Autel MaxiTrip TP100 4-In-1 Auto Computer

by Autel

Product Features

• Semi-permanent dashboard mountable design featuring four functions: trip computer, digital gauges, scan tool and vehicle black box
• Trip computer real-time information monitoring including average trip MPG, tank MPG, average speed, average speed per tank of gas, miles to empty, and miles driven on tank
• Digital gauge functionality featuring the ability to monitor up to four different sets of information simultaneously
• Scan tool functionality including reading and clearing trouble codes on OBD-II/EOBD compliant vehicles, freeze frame data and the ability to turn off check engine light (MIL)
• Vehicle 'black box' functionality including up to 300 hours of driving data storage space, covering a variety of data points

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001LHVQIQ
• Item model number: TP100
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,372 in Automotive (See Top 100 in Automotive)
  • #39 in Automotive > Tools & Equipment > Diagnostic & Test Tools > Code Readers & Scan Tools

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The MaxiTrip TP100 4-In-One Auto Computer from Autel is an innovative on board vehicle diagnostic device that combines real-time engine monitoring, failure prevention and trip tracking in a single, semi-permanent dashboard mountable device. Perfect for everyone from auto enthusiasts and do-it-yourselfers to parents of young drivers, business owners and anyone looking to maximize fuel efficiency, the unit taps into your vehicle's onboard computer via a standard 16-pin OBD-II data link connector (DLC). This is usually under the driver's side dashboard, but the TP100 can be placed unobtrusively wherever it's most convenient, safe and visible. The data points it measures break down into four distinct use categories: trip computer, digital gauges, scan tool and vehicle "black box".

Used as a trip computer, the MaxiTrip TP100 functions as a compact calculation device designed to monitor information pertaining to your vehicle's performance in real time. In this mode, it will display such useful information as data point variants related to maximum speed, driving distance, distance to empty, average speed, fuel used, time to empty, driving time, trip fuel economy and fuel to empty. Closely related to this function is the TP100's use as a digital gauge device. Useful as a supplement to your car's existing dashboard gauges, these gauges can be configured to measure and monitor up to four different sets of information simultaneously, providing real-time engine performance analysis, allowing you to adjust driving behavior immediately and save gas. Just a few of the gauges that can be displayed are: vehicle speed, engine load, RPM, ignition timing, intake air temperature, battery voltage, and many more. Once your trip is over, the TP100 serves a black box recorder for your vehicle, providing a high level view of activity. Users will be able to save up to 300 hours of driving data for later analysis including data points like time and date for each trip, maximum speed during trip, distance traveled, time overspeed, and more.

Finally, the TP100 also functions as a scan tool, useful for troubleshooting check engine light/Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) instances through the ability to view Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) on OBD-II/EOBD compliant vehicles. OBD-II is the second generation of onboard diagnostics standard for cars and trucks and has been a mandatory requirement for all vehicles sold in the US since 1996, both domestic and imports. EOBD is its European counterpart, required on gasoline models since 2000 and diesel models since 2003. This extensive vehicle coverage means that the vast majority of cars on the road today can utilize the TP100 for initial diagnosis of issues as they happen. Along with its DTC functionality TP100 also includes many other functions including: the ability to view freeze frame MIL-related data recorded by vehicle computers, the retrieval of vehicle information (VIN, CIN and CVN), and the ability to read and clear trouble codes and MIL indicators.

Product Description

This innovative 4-in-one automotive computer from Autel is exactly what is needed for real-time engine monitoring, failure prevention and trip tracking. The compact and intelligent gadget includes four most useful modes namely, trip computer, digital gauges, scan tool and vehicle black box. It is a compact automotive computer designed to monitor information about the vehicle in real time as well as displays useful information such as average trip MPG, tank MPG, average speed per trip, average speed per tank of gas, miles to empty, miles driven on tank and more. This maxitrip can be configured to measure and monitor up to four different sets of information simultaneously, providing real-time engine performance analysis, allowing one to adjust driving behavior as well as save gas. It works as a scan tool that is able to help one troubleshoot problems of all OBD2/EOBD compliant vehicles and works as a vehicle black box to store every trip one makes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Great, until it stopped working in less than two months., September 5, 2009

By 

Phil W (AZ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Autel MaxiTrip TP100 4-In-1 Auto Computer (Automotive)

I purchased this unit on April 2, 2009 and it worked flawlessly until May 29, less than two (2) months later. Then I tried to follow the manufacturer's troubleshooting/warranty process and found there was nobody to call via telephone in the North American continent, and their web support only gives you the opportunity to fill out an Excel worksheet with requested information. I submitted the completed failure information and never received any response from this company. Since Amazon appears to only allow the return of unopened items within 30 days and the manufacturer does not respond, I am now stuck with this $100 item that has become useless in less than two months. If you want support, here's what their web page describes how you should contact them: (copied & pasted from their web page)

"Autel Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd.,
Rm. 2205-2206, Overseas Chinese Scholars Venture Bldg., Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Nanshan
Shenzhen518057, China
Phone: [phone], Fax: [phone]"

Before ever buying such items from Amazon in the future, I will carefully check the manufacturer's Product Support system prior to completing the purchase.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MaxiTrip beats ScanGauge in my book., October 31, 2009

By 

Ivaylo Panayotov "NetBook Fan" (Dearborn, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Autel MaxiTrip TP100 4-In-1 Auto Computer (Automotive)

I must say I did quite a bit of research on this unit when it came out but the price had me stray away from it. Last week I happened to be looking at the scangaue and I happeend to see it for sale on Amazon so I figured ok lets give it a try.

I received it today, unpacked it and rushed out to hook it up to the car.

First and most striking part was how similar it was to the scangauge from look of the display to the placement and the font of the words.

Then it took me nearly seconds to set it up and see what it was capable of. Now people have complained about innacuracy but this is not the case with this unit. The one I received is V1.1 and it is exact with the readings on my odometer when it comes to miles or distance traveled.

Second important feature was the fact that the unit can check vital systems in my car (2001 Cadillac Catera) and report wtih OK, NC or NA... I believe they call it readiness test. I noticed also that it was also able to read my VIN Number.

Thirdly the unit seems to have features that lack on the scangauge. For example when you are in GAUGE Mode, with the press of the side buttons you can switch between 3 or 4 pages and each one can be customized with whatever gauges you want to view.

So for me at start up I care about engine temp, open/closed loops, ignition, RPMs and intake air temp. Then once moving I can swap to the next page which shows Speed, Average Fuel Consumption, DTE etc.

Further more there are many other options under trip and settings that appear to be easy to use and well though out form user stand point.

So my first impressions of the unit is that its cheaper then my ScanGauge, its better in many ways, and appears to function as designed.

Further testing and comparisons will be performed and another review will be posted.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Has potential, but no warranty., March 22, 2010

By 

W. J. Fritz "Voyager62" (Reading, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Autel MaxiTrip TP100 4-In-1 Auto Computer (Automotive)

The MaxiTrip works well in my opinion, with only one exception. That is the Black Box function. The battery back up that maintains the real-time clock is too small and even with a full charge will only maintain the time for about 8 hours. This results in the time freezing until your next trip. I've found I can keep the battery charged by making a homemade LAN power connector from an old adapter.

As other reviewers have said, there is no Tech Support or warrany of any kind if the unit should break. A one year warranty isn't worth anything if you can't replace a broken unit. It's a good thing Harbor Frieght administers the extended warranties on the Autel scan tools, because I also had one of them break on me.

There is one thing that needs getting used to when driving at night. The display is very bright, actually it's too bright to have the gauge mounted on top of the dash, like a GPS. There is no way to lower the brightness of the high intensity LEDs that backlight the display. I've thought about trying window tinting over the display to block some of the light, but I am getting used to it now.

Otherwise, the unit works very well. I had no problem adjusting the speed using my GPS. I used km/h for a finer resolution to dial it in with GPS, but when you switch the MaxiTrip back to English units, you'll have to reset the tank capacity. This is because the MaxiTrip deducts one gallon each time you switch from English to Metric and back to English units. It must be some kind of rounding error, but I never was able to get in touch with Tech Support to see if it could be fixed.

Once the fuel usage percentage is adjusted properly, it seems to be fairly accurate, but is consistently a half gallon higher than manually taking the mileage and dividing it by the gallons. Even if it isn't exact, the best part of the MPG function is being to see how adjusting your driving has an effect in real-time. Instead of numbers, it would have been nice to see a graphic representation of how efficient you are driving, like the leaves growing in a hybrid.

The scan part of the MaxiTrip works well, but there is no documentation on what some of the cryptic abbreviations mean. Since I only have idiot lights for most gauges, it's nice being able to see what the voltage or temp is without having to open the hood or get out other test equipment. It even tells you instantly if your car will pass a computer emissions inspection test. You may still fail if you have a tailpipe test, but you can be sure the electronics are working.

All in all, for the price, it's is the most informative trip computer available. If you only want to see fuel economy, there are better alternatives, some of which include graphics. However, considering price, preformance and features together, I don't think there is a better trip computer.