Customer Reviews

Autel MaxiTrip TP100 4-In-1 Auto Computer

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

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: 0086-755-86147779, Fax: 0086-755-86147758"

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.

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.

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.

I purchased the Autel Maxi trip 100 several months ago. I have worked with it since then. I have version 1.1. The software is either defective or not designed for my automobile. I am trying to use it on a 2009 Nissan versa. The display blanks frequently while driving and no matter how I set the speed and mileage adjustment it is highly inaccurate. In the default mode the mileage reads only about half of my actual distance driven however the speedometer is somewhat close when I adjust so the mileage reading is closer the mile per hour is almost double actual speed. I don't know if I could actually scan for codes or not. The instrument has proved to be so inaccurate I'm not sure if any codes would be accurate or not. A software update may fix these problems but none is offered at this time. UPDATE....UPDATE>>>>UPDATE.......UPDATE
I have since contacted customer service via email and received an update to VERSION 1.2 (none was offered on the autel site) c/s replied in only a few hours! this update fixed all my problems and i can now adjust it for accurate readings and info.

Autel MaxiTrip TP100 4-In-1 Auto Computer

Ok I got the Maxitrip quick as usualy with Amazon. My issue is with the product its self. First I should say I have a 2002 Ford Ranger XLT Supercab 2x4. I followed the instructions to calibrate it. Drive at 60mph on the interstate, time 1 mile and adjust so it takes one minute to go a mile. Not hard to do I only had to adjust 2% but the unit is not reading my RPM's correctly and does not measure distance traveled accuretly, as a matter of fact it was off about 30%. My mileage showed I went 100 miles and the Maxitrip was only saying I went 70 and I was useing my GPS that also said I went 100 miles. Either I have a defective unit or its not a good product, either way I am sending it back. My overall feel for the product is cheap China junk. A poor knockoff of the scanguage. Also I had to keep pushing the buttons several times or hold the button before things would happened. Not sure what else to say. Amazon is great but the Maxitrip does not like my Ranger so I don't like it!

I wanted a cheaper alternative to the scangauge that seems to work really well for a lot of folks. I had reservations ordering this unit because it was not clear to me that the unit is in fact back lit and that it gives instant mpg readout. It has those features and it is also well built.

Initially had an issue with the miles traveled being way off, but a quick email to customer service, and they sent me the updated software...loaded that and now it works great...

the only issue...

about 50% of the time, when I start the car, the device does not come on...I have to unplug the ethernet connector and plug back in, then it comes on.

not a bad product,except when it reaches a certain temperature it totally shuts down. definetly a design flaw.I've already sent one back to amazon.The replacement sometimes won't power on either. Just be aware!

I have had ScanGauge products since their early days and always thought they were well done, although expensive.
The MaxiTrip seemed worthy of a shot, especially for the price.
The display is really bright- too bright. You can't change the color like a ScanGauge. It won't blend in with the interior, especially at night. The unit is gigantic as well and can only mount on top of a large flat surface... another miss compared to the ScanGauge.
It sometimes won't come on and I have to unplug/replug the unit to make it come on.

As far as accuracy as mentioned by a previous reviewer, what it displays is what YOUR VEHICLE reports to it via the OBD (on board diagnostics) port. If the speed is off, it is because your vehicle is not accurate. Changes in optional factory gear ratios, tire size etc can change the accuracy of the speedo. Add that to the requirement that a speedometer only has to be within 10% either high or low to be considered normal. GPS speed calculation can be quite good, but when I look at my Nuvi reporting top speed in my car as 176mph- you get the point... it's never been over 150 with the GPS in it. :)

If you just want a cheap one and will accept that it's huge, sometimes doesn't work- that's cool. The ScanGauge is in a whole other league, but it's also a whole other price point. You get what you pay for.

Looks nice, fits on the dash well. Lots of nice information that can be displayed. I like the real time trip function.

There are a few issues that overshadow the useful side of this gadget.

On/Off
It won't stay on. It just shuts off whenever, for unknown reasons, and it won't turn back on for a bit. I haven't figured out how to get it to turn on, other than wait for it to turn back on, on it's own, which seems to be anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes. I am assuming that it's the sleep function that is the source of this annoyance.

The Clock
The clock is never right, the date is never right. I've set them both multiple times, it runs slow, loosing as much as a quarter of a day, each day.

Trip calculators
Since the clock runs slow, I am leery of trusting it. I believe being wary of it's accuracy is correct. I had 5 gallons in my gas tank and driving 65 miles an hour it computed I could go 310 miles before I need to fill up again. I feel I'm pretty justified in not trusting it. Though, I truly wish my car did have that kind of fuel efficiency.

I'm going to exchange it and see if the second one is bad, if it is, refund time.