Deployment report: CarMD “Vehicle Health System”
Deployment report: CarMD “Vehicle Health System”
The CarMD product is a combination of a hardware product (an OBD-II code reader) and a web service, with a little bit of desktop software to tie it together. The hardware product is roughly the size of a fat TV remote; it fits reasonably well into one’s hand. On one end there’s a connector that plugs into the OBD-II connector on your car (present on all cars sold in the US from model year 1996-on); on the other end there’s a USB type-B socket to receive a USB cable (which is included in the package).
To use the CarMD, you plug it in to your car’s OBD-II port. Then you turn the car’s ignition to the “ON” position (without starting). In about a minute or so, the CarMD reads the data from the car’s onboard diagnostics, and beeps to indicate completion.
Given the typical variation in the locations of cars’ OBD-II data ports, and the relative inconvenience of those locations, the optional extender cable should be considered mandatory. (It’s available as a separate accessory, or as part of an “essentials” bundle which includes the reader and the extension cable for a slightly discounted price.)
After gathering data from the car, you start the CarMD application (that you have installed at some prior point), and plug the unit into your computer using the included USB cable. The desktop application connects you to the CarMD web site. Each CarMD unit has a unique identifier; if the web site doesn’t recognize yours, you’ll be asked to fill in some information: your name and contact info; the car’s VIN (from which the web site will determine the year/make/model) and the car’s mileage. Thereafter, the web site will recognize you from the unit’s unique ID, log you in, and display the information gleaned from the unit.
There are some rough edges on the software side. There were typos in the quick-start reference guide, as well as in the software UI itself. The CD included version 3.1.0 of the Mac application; but the web site offers up version 3.0.5, and nothing newer. (This could be a problem for users with MacBook Airs and other computers which lack a working optical drive.)
The UI of the Mac application makes only minimal use of standard OS look and feel; it looks pretty rough and lacks useful feedback such as progress indicators when loading data from the hardware and reading the diagnostic data (both of which took long enough for me to wonder if something was wrong).
A CarMD account is free, which is good — the hardware is absolutely useless without it. The unit does not display any human-readable information; nor does the desktop application. The web site itself displays only minimal technical information; either your car is working correctly (no codes stored in the OBD-II memory); or it needs attention (there are codes); or there’s a must-fix-before-emissions-inspection condition. This lack of detail is unfortunate as it makes the CarMD much less attractive to enthusiasts and home mechanics.
Although the basic CarMD service is free, the web site offers “premium” content for a fee. For example, any factory-issued Technical Service Bulletins are listed; but you cannot read them without first paying a fee for each one (currently US$2.99). A free account allows you to keep up to three cars; you can generate up to six reports per month (and you only need to generate a report if there’s a code stored in your car’s OBD-II memory). This is probably enough for most households.
Even so, CarMD offers a “Premium Vehicle Health Membership”, which for about $30 offers you access to several services not available for free accounts: “unlimited access to TSBs”, “unlimited access to warranty and scheduled maintenance intervals for all your registered vehicles”, “special private content”, “special discounts from partners”, “subcription to the CarMD newsletter”. Speaking as an enthusiast, the value proposition isn’t compelling to me; discovering the maintenance schedule is pretty easy for anyone willing to crack open the owner’s manual, and most enthusiast clubs (such as the BMW CCA) provide a great central resource for TSBs and other make-specific technical info.
One big shortcoming of the CarMD hardware is that it’s a static reader, and not a continuous monitor (such as the ScanGauge, which I intend to try out and write up). That USB port would be lovely for connecting to a MacBook Air or iPad and gathering all kinds of data as you drive. Again, that doesn’t make much difference to the target audience for the CarMD; but it limits its appeal to advanced users, enthusiasts, and tinkerers.
Even with these caveats, the CarMD remains useful as a way for you to know what’s wrong with your car, in more detail than you might get from a dealer service writer or independent mechanic.
