Car model and year: Porsche Panamera 2018

Purpose: a diagnostic tool that is capable of scanning/coding all modules

Tested Porsche scanner recommended:

PIWIS III

Launch X431 V

Autel MS906BT

One-by-one:

1. PIWIS III review on Panamera:

I just received my new tester and I figured I would share my thoughts since I have used both the 2 and the 3 now. I should be more precise as I did not purchase an actual PIWIS III, but remarkably they are for sale on sites like this PIWIS.NET On that site is the actual factory tool and currently sells for $5,900 which was way too rich for my blood. It is in the factory carrying case with all the cables and WLAN cap for the VCI that plugs into the usb mini port and allows for wireless connection to the car, along with the multimeter and oscilloscope cable.

What I bought, which sells for around €1,500 and what is for sale in most places, is a Panasonic CF-MX3 I5 Laptop with Windows 8.1 installed and the Porsche PIWIS III software installed and includes a USB wired VCI the same one the factory tester uses. I both cases the VCI and software have been modified to disable factory authentication and naturally there is no automatic updates. If you did have a PPN account, this tool would update normally. Most offer one year of updates and then charge for subsequent years. It should be known that the updates are really for adding new model years, not software changes. On to the review.

It is a nice laptop with a touch screen and a screen pen included. The Porsche software starts automatically, but the Microsoft button functions and you can do other things at the same time such as TeamViewer or open an internet page. The VCI ( the part that connects to the diagnostic port) is smaller and the cable connecting is shorter, but it is a standard USB to miniUSB cable so you can purchase an longer one anywhere. The tester can be changed from after sales mode to developer mode which allows for a lot of special features ( looking at you who want to disable start stop permanently). The software is faster, and easier to use than the previous version. For example on the diagnostic program, the tester auto detects the car model. Just plug it in, turn the key on and it does its thing. For me, I'm not sure if it is a function of the unit I have or not but the guided fault finding works well. Click on any fault and press the fault finding button and the unit tries to provide you a diagnostic plan. The plan is better and the English description is better. I haven't tried the wiring diagram software but I imagine it works as well as the previous version. There is a new ODBC program on the unit that reads standard ODBC codes, I am wondering if this unit can be used for other cars for simple code reading. I will try it on a buddy's car next week and let you know. There is a oscilloscope function and a multimeter function but the laptop clones don't come with these cables. If you check out the link I added you can see a factory tool and what that kit contains as compared to a laptop clone with VCI. All in all it is a better tool but really can't do more than the piwis 2 can do, only faster and on cars from model year 2018 to current which the piwis 2can't do. Later I will clone the hard disk then see if I can upgrade the OS to Windows 10. I am certain it will work but cloning the SSD makes sense given my investment.

2. Launch X431 V Pro review on Panamera 2018:

I received my Launch X431 V Pro and played around with it a bit. My first impressions are positive. The unit is well constructed and the software is intuitive and more refined then I expected. I have to say that it is kind of hilarious the number of connectors and cables that come with the kit where I'll likely ever only use the same connector for every car I own. I guess if I ever buy a TATA or a Proton I'll be set though!The tool communicated flawlessly with my vehicle and it has all the standard functionality that I would expect plus a lot of 971-specific functionality. I have no way to know what is missing compared to a PIWIS but if you tell me what specific function you're looking for, I can try it out and report back. Using the tool, I quickly discovered that whomever replaced the battery in my car before I bought it (I've only had the car 2.5 weeks) had disconnected the battery voltage sensor and forgot to plug it back in. This was the cause of the stop/start fault message I was seeing on the cluster (which popped up 3 days after I purchased the car). One thing that became evident after using the scan tool is that without a workshop manual I am going to have trouble diagnosing many of the issues that I could encounter. For example, I have two DTCs stored in the gateway for missing messages but a google search for the trouble code numbers returned no hits (my suspicion is that a module was replaced and not properly coded following replacement). This is not a fault of the scan tool, of course, but speaks to a general problem that us as 971 owners must find an answer to. With the nearest competent Porsche dealer being 2.5 hours away, it is simply not practical for me to spend an entire day making trips to the dealer to repair something that I could have taken care of myself. Furthermore, I have always performed all of my car repairs and maintenance and the factory warranty on my car expires in April of next year.Anyways, I didn't take any pictures of the unit in action I haven't had much time to put anything together. Credits to @ brett968 Go to official site to confirm the functions list of Launch X431 V Pro for my 2017 Panamera 4S:http://qcar.x431.com/newqcar/carDes?lan=en&pdtTypeId=2&pageNum=1&menuIndex=16&serial=PORSCHE&area=P&serialName=PORSCHE&pdtStr=

3. Autel MS906BT review on Panamera:

Delighted with my Autel MS906BT. Autel MS906BT Porsche Panamera from 2017 function list:

Enjoy!

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