Recommend A Scan Tool

[stmc]

I acknowledge my Foxwell 510, much used on the old E53, is not going to do the job with the newer F15. My independent garage specializes in Audi/VW so they are not equipped to make the switch to F15 either. In order to make one purchase to help me diagnose the F15 and pass on to them when needed I hope the forum members can offer advice.



New to me...2015 X5 50i MSport

[Megatr0n]

I bought the Foxwell NT530 and it's amazing!

[Clifton]

Another vote for Foxwell NT530

Payback 1: Mine paid for itself on the first use for my F15:
- Scan/Read BMW specific codes
- Re-calibrated my transfer case
- Cleared old codes

Payback 2: Up next will be a new battery, which the NT530 has menu option for new battery registration. Cha-Ching!!!

Other Uses: You can also buy add-on packs for other car manufacturer ($60). I did just that and was finally able to reset service required light after self-servicing. I was also able to read the DEM to check for Over-revs, something the dealer charges excessively for.

Final plug: The NT530, if purchased direct from Foxwell (not Amazon or eBay) comes with lifetime software updates.

[Chilled]

Kinda a + for the NT530, but mine is purely a backup to the laptop with ISTA. I have it in the trunk, should I ever need a reader on the road, its there.

However, I find ISTA and with Enet is easier to use to read clear error codes. Compared to ISTA, the NT530 it seems allot slower in reading all the modules, and the tiny scream is a pain.


Also, with the NT530 you pay for each manufacturer type. Its universal but without the packs it does do much out of the box.

[Ascotgrun]

Originally Posted by Chilled

Kinda a + for the NT530, but mine is purely a backup to the laptop with ISTA. I have it in the trunk, should I ever need a reader on the road, its there.

However, I find ISTA and with Enet is easier to use to read clear error codes. Compared to ISTA, the NT530 it seems allot slower in reading all the modules, and the tiny scream is a pain.


Also, with the NT530 you pay for each manufacturer type. Its universal but without the packs it does do much out of the box.

Have you encountered any functions that ISTA can do that the Foxwell can't?. I don't mean programming or coding. Strictly diagnostic and service functions.

I would much rather have ISTA, but I don't see that happening unless I pay much more than the price of a Foxwell.

[Chilled]

Originally Posted by Ascotgrun

Have you encountered any functions that ISTA can do that the Foxwell can't?. I don't mean programming or coding. Strictly diagnostic and service functions.

I would much rather have ISTA, but I don't see that happening unless I pay much more than the price of a Foxwell.

You can find ISTA for free on the Internets, just search around. All you need to do buy is a ENET cable or if you have an odb2 plug. Make your own.

As far as the functionality that ISTA can that the Foxwell cant, not sure. I used the foxwell for all of 5 minutes. But I do know that it doesn't come with repair instruction, torque specs, vehicle specs, and more. Plus the UI in ISTA is allot easier to navigate and use.


I bought the NT530, without any research or knowledge on what to expect from it based on how allot of people on the forums where praising it. I was kind of expecting the same usability/ functionality as the larger touch LCD ones, but it's not.

If they were cheap, sure but at nearly $200 for a BMW only version, kind of a bust for me. Mine is a, "encase of emergency, its in the trunk". I hope I never need it.

Knowing what i know now, would I buy one. No. Would I recommend someone to buy it, not really.

[Andy_Kay]

Originally Posted by Clifton

Another vote for Foxwell NT530

Payback 1: Mine paid for itself on the first use for my F15:
- Scan/Read BMW specific codes
- Re-calibrated my transfer case
- Cleared old codes

Payback 2: Up next will be a new battery, which the NT530 has menu option for new battery registration. Cha-Ching!!!

Other Uses: You can also buy add-on packs for other car manufacturer ($60). I did just that and was finally able to reset service required light after self-servicing. I was also able to read the DEM to check for Over-revs, something the dealer charges excessively for.

Final plug: The NT530, if purchased direct from Foxwell (not Amazon or eBay) comes with lifetime software updates.

Just bought a Foxwell NT530 as I need to re-calibrate my transfer case

[Clifton]

Originally Posted by Andy_Kay

Just bought a Foxwell NT530 as I need to re-calibrate my transfer case

Attached image is what it will look like when NT530 completes.

[Ascotgrun]

Originally Posted by Chilled

You can find ISTA for free on the Internets, just search around. All you need to do buy is a ENET cable or if you have an odb2 plug. Make your own.

As far as the functionality that ISTA can that the Foxwell cant, not sure. I used the foxwell for all of 5 minutes. But I do know that it doesn't come with repair instruction, torque specs, vehicle specs, and more. Plus the UI in ISTA is allot easier to navigate and use.


I bought the NT530, without any research or knowledge on what to expect from it based on how allot of people on the forums where praising it. I was kind of expecting the same usability/ functionality as the larger touch LCD ones, but it's not.

If they were cheap, sure but at nearly $200 for a BMW only version, kind of a bust for me. Mine is a, "encase of emergency, its in the trunk". I hope I never need it.

Knowing what i know now, would I buy one. No. Would I recommend someone to buy it, not really.

Thanks for the feedback. I have tried a few times to acquire ISTA but failed to download it fully. I considered buying a preloaded hard drive for $90ish, but the only laptop I own that would take such a drive is too old/low spec. Used laptops with ISTA installed seem be going for $4-500...and who knows how much life is left in it..or what else may be installed waiting for me to log it into my home WiFi.

The only thing I am interested in is fault code reading/clearing and basics like battery registration and steering recalibration etc.

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by Ascotgrun

Thanks for the feedback. I have tried a few times to acquire ISTA but failed to download it fully. I considered buying a preloaded hard drive for $90ish, but the only laptop I own that would take such a drive is too old/low spec. Used laptops with ISTA installed seem be going for $4-500...and who knows how much life is left in it..or what else may be installed waiting for me to log it into my home WiFi.

The only thing I am interested in is fault code reading/clearing and basics like battery registration and steering recalibration etc.

ISTA is a nice tool. And can be had free if you already have a serviceable laptop. Newer versions run on Win10 and come with "one click" type executables in some cases. Still took me multiple weekends to get it up and running and multiple downloads as well. Specific orders (and programs used) in which files must be unzipped, directories populated, etc. But it is doable.

The Foxwell NT530 is 100% worth the measly $150 it costs. Very handy. Though it is slow, it is very capable as others have pointed out above. I rarely use ISTA on the laptop and always default to Carly (do not recommend for new customers, I am grandfathered in) or the Foxwell (highly recommend) depending on what I'm doing.

[RED_Y_]

If you are techy enough ISTA is the must, if you want easy plug&play solution which probably will cover 90% of your needs the Foxwell is the way to go. I personally stick with ISTA.

[Ascotgrun]

Yeah, I guess I am not techy enough to even get ISTA downloaded. I had NCS expert and INPA years ago and I clearly remember the frustration getting that up and running.

Time to start shopping for a Foxwell.

[scotty339]

The standalone installers for ISTA are very straight forward. No different than any other windows programs. No need to mess with the manual install versions.

I use ISTA D and have BimmerCode/BimmerLink and an ODB 2 BlueTooth dongle for in-car or road trip trouble shooting.

I also have an Autel 539, which I mostly lend out to people these days.

If I were to buy a new tool and had nothing, it would be the NT530.

[Chilled]

Originally Posted by Ascotgrun

Yeah, I guess I am not techy enough to even get ISTA downloaded. I had NCS expert and INPA years ago and I clearly remember the frustration getting that up and running.

Time to start shopping for a Foxwell.

The current builds of ISTA are no where near as complicated as those. Those were a pain to install and get connected to the car. The new builds are simply next, next, finish, plug in the enet cable and done. The UI is hell of allot easier to use.

Just be prepared that the NT530 is allot slower than the touch LCD versions you see on youtube. To read all modules, its a start scan, get lunch, and hope its done by the time you comeback.

[CatalinP]

ISTA is the OEM software so it is definitely the best option.

[stmc]

Bought the FOXWELL 530 with the advice from several members.
I will look to add INSTA to my arsenal when I can dedicate a laptop to the task.

I am now trying to track down a good fault code list. The sticky has a thread with some resources, but none of the faults my X5 is throwing are found on that list. Please recommend a list. Do these appear to be standard OBDII or BMW faults?

My present codes are:

E48C1E
804246
D91E32
E7140A
C95409
800BE4
801A50
801A55
B7F8AE


2015 X5 50i MSport

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by stmc

Bought the FOXWELL 530 with the advice from several members.
I will look to add INSTA to my arsenal when I can dedicate a laptop to the task.

I am now trying to track down a good fault code list. The sticky has a thread with some resources, but none of the faults my X5 is throwing are found on that list. Please recommend a list. Do these appear to be standard OBDII or BMW faults?

My present codes are:

E48C1E
804246
D91E32
E7140A
C95409
800BE4
801A50
801A55
B7F8AE


2015 X5 50i MSport

Have you used this site yet: https://bmwfault.codes/

If not, click the link, paste your fault codes in the search box, and click on the links in the “fault info” column to you see the description of the code and possible causes.

[stmc]

Thanks, QSilver7. That's the first site out of three I've tried tonight that had more than one of the codes from my list. Now I need to do a search on the SMFA module.

[Qsilver7]

SMFA = the driver’s seat control module (A245 in illustration below)

SMBF = the front passenger seat control module (A246 in illustration below)

[stmc]

Thank you for the diagram. I am trying to figure out how to loosen the Seat Module from the plastic carrier mounted under the seat without breaking plastic tabs. Is this type of disassembly information available? Really miss having a Bentley manual!

[RED_Y_]

Originally Posted by stmc

Thank you for the diagram. I am trying to figure out how to loosen the Seat Module from the plastic carrier mounted under the seat without breaking plastic tabs. Is this type of disassembly information available? Really miss having a Bentley manual!

ISTA has all the manuals.

[Ascotgrun]

Originally Posted by Ascotgrun

Yeah, I guess I am not techy enough to even get ISTA downloaded. I had NCS expert and INPA years ago and I clearly remember the frustration getting that up and running.

Time to start shopping for a Foxwell.

After all that back and forth, I am finally ISTAfied. Found a website with a pay download option so I went for it. Already tried it out on my car and found that the sunroof had an error and needed to be re initialized or something. I was able to click various clicks and complete it.

Feel much better having a good diagnostic option now.