[Jon89]

2013 Outback 3.6R Limited....

I have a relatively decent (and inexpensive) generic OBDII scanner that covers most of the bases for the engine codes for nearly any vehicle make and model.

Can anyone recommend a decent dedicated OBDII scanner that reads the Subaru-specific ABS, transmission, etc. proprietary codes for our 2013 3.6R? I may want to order one if the price is reasonable. I do not need it now but as our 3.6R ages I am sure it will eventually pay for itself in the DIY department. My dedicated Jaguar OBDII scanner ($125 from amazon.com in early 2016) has certainly paid for itself with both of our Jaguars over the years.

I am looking for a dedicated scanner, not an ELM or Torque or Android or anything else that runs on a smartphone or laptop. I much prefer the dedicated scanners for the specific brand of vehicle.

 

[rasterman]

Not a lot of stuff in that space... a Scangauge II might be a good fit, similar price to your Jag part. It won't come out of the box set up for any of the Subaru-specific stuff, you'll have to add them with their x-gauge feature. Even then it isn't going to get everything since it's still speaking base OBDII rather than Subaru.

In other words there are a few things you aren't going to get access to unless you use SSM (Dealer tool, $$$$) or one of its publicly available clones like FreeSSM (requires laptop) or BtSSM (requires android phone.)

All the other solutions I know of are professional tools with the pricetag to match.

 

[Jon89]

There are indeed some semi-dedicated scan tools available from various online vendors that supposedly work for Subaru vehicles. A Google search just now turned up the iCarsoft i903 for about $114 with free shipping from amazon.com. It supposedly can read and clear codes from these four modules: Engine, ABS, SRS, and Transmission. My dedicated Jaguar scan tool is an iCarsoft i930 (it handles Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles only) and it has worked fairly well on both of our Jaguars, plus it is able to read/clear more than twice as many modules as this i903 supposedly reads/clears.

The main drawback with iCarsoft is the fact that their customer support is truly a joke. In fact, they have no customer support other than to answer your e-mailed question (e-mails only, they have no phone support) with "Sorry, we cannot help you", so you are completely on your own once you purchase the product. Fortunately, I was able to figure out the issues with my i930 scan tool on my own, but it was both time-consuming and frustrating.


Is anyone out there using this i903 scan tool for your Outback? If so, what can it actually read/clear and how well does it actually work?

 

[brucep]

Any reader which meets OBDII specifications should be able to READ the manufacturer-specific codes.

You would have to lookup the meaning of the codes online... but that should be expected.

Some more-costly readers can have the manufacturer-specific codes downloaded into them so the descriptions are readily available on your scanner.

 

[Jon89]

I want to be able to read AND clear the various codes that the scan tool is capable of pulling. In this case, that would be the Engine, ABS, SRS, and Transmission modules.

Again, does anyone have any experience with this iCarsoft i903 on a Subaru Outback?

 

[eagleeye]

I want to be able to read AND clear the various codes that the scan tool is capable of pulling. In this case, that would be the Engine, ABS, SRS, and Transmission modules.

Again, does anyone have any experience with this iCarsoft i903 on a Subaru Outback?

you can search it up here, (I don't remember reading of that name here)

____

or order it and report back here on this thread,...and send it back to amazon if it don't work out. (if it is from "amazon")

 

[signage]

I know you said you didn't want something that runs on a laptop, but Autoenginuity would be what I would look at if I was you.

 

[Jon89]

Update:

I ordered an iCarsoft i903 OBDII scan tool from amazon.com last week. It should show up in today's mail. After I put it through its paces during the next few days, I will report back here with my general impressions. If it disappoints me, I will return it for a full refund.

 

[Jon89]

Update:

My iCarsoft i903 scan tool arrived this morning. It indeed reads/clears the OBDII codes stored by my 2013 Subaru Outback 3.6R engine, ABS, SRS, and transmission modules, and possibly a few more modules not listed in the sales information on the iCarsoft website. I found some old codes stored in my vehicle's history and successfully cleared them for a fresh start. As I initially indicated, I do not need this scan tool at the current time but I know it will eventually pay for itself just as my i930 scan tool for our two Jaguars did. Therefore, I plan to keep it.

This i903 also handles Nissan and Infiniti vehicles.