Customer Reviews

PLX Devices 2340 KIWI Wifi

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you just want to fool around with your iPod Touch or iPhone as a dash-mounted instrument, or if you want to understand your vehicle performance, or if you want to learn about OBD2 or if you want to develop more cool apps for this device. It is great fun tool to have in you gadget kit bag.

Rev, Dash Command and FuzzyCar are very cool companion apps to get from AppStore.

The device uses the ELM327 chipset and simply opens it up as a TCP port, so you can use any of the various PC apps that support the ELM327 chip as well - e.g. rom Palmerperformance.

I've tried it on various vehicles and it hasn't failed. It does get a bit hot when it is active. It has a 802.11 peer-to-peer Wifi radio inside.

You may find that the OBD2 connector is a bit in the way as it is on my Honda Ridgeline. You need make sure that you run the cable where it won't tangle or interfere with you feet, accell and break pedals. Make sure you cable tie it down neatly.

PLX has developed a nifty device... use it with an iPhone and Rev, DashCommand, FuzzyCar, SpeedPort, or PLX Logger to extract data out of the car. The PLX kiwi device plugs into the ODBII port (standard in any car built since 1996) and is powered by it. The kiwi then transmits its data to your smartphone - where one of the software packages mentioned above goes about its business to offer you insights such as Mass Air Flow, speed, acceleration, etc. Thus, the PLX Kiwi has to be understood as a hardware gateway to your cars ODBII bus, not as a complete solution - you still have to buy the iPhone application to make it all work.

So, there is no guarantee that the solution will work since none of the vendors have published a comprehensive list of compatible cars and to what extent the car gives up the goods. ODBII bus access does not mean that the cars' CPU will actively share the data you're after - it may, it may not. For example, the developers of Rev (a $40 app) recommend you download the free version of the application to see if your car is compatible and to what extent before downloading the full version of the program. But that still leaves you with the PLX device.

Anyhow, the biggest beneficiaries of the PLX Kiwi and the version with the iFMD datalogging system are hard-core nerds who want to know if the latest addition to their car actually improved the performance of the engine, etc. That you can configure the screens on some of these programs to show data levels, analog gauges, etc. is also nifty for those who need that kind of functionality. But again, you are dependent on the PLX to be able to pass on that data and on your software package of choice to process it. There are no wires to snake through the car, and the small size of the Kiwi and the attached cable makes it relatively easy to place somewhere unobtrusive. So, the target audience for this device are the folk who need to have 'always-on' communications with their car as they're driving.

Buying the PLX just to read/reset fault codes is a bit of a waste, there are much less expensive solutions for that kind of problem. A cheap ODBII scanner can be had for less than $50 - if you don't avail yourself to the local autozone or other retailer offering free scans. More sophisticated solutions (where you can get into ECU programming, etc.) typically involve hooking up a laptop to the ODBII port (via a USB cable) and the hardware/software package goes to work. Some of these solutions are very sophisticated and along the same price point as the PLX and hence a better choice for fault-code issues and deeper stuff (see Durametric for Porsche, for example). But, unlike the PLX, you tend to only get support for one manufacturer (and perhaps one model) at a time. So if you want to monitor multiple vehicles, it can add up in a hurry!

Anyhow, I bought my PLX kit from PLX directly and regret that choice. Paying top dollar for shipping overnight only to discover that the USPS shipping option is shipped on the following day (by default) without any mention thereof on their site means that I didn't get the order I wanted when most people would have expected it - After all, the order was paid for, etc. at 8AM their time, and it was not shipped until the PM the next day. Naturally, when I inquired about this at PLX, I got no apology - just a generic response stating that UPS orders will ship same day as long as they're placed before 4PM PST, while USPS orders always are shipped the next day.

If I could give this less than 1 star, I would. It is an expensive wifi odbii device that establishes a wifi connection 5% of the time. PLX's support forum is full of people complaining that the wifi keeps dropping for extended periods of time, but PLX's response is always to blame the car, the ODBII pins, the settings, or the iPhone/iPod/iPad. The real problem is the Kiwi wifi connection. It just does not work OR it is easily interrupted by other signals. None of their support responses resolve the connection drops between my iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad 2. I've tried it all - changed the network settings to their standard, plugged in and started the Kiwi and iPod only after the engine is already on, did the airplane mode suckgestion, kicked the car, threw the Kiwi, and etc etc etc. At best it connects for 1 minute, shows 5 seconds worth of data, then drops the wifi for the next 30 minutes. Resetting the phone and the kiwi while driving is a car wreck waiting to happen. I can not recommend the Kiwi to anyone at all. I'm going back to a wired connection and will auction off this piece of junk at a sure loss. You've been warned.

well it worked well with toyota corrola 2010 and 2010 subaru impreza STI and the data was pretty accurate but not instant
i love the playback feture and with i can compare with older playbacks as the car is altered for
we treid on mitsibishi magana but did not work....maybe becasue it does not support cars ECU

worth buying i geuss....ba bye

I purchased this not only to monitor engine parameters (reset ODBII codes etc.) but to be able to have a digital overlay on my harry's laptimer track app. With this app my videos now shoe the RPM and the exact gear i'm in on the track. Setup was very easy and worked very well with the REV app I downloaded from the app store. I wish the PLX KIWI came with the app rather than spending another $40 for the app. Over all i'm extremely happy with the purchase.

This little device is handy for resetting Check Engine Codes and giving you realtime stats about your vehicle. Drawback is it works on wifi (so you have to set your phone to find its network name - can't have two close to each other or they conflict) and there are only 3 apps (for iOS) that support the device. I am using the free software (FuzzyCar) and it works okay. Was told the more expensive app ($50) works better, but there is no refunds if it doesn't (so I havn't bought it yet). Tech support is somewhat helpful if you have issues.

Works on most newer vehicles with an OBD port.

Good product if you want to know what your car is doing realtime and have the right software to read it.
I use Apple iPhone or iPad to collect the data or you can purchase the software from another vendor thats Windows compatible, but it wasn't very cheap.

I purchased this device a few months back for use in my 2005 jeep, and I should have done a bit more research first. What I was primarily looking for was an MPG computer, and it seemed the perfect solution to get the MPG data as well as have a customizable dash. The much cheaper KIWI MPG claims to do this, so I figured that at least this basic functionality would be built into the ipod software for the KIWI WIFI.

You have three software choices: Rev, Dashcommand, and Fuzzycar. Rev is the only one that seems to have an evaluation version at the moment. Unfortunately, the first time I cranked up Rev, I found that the MPG data is unavailable. It seems there's a couple of different ways to compute MPG. Many cars (in particular those that use mass airflow sensors) report the MPG data directly. Other cars (in particular those that use IAT/MAP instead of mass airflow) do not. My 2005 jeep happened to fall into the "do-not" category, so no MPG data using Rev. Contacted the Rev developers and they say they're workin' on it.

Most websites lead you to believe that any 1996+ Vehicle will support the data streams you want, this really just isn't true.

The other two options are DashCommand and Fuzzycar. DashCommand has a very nice preview up on their website showing what fuel economy stats will look like when they are finished with that feature. That was about a month ago, they're still working on an update (last update of DashCommand was July). Since there's no evaluation version, I didn't want to plunk down money at the itunes store for something that I don't know if it'll work. Better to wait for the new version to become available.

Fuzzycar has a pretty plain looking interface. It does look like it shows MPG, but again I don't know if it works with my vehicle or not. Again no eval version to try it, and I'd rather plunk down my money for the much nicer interface on DashCommand or Rev, so I'm waiting to see what new versions arise.

Given the "work-in-progress" status of the software, it's hard to recommend this device. KIWI should really publish a free port of their KIWI MPG software over to the ipod/iphone, so we'd at least have the same basic functionality that their $89 device does.

The thing also has a power switch, which is something that mystifies me.... Am I supposed to turn it on and off each time I use the car? Will it run down the battery? I don't know... If it was me, I would have at least provided the option to switch it on an off via a switched ignition source for a permanent install.

Does pretty much everything advertised. The main reason I gave it only 4 stars is because I feel the unit itself is overpriced for what it does. Wifi chips aren't that expensive and the pin-out and electronics for ODB-II are pretty simple. I suppose they just don't have much competition. Plus they don't even include any software - you have to purchase that separately. That said, there are some free apps out there that will work. I tested this with an iPhone 4 (iOS 4.1) and had the opportunity to plug it into a few different cars - a 2000 honda accord ex, a 1999 nissan pathfinder, a 2007 s2000 and a 2000 lexus rx300. I primarily used the FuzzyCar app since it was free and provides basic functionality. I was able to read all the sensors offered by each vehicle, and can confirm clearing codes works in the accord, the pathfinder, and the rx300. The s2000 didn't have any codes for me to try clearing. (Note- depending on your vehicle and the particular code, if the underlying problem isn't fixed the engine light can come on again pretty quickly - sometimes even within a few minutes. This isn't the fault of the device- I'm just putting this out there in case someone might think it'll "magically" fix your check engine light problems. It won't.) One other thing- not all vehicles have the same sensors so depending on how many your vehicle has you might see different ones.

The other reason I gave it 4 stars, and this might not be completely fair, but sometimes it seemed to have quite a bit of lag in updating the codes. Not sure if this was because the car's computer was slow, the plx was slow, or it was something with the FuzzyCar app. I didn't do extensive testing but I seemed to have the issue in all 4 cars. It seemed a little better when you just view one stat in FuzzyCar but even that didn't always work. Also there were a few times where I had to reset it (pull the plug out and wait a few seconds) and try re-connecting to the wifi network.

All in all though i'm happy with the purchase and can definitely see this as something that while I won't use all that often, will be handy to have around for hopefully a long time.

Well, I got my order really really fast...

But they were in such a damn hurry, they gave me the PLX bluetooth instead of the wifi, and since I use iphone instead of android, this is unusable for me...

Obviously this item, as most PLX devices, is aimed at those who need to know what their cars are doing in realtime. The different apps is where you'll have to do your research. I recommend Dash Command or Rev. I used to tune GM vehicles aftermarket, so I am familiar with using this type of device and others like it. I've also used other PLX devices in the past with great success. If you don't already have something to scan realtime, then this device is a great option.