Piston

With Piston, you can effortlessly access your car's diagnostic information directly from your mobile device. If your Check Engine Light (MIL) is illuminated, transform your smartphone into a powerful car scanner with Piston. You can read the Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) associated with the issue and review the Freeze Frame data, helping you pinpoint and resolve the problem quickly and efficiently.

To get started, you'll need an ELM327-based adapter, either Bluetooth or WiFi, which connects to your vehicle's OBD2 socket. Piston offers a user-friendly guide to assist you through the connection process, accessible from the Home page after your initial installation or from the Settings at any time.

With Piston, you have a comprehensive suite of diagnostic tools at your disposal:

• Read and clear Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) as defined by the OBD2 standard
• Examine Freeze Frame data, which captures a snapshot of sensor data at the moment the ECU detects a malfunction
• Access real-time data from your vehicle's sensors
• Check the status of Readiness Monitors to ensure your emission control devices are functioning correctly
• Store the DTCs you read in a local history for future reference
• Log in to keep your DTCs in the cloud for easy access across devices
• View charts of sensor readouts for a visual understanding of your vehicle's performance
• Export real-time sensor data to a file for detailed analysis
• Verify your car's VIN number
• Explore details of your vehicle's ECUs, including the OBD protocol and PIDs number

Some of these advanced features are part of our Premium offering, available through a one-time in-app purchase that unlocks all Premium features. No subscriptions required!

To use Piston as a car scanner, you'll need a separate ELM327-based device, either Bluetooth or WiFi. Piston is fully compatible with the OBD-II (also known as OBDII or OBD2) and EOBD standards, ensuring broad vehicle support.

In the USA, all vehicles sold since 1996 are required to support the OBD2 standard. In the European Union, EOBD has been mandatory for petrol vehicles since 2001 and for diesel vehicles since 2004. For Australia and New Zealand, OBD2 is required for all petrol cars manufactured from 2006 and diesel cars from 2007.

Important: Piston can only access the data your vehicle supports and provides via the OBD2 standard.

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].

What's New in the Latest Version 3.8.0

Last updated on Aug 2, 2024

• Support for Android 14
• Improved Sensor Selection Screen
• Support for additional sensors (availability may vary for different vehicles)