Autel MaxiSys and MaxiSys mini, thoughts?

mspecperformance · January 31, 2014

Just wondering if anyone on here has good experience with these units. We have manufacturer specific scan tools however we like to have a few general all purpose scanners available. We currently have the older Autel DS708 which is decent but rather slow. I also have a Launch GDS still in box brand new that I got for a pretty good price but I have yet to use it. One of my techs had experience using one and said in his words, "feels like a toy and crashes a lot." The new MaxiSys looks fast and capable. Anyone own one? Thoughts?

ScottSpec · October 27, 2014

I purchased the Autel Maxisys Pro earlier this year and have had nothing but problems with it. They finally agreed to take it back a month or so ago. Since then, they have given my tool dealer and his supplier the run around, now they will not return any of my phone calls or emails. If you are considering purchasing any Autel product, I would highly recommend not buying from them.

Scott Folley

mspecperformance · October 27, 2014

what type of problems?

ScottSpec · October 29, 2014

what type of problems?

I'm copying and pasting this from something I previously wrote. Remember, the problems listed are just the ones I logged. And we pretty much stopped using the tool after some of these problems because we could not trust it. For the last several weeks, I have not been able to get in contact with them and they will not return my phone calls or emails.

03/18/2014 The Autel Maxisys Pro could not communicate with a 1998 Volvo S70 ECM

04/25/2014 The Autel Maxisys Pro could not communicate with another Volvo 70 series . In fact to this day it cannot connect to a 70 series Volvo ECM.

04/25/2014 The Autel Maxisys Pro got a function is not supported while trying to reset a oil reminder light on a Volvo S80. This is a very common message "function is not supported". Even thought the options are there. When you try to perform the test or activation, you just get the error "function is not supported".

04/26/2014 The Autel Maxisys Pro received this functionality is not available when trying to reset the transmission adaptives on a Volvo S80

04/30/2014 The Autel Maxisys Pro would not perform the VTC test on an Acura even though it was listed in the functionality.

These are just the issues that I actually did a data log on to submit to Autel to correct. These issues are all still listed as open on my scanner. I have exchanged numerous phone calls and emails with Jon-Erik Balagot in technical support about my issues with the Autel Maxisys Pro.

On April 28th, he wrote me the following.

Good Day,

They have notified the issue on this first issue. Regarding about the second issue. Only way to fix is to datalog so our engineer can find out why it failed to reset on the tool but light is off on the vehicle. Regarding about the DLC port. We had some issues with connection. Regarding about full bar or half bar of DLC. I apologize. I did not in touch with you on time.

--

Jon-Erik Balagot

Clearly admitting some issues on their end.

On April 30th he wrote

Good Day,

I apologize for the late reply. I have no expected time with the Volvo issue. I'm really sorry about this.

--

Jon-Erik Balagot

Really? No idea when it might be resolved.

On May 09, 2014 I received the following

Good Day,

Sorry for long wait.

Update will be out either of end of this month or next month. I am sorry it is taking long.

--

Jon-Erik Balagot

Again, Really? A month or two before I can communicate with a Volvo ECM.

After being patient for 6 months with no solutions and with more problems being experienced every day, on September 1st, 2014 I emailed the following.

Jon-Erik,

I cannot wait any longer. I have been very patient for months now. I need a scan tool that does what I need it to do now, so we can fix our customer’s cars now. I would like to return it for a full refund so I can buy a scanner that works. Is this something you can help me with?

Scott Folley

On 09/02/2014 I received the following reply

Good Day,

I apologize since we had this issue on Volvo and mentioned to you about how issue should be fix. Return of units will be handled by your seller. We do not control that. If you need further assistance, I can mentioned forward this issue to my supervisor.

--

Jon-Erik Balagot

There were several more phone calls over the last month between Jon-Erik, my tool dealer, and myself. In my last conversation with Jon-Erik, he asked me what I wanted to do. I told him that the Autel Maxisys Pro had too many issue that they have been unable to correct, that I wanted to return it. He said that since I had these issues, and they could not correct them, that I could return the Autel Maxisys Pro. He told me that he would contact the tool dealer to arrange this.

This morning my tool dealer called me after a very heated and frustrating conversation with Jon-Eric. He informed me that Jon-Eric is in complete agreement with the fact that there are issues with this product that they cannot correct for me but that they are not willing to take it back as they first stated they would.

In fact my tool dealer was so frustrated with their position that he said he is going to return all the Autel products he has on his truck and will no longer sell any of their products.

From others around the web. If you go to the YouTube video posted above, you will find the following comments.

I call several times and days last week and they never answer the phone.

latest Bluetooth is 2.0? Are you kidding me?? And then saying sparred no expense....

AUTEL TECHNICAL SUPPORT IS VERY VERY POOR, AFTER I BOUGHT MY SCANNER I PHONED AUTEL FOR SOME HELP, AUTEL SAID THEY WOULD RING ME STRAIGHT BACK, I AM STILL WAITING, THAT WAS OVER A YEAR AGO, AUTEL PROMISE THE WORLD DELIVER NOTHING,I WOULD NOT EVEN RECOMMEND THERE SCANNER FOR DIY USE FACT!!

are you talking about these cheaters.They have launched maxisys pro with J2534 VCI device according to Autel it can flash any car and here in Qatar after buying this thing for $3000 one poor guy found that it don't support any JAPAN made cars.

These are pure cheaters.They came to market to cheat people nothing else.

Any by directional capabilities.. I bought the autel elite.. It's said it had by directional dint work on a 96 Buick a could not communicate with other modules on the car other as advertised

If you are considering the Autel Maxisys Pro. I would highly discourage you from purchasing this scanner also highly recommend staying away from all this companies products.

ScottSpec · October 29, 2014

^^^ This proves why you should buy from a reputable Distributor and not a Big Box chain.

We would have immediately Logged into TeamViewer into your Tool and figured out what the issues were. We help Customers like you everyday and never have feedback like this and we sell and support a bunch of Autel product along with every other OE Tool you can imagine.

I did purchase the tool from a very reputable dealer. I have been working with him for over 25 years. I'm not sure how anyone could help me via TeamViewer with a defect that Autel admits they cannot fix. What can he do when Autel will not even return his or my calls.

My problem is not with the dealer, it is with Autel. Autel has been completely unresponsive to all my data logs. They said their engineers could not resolve my issues and that they would allow the distributor to take the tool back. However, the distributor cannot take it back without an RMA number. The dealer, the distributor, and I have all been trying to get this from Autel. They have not responded to any of our calls or emails. Today I thought that I would try to contact the sales department. I was on hold for 15 minutes earlier today before I was disconnected. As I write this, I have been waiting on hold for 13 minutes for the sales department to answer the phone.

Before I bought the pro, I had the DS708. It was exchanged twice for defects in the few months I owned it. I bought the pro because my dealer agreed to credit me for the DS708. I just hit 15 minutes on hold and was disconnected. I guess there is a 15 minute time out. I don't know what Autel company you sell products for, but it does not sound like the one I have been dealing with since March of this year.

Scott

mspecperformance · October 29, 2014

My point Scott is we would have been assisting you and we would help you find out the issue. Please understand that with all our access to the OE's we could help you resolve this and Volvo's and Acura's are no issue.

I am curious as to how you would have more/better access to Autel than the OP or his tool distributor. If the OP is being truthful this is a black eye against Autel's customer service. I personally have a DS708 we use sparingly. I have never had an issue and was looking forward to potentially adding another spare scanner to the collection at some point.

ScottSpec · October 29, 2014

I am curious as to how you would have more/better access to Autel than the OP or his tool distributor. If the OP is being truthful this is a black eye against Autel's customer service. I personally have a DS708 we use sparingly. I have never had an issue and was looking forward to potentially adding another spare scanner to the collection at some point.

I am very curious as well. How can you fix a problem that Autel cannot. The issues I listed above are just the tip of the ice berg so to speak. These are just the issues I logged. I only listed the ones above that I could provide the logs for to back up my claims. I stopped logging after those as they were not even addressing them. There were many other issues with the scanner. It continually gives the message "This function is not supported" even though the function is listed on the menu. Sometimes it will even perform the function like resetting a service reminder, but will still give the message that the function is not supported. On one Volvo S80, it would not reset the reminder light through the normal menu. However, if you went into the DIM, you could then reset it. My lead tech is continually asking how can we trust what the tool is telling us or doing. We have the Volvo factory tools. We have the VST. We have VIDA. That is not the point. This tool is a piece of junk, Autel has told us they cannot fix the issues we are having and they said they would take the tool back. If they would actually take the tool back as they have told me they would, I would still respect them as a company. However, that is not the case. They now appear to be trying to avoid doing what they said they would.

Scott

ScottSpec · October 30, 2014

Why are you using the Autel Tool on a Volvo if you have Volvo Factory Tools? I am not sure what you were told about this Tool but I am guessing that it's capabilities were oversold to you. Our approach is to be a real partner with you with your Diagnostic Tool offering and to give you real world solutions, not a hey this Tool is all you will ever need.

The Autel Tool is very strong on a whole list of Makes, unfortunately for Volvo it is only ok. Remember you are dealing with a Software engineer at Autel that understands how to write code not how a system works on the car. This is a big deal and too many people just don't understand this. Our organization has more Tech Support personel that any Tool manufacturer, sounds crazy but it is the truth. I know the ends and outs of tech support for Autel, Bosch/OTC, Snap-On, etc... We have a combination of talent and enough industry resources that if we don't know the answer we know how to get it or figure it out.

To answer your question as how can you trust the Autel Tool... You can just not on a Volvo, Subaru, Suzuki as they are not a GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Nissan. Not sure who Sold you on the capability of this Tool on Volvo's but we could help you. To do real programming on Volvo you need 8G of Memory in one of our most powerful Laptops so that it runs fast enough that we can help you with remote support. You will never get there with the Autel and I am guessing since you are not using your Factory Volvo Tools you really need someones help and that is where we come in. Stop trying to use the utel on Volvo and use it for the other makes that I mentioned and the Flasher you have with it really won't be much help for you unless you are on a GM, Toyota, or FORD.

If you like I can give you a call and discuss your real world options as we can help 100% with Volvo and can give you plenty of satisfied Customers.

Shoot me your number and I will give you a call. I am sure we can help you.

Thanks

You sound very knowledgeable and like you provide excellent customer service. I appreciate your offer to help, and will keep you in mind if there is something I need in the future as we are moving into other makes and models. We have specialized in Volvo repair for the last 25 years and we have that covered. As I said, we have the VST and VIDA. We do software downloads almost daily. I decided to purchased the Pro after watching this Motor Age video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnXrvlqn-yM of Art Jacobson the president of Autel. He stated that the pro would have dealer level diagnostics for all makes and models. And he touted how great there support for the tool was. Since we were starting to move into servicing other makes and models, it sounded like the Pro would be a good tool to have.

When I first got the tool, I wanted to see what it was capable of. That was when I tried it on the 1998 70 series and could not communicate with the ECM. The VST is rather slow and VIDA is not the most user friendly, it crashes a lot, and it can take some time to connect to a vehicle. Especially the first vehicle of the day or after restarting the laptop because you have to log back in to Volvo central system. VIDA is also not the easiest thing to take out into the parking lot to hook up to a car. So in addition to a scanner for other makes and models, I liked the idea of how quickly the Pro would boot up and connect to a Volvo.

At this time the only help I could use is getting in touch with Autel. If you think you can help me with that, email me at [email protected] and I'll give you a call.

Scott

ScottSpec · October 31, 2014

FYI, Art Jacobson moved on from Autel in June of 2014 and now is with Honda R&D Americas, Inc.

Also with the right set-up (Computer & Hardware Interface) you shouldn't have many issues with Volvo. If you have an actual subscription to Volvo you are paying over $8K a year.

Like I said keep the Autel MS908P for all your other Makes and make sure the thing has been registered and updated. It is a good Tool, you are expecting a all in one OE-Level Tool to perform better than your current OE Volvo Tools and you admitted that one they are Slow and two Hard to Navigate.

The Volvo set-up I referred to in earlier post will be quicker and you will have less issues, but Volvo is simply Hard!

Good Luck to you Scott, let me know how I can help you.

OEScanTools

(682) 300-4613

Can you help me get in touch with anyone at Autel?

Scott

ScottSpec · November 6, 2014

I can try, not sure what I can do on that Scott... It is a shame that you feel you need to return this Tool!

I Would like to Log into your Tool and see what is going on. It could be as simple as going in and using Manual ID on the car. Remember just because Auto ID is on a Tool doesn't mean that the car's architecture is set-up to accept the Auto ID.

A prime example of this with a Factory Tech2 on a later Model GM like a 2007 Suburban if you Auto ID the car it will not Poll all the Modules and let you Read & Clear Codes from one screen. But when you Manually ID the vehicle you can Read & Clear ALL Codes from ALL Modules from one screen. Plus Guess what on the Autel Maxi-SYS it works the same way, it totally mimics how the Factory Tool works.

So if I can give one tid bit of information on how Autel Maxi-SYS Tools work, use it like how the Factory Tool works or flows. If you don't then it might not work how you think it should work which by the way is the single biggest issue going out there with Scan Tools. The OE has their way, the Scan Tool Company has theirs, and the Tech's have their way and guess what... Everyone is right. Problem is if you turn left when you need to turn right at any of these Levels then you will be sadly unsatisfied.

Thanks

OEScanTools

I left you a message and send a message via your contact form. I have a 1998 S70 here now if you want to see if you can get the Pro to communicate.

Scott

juanpablo4219 · February 9, 2015

^{how is the autelmaxi elite with Mercedes, BMW and VW?}

NewEnglandMotors · February 9, 2015

Great luck with the Maxisys PRO. In my experience the machine operates great with BMW/Mercedes/VW.

The only thing I have noticed is that if I leave the shop around 6PM and the Tablet is fully charged I will take it off the charger so I don't burn the battery out, but when I open up in the Morning at 7AM it is almost always has a dead battery which I find odd since I purchased it 6 months ago.

Anyone else experience this?

ATLAuto · February 14, 2015

Scott, we have the same Autel scanner and see the exact same problems with Volvos. Apart from the VIDA, I do not know of a good aftermarket Volvo tool. Actually, I think we pull out the G-Scan unit now when we need to do some Volvo work?

With that said, the Autel is an absolutely rocking tool for the price. I mean, can you really complain about it when the thing costs what it does??

Mario · February 14, 2015

Volvo independent here uses a launch.

mspecperformance · February 14, 2015

If you want to be full functioning on Volvo the only option is the factory tool. Unless you are working on a high volume of Volvo it is not profitable to purchase the scanner and keep up with the subscription.

alfredauto · February 15, 2015

My advice is stop working on 1996 and newer Volvo's lol I hate those cars with a passion. Defective immobilizer garbage machines.

Mario · February 15, 2015

Like I said it have a volvo shop near me, he uses launch. Very busy shop and the go to volvo guy in the area

mobilegreenauto · February 16, 2015

BESIDES,

the Maxisys...what other scanner(s) are you guys finding that WORK?

I'm needing one that can do Asian/European and of course US models with ABS/SRS. Snap-On, MAC not in my budget. Anyone using anything else with good results?

ATLAuto · February 17, 2015

Great luck with the Maxisys PRO. In my experience the machine operates great with BMW/Mercedes/VW.

The only thing I have noticed is that if I leave the shop around 6PM and the Tablet is fully charged I will take it off the charger so I don't burn the battery out, but when I open up in the Morning at 7AM it is almost always has a dead battery which I find odd since I purchased it 6 months ago.

Anyone else experience this?

Sounds like something funky is going on with your Autel over night. It should not lose any charge when not in use, or very little. I think there is a section under settings which shows where all the battery is getting used. Take a look there.

In any case, you can leave a lithium ion battery on the charger all night with no issues. This is old advice for last gen batteries. See here...

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/do_and_dont_battery_table

Edited February 17, 2015 by ATLAuto

Mario · February 17, 2015

I like the snapon solus, works on nearly everything with very little to no glitches. I picked up one for $1200 used. I updated I during a sale to he newest version for $700, added euro for another $800 later. It scans everything I have needed. I know you said it's out of yor budget but the autel just seems like a buggy mess. Sure it's probably a great bang for the buck, but if it's limited and unreliable who wants that headache for a primary scanner?

mspecperformance · February 17, 2015

Like I said it have a volvo shop near me, he uses launch. Very busy shop and the go to volvo guy in the area

Launch is not going to give you full factory functionality. Not nearly enough what you need to cover the car line.

5 Star Auto Spa · February 17, 2015

We have the Snap On Solus Ultra here as well with the European upgrade. It's a great scan tool for most vehicles, but I have to admit that the euro coverage is actually pretty terrible for this tool. In hindsight, I don't think I would have purchased it knowing how many holes there are in it for euro vehicles.

mspecperformance · February 17, 2015

I agree. I have OE tools but I also have a Snap on Verus Pro. I like the tool but since we only work on Euros its very limited for us. We use it mainly for scoping and some PID views. I had the old Autel DS708 which was decent for the price. I'm sure the new Autel retain much of the functions. I've heard from a few shop owners that the Euro coverage on the Autel is pretty good. I guess its also expectations are lower because of the price tag. Remember there is no way you can truly say you are a dealer alternative without having the proper tools. A multi scan tool is not going to cut the mustard. You need the OE tools.

There is a vendor on here that sells some OE tools, I would talk to him if you guys really wanted a make specific scanner.

ncautoshop · February 17, 2015

Launch is not going to give you full factory functionality. Not nearly enough what you need to cover the car line.

Launch sucks! And sucks bad! Everything in their line I ever tried was junk!

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

OEScanTools.com · February 19, 2015

Guys, the European coverage in the Autel Tools are only getting better and better. There absolutely is not another aftermarket Tool in production that can touch the Autel with it's content.

As for Launch I wouldn't waste any time or money with it.

[email protected] · July 7, 2015

I have a DS708 and will admit that there are functions built into the scanner that sometimes wont work or communicate but for $1300 i paid for it, it still does a ton of other stuff that you would have to spend thousands more for a snap on.

ATTN Autel Owners. My advance auto parts offers the annual updates for less than directly off the autel website. Check your local vendors to see how much updates are through them.

ScottSpec · July 8, 2015

Update on my experience with Autel. After many months of unreturned calls and emails, I finally decided to file a law suit against them. I sent them an email letting them know my plans, and within a few hours a rep was on the phone with me setting up the return process. I sent it back and they gave me a full credit.

Scott

Divad968 · May 31, 2018

I have been a Ford Master Technician for 30 years and used about every brand diagnostic scanner Autel MaxiSys Elite over the years and this one is hands down the best and most universal scanner I have used to date! Never once have I had an issue with the Blue Tooth connection between the scanner and the VCM unlike what we use at Ford. Programs keys perfectly, bi-directional controls work flawless and is very fast processing of live data....WAY faster than Snap On Versus and the software especially for Ford is almost identical to Fords software with the IDS we use at the dealership...I actually prefer my Autel over the IDS now.