do not see many of the newer models. Mercedes software has always been a tough one to crack since there are dozens of different modules and so many different changes in modules over the years. Snap On SOLUS is supposed to be the new Mercedes factory-supported tool, but I don't know how well they're doing on that one yet. We don't touch Mercedes diags since it's not our specialty.

But for BMW's, the Autologic is the #2 tool next to the GT1. Problem is that the GT1 is pretty much unobtanium.

[motorwerksgroup]

We have an Autologic Diagnostic scanner in excellent condition for sale. It comes with the carrying case, has the BMW and Mercedes-Benz software/firmware on it. In addition, it comes with 2 BMW 20-pin connectors, a 16-pin connector for OBDII cars, a 38-pin Mercedes-Benz multiplexer, and a 16-pin OBDII Mercedes-Benz multiplexer. Also, the AC adapter set and the serial adapter cable is included as well as the DIN extension cable for the diagnostic cables.

We are the original owners and the unit works absolutely perfectly. We are asking $11500 or best offer. Please contact Motorwerks Group (248) 668-6793 and ask for Satish Tummala

Regards,

Satish Tummala
Motorwerks Group LLC

[diffsonline]

isn't 11,500 more than retail? what software updates have you purchased? Must be due to the Benz software. We just finished paying for ours a few months ago.

We have added a lot of the newer software and get excellent tech support from AL and they have even done some custom retrofit stuff for us in the past. No complaints here

[dartydave]

Can anyone tell me where I might find a GT1 scanner. We are expanding our shop from Porsche, VW & Audi to include BMW & Mini

[sonnyqm3]

Can anyone tell me where I might find a GT1 scanner. We are expanding our shop from Porsche, VW & Audi to include BMW & Mini

ebay

[AUZREAL187]

I love my shops AUTOLogic!!!!!! But we fight over it, so I am trying to find something I can install on my tablet.

[Randy Forbes]

I recently found an Autologic on Ebay with twenty (20!) minutes left and zero bids on the auction; BIN was $9,000.00 and minimum bid was $6,900.00. The serial number was listed, and it was a legitimate (i.,e., NOT stolen) unit. I bid $7k and a few minutes later, it was mine!

I've been using an old AL unit fro several years, and had pretty much resigned myself to buying a new one at full list, so this stroke of luck really pleased me. The unit was last updated 2009, so it's missing a few "chassis" that I don't really need, but I'll get it updated to do my wife's 2011 X5, and I should be good until she gets something else.

Sleeping better now...

[deanrantala]

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to update everyone on my end of the country regarding the Autologic tool.

Disclaimer: I do NOT work for AL nor do I recieve any commission for what follows.

We *just* purchased one 2 weeks ago and I must say: this is hands-down better than the OEM tool.

Why?

1) Tech support is second to none

This was evidently not the case years ago - like when this thread started back in 2007. But I will tell you this: when you call support now, you are connected with one of several BMW specialists who know there stuff. Wait time is never more than 15-45 minutes (they call you back).

Find a problem with the tool? Feature not working? Call and it is fixed.. usually within a couple hours.

Not sure how something works, what a particular code means, what order to flash a series of modules in, etc? Call - they have done this more than a few thousand times.

2) Updates and access to **all** the BMW software.

Any module, any chassis. Yes, this unit does the F-chassis as well. Yes, this unit will do the fiber optic and MOST programming. If the dealer can do it, so can I. All the software is downloaded from Autologics site (who basically downloads it from BMW in some automated fashion).

Unlike the JS2534 stuff (and similar) that connects your car directly to BMW's servers, the AL design puts the software on the tool first THEN flashes it. Much safer IMO.

This is also the case for the Mercedes package: I can do all the SCN coding I desire without ever dealing once with the dealership. All included.

3) Consistent interface and usage across all chassis.

4) Better than INPA/NCSExpert

INPA and NCSExpert are (IMO) a pain in the a$$ to use, complicated and convoluted. Half the advanced features are in German, many of the features require more than 2 or 3 steps (like changing a battery AH type) and require spending hours hunting torrent sites for all the daten files. I never even figured out how to use the NCSExpert stuff. (creating profiles, daten files, etc.. WTF?!?!).

The communities that really make using INPA, NCSExpert, the GT1 stuff and all the latest ISTA stuff are almost like secret societies. Ratings, thanks, reputation, blah blah blah...

Asking questions about INPA/NCSExpert often drums of responses of "use the search button". Problem is: that can be difficult when you do not know exactly WHAT to search for. I pay for this tool, and it just works.

There are *some* things that you cannot do over NCSExpert, but these are usually things that are often not allowed by law and such do not bother me one bit.

5) Includes features that do not exist (AFAIK) in the OEM tool sets

Stuck and gunked up VANOS? AL units have a feature that actuate the living hell outta the solenoids rapidly to clear them up. Seems to fix 9 out of 10 units without ever cracking the first bolt.

NOW THE DOWNSIDE

It is expensive. $13,000 with one year of support for *just* the BMW. Each additional year costs around $1200. Again, if you are working on several dozen cars a month, this is not a hard decision. But it is not practical for most DIY guys.

DIYers: find a used GT1 (or Chinese clone). Perhaps a KK Line serial or usb adpater. Spend some time and find the software. You should be fine.

Hope this helps.

[bmw528e11]

It was a great scan tool, three years ago, when i purchased it, but not anymore.. you pay 1.5k for year's subscription and you can't program cars anymore, why? Everytime i update my scan tool, options would disapear, and once you update your scan tool at the end of subscription, they lock you out of the downloaded updates.. Such a BS, dont buy anything from them. when you purchase something from them, you'll sign a contract. Signing an agreement that the state of a scan tool will change through time, and they are not liable for it (as what scan tool containing)

Why i can't program anymore? Basically manufacturers (BMW, Benz, and others) suing autologic for using their data to program vehicles! Now they trying to push their scan tools at discounted price! dont fall for it, rather spend it on vacation or on your family!!

Buy something different (thats what i had to do) .... gr... BMW Has their genuine diag headunit for $850, but have no info in Benz.. had to buy Autel for that..

I did contact them, and told them this is one biggest mistake i did in my life buying autologic, and what she replied? and Tamiko replied "I've made mistakes in life as well, you can't change it, but youll have to live with it." REALY!?!? I couldn't think of that theory myself hah! So called British "Autologic" is going out of business.

There are so many unhappy customer's from Autologic, and they don't compansate, instead theysay sorry.. and then they send out letters saying "if you refer someone to sell a scan tool, we'll provide 20% discount to you and your friend on subscription..

P.s. they were good, for last 14 years, but not anymore. Just warning you guys out there! Don't waste your money on them..

But what could i do!? if their's any open law suite let me know, i will join in!!

keywords: Autologic complaint review, should i buy autologic, who is autologic, can autologic program? will autologic support?

[legoman67]

We still have their old 'blue box' and love it. Its far superior to DIS in its speed and way more intuitive to get to what you are looking for. It also allows you to print very nice vehicle reports that summarise all errors and updates required in a vehicle. We frequently print them off and go over them with customers.

Been avoiding 'upgrading' to their new unit due to the lack of programming and other bugs.