Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Upon first plug in, likely your reaction will be similar to mine: "Wow, this thing is cool!" But after a few short days, the buzz fades and you come to realize this is one gadget you can really do w/o. Most of the information it provides (speed, RPM, distance, avg. MPG, tripometer) is obviously already being displayed on your car's dashboard. Other information (air intake temp, battery voltage, throttle position, fuel gallons consumed, etc.) is really pretty much worthless and not worth viewing during your daily commute. The one "coolest!" feature (real-time calcuation of fuel cost) really is just a calcuation you could do in your head... if you avg. 20mph and you've driven 40miles, yes that would equate to 2gallons of gas burned, and at $4/gallon, it's $8.00 up in smoke. This feature quickly went from "cool", to "damn, that's depressing". I know it costs $65 to fill my tank now -- but why do I want to be constantly reminded by this gadget how expensive it is to drive to work?? Other: real-time MPG. Seems cool at first. But soon you realize the only way to save gas is to slow down and go light on the accelerator. This is not rocket science. My finding was by going slow I can add only 1.5-2.5MPG to my average. This is nice but after a few days I realized I don't need constant real-time MPG displayed. It is a distraction and soon becomes annoying, just like most of the info displayed by ScanGauge. LAST WORD: ScanGuage does also operate as a ODB2 code reader. However, it only gives the generic (code: P0138), no explanation of what that code means. There are ODB2 readers available thru Amazon for 1/2 the price, that provide code AND explanation of what the code means. Also, clearing the trouble codes w/ ScanGuage is hit-or-miss -- often you press the button and the system just 'hangs'. One look in the troubeshooting section of the manual confirms this: "You may have to try multiple times to clear codes." ??? SUMMARY: Cool gadget, but except for gadget freaks, coolness factor soon fades. As an ODB2 reader, it is inferior to code readers priced half as much. Slow down in your daily driving, accelerate nice and easy -- you will save more money than if you pay $180 so that ScanGuage can tell you to slow down and go easy on the gas pedal!