CarScopeSee what your car is telling you
Plug a cheap OBD-II adapter into your car and CarScope shows you what the engine is up to: gauges, charts, trouble codes and step-by-step checks. Handy if you’re curious about your car or like to tinker with it, and handier still when you’re about to buy a used one.
One app, from the test drive to the hundredth trip
Check a car before you buy it. Then keep driving, recording and comparing in the same app, on whichever device you have on you.
Live data and charts
Each parameter gets a tile with a little chart. Different units get separate lanes, so lines never pile up.
Codes and readiness
Trouble codes explained in plain words, with freeze frames and readiness monitors.
Guided checks
Thermostat, air leaks, O2 sensors, battery and alternator, catalyst. You follow the steps, CarScope does the maths.
Before you buy
Find out if the codes were just cleared, the Check Engine light was on, or the VIN doesn’t match. Then take the PDF with you.
Gauges, On the road, HUD
Arrange the gauges your way. Go big for the drive, or mirror them onto the windshield.
Garage
Every car gets its own history: connections, checks, what’s normal for it and when service is due.
Live readings you can actually read
CarScope asks the engine unit what it can report and shows you all of it. You don’t need to know a single PID.
Tiles, charts and lanes
- Each parameter has a tile with its value, unit and a short chart. Everything fits in the window, so there’s no sideways scrolling.
- Pick a few parameters and they share one time axis. Engine speed, load and temperature each get their own lane and scale.
- Numbers are rounded sensibly, and the axes step in round values.
- Noticed something odd? Drop a marker and jump straight back to that moment later.
- No car around? Turn on Demo. The readings are fake, and the app says so.
Plot one value against another
Put vehicle speed against engine speed, for example, and every gear shows up as its own line. Now you see how the car behaves, which a column of numbers won’t tell you. Outliers get a list of their own, and you can compare recordings from different days.
On Android, tap a tile to see the last 30 seconds as a chart. On iPad the chart of the selected gauge sits next to the tiles.
Codes, readiness and checks in plain words
Four tabs on every platform: Codes, Readiness, Checks and Pre-purchase. CarScope only reads data. Clearing codes is the only change it can make, and it always asks you first.
Codes and readiness
- Stored, pending and permanent codes, each with a plain description and its freeze frame: a snapshot of the readings when the code was set.
- Scan all modules asks every unit that answers, not just the engine.
- Readiness shows whether the Check Engine light is on, how many codes are stored and which monitors haven’t finished since the last clear.
- Share the result or save it as a file.
Guided checks beta
CarScope tells you what to do, records what it needs and gives a verdict: normal, suspicious or problem. Right below it you see what was measured, what it was compared with, and how it got to the verdict.
- Thermostat — how long the engine takes to reach 80 °C, where the temperature settles, whether it drops while driving.
- Air leaks and fuelling — fuel trims per bank at idle and at 2,500 rpm.
- Upstream O2 sensors — how often they switch, their range, how fast they react to a throttle blip. For narrow-band sensors.
- Battery and alternator — voltage at rest, while cranking, at idle, under load and at 2,000 rpm.
- Catalyst — the rear sensor compared with the front one.
For a phone mount or a head unit there’s a large mode with one instruction and one timer. You can also rerun a check on a recording. The thresholds are still general and we’re tuning them, so treat a verdict as a hint, not a workshop diagnosis.
Large mode for the car
During a check the phone shows just what matters: what to do, the live value next to its target and the time left. Then the verdict shows up big and in colour.
Before you buy a used car
A minute of reading tells you what the seller may not:
- codes were cleared recently — distance and warm-ups since the clear, monitors not yet finished;
- the Check Engine light is on now or was on before, and for how long;
- the VIN in the engine unit doesn’t match the documents or the body;
- the mileage you entered differs from what the unit reports (if the car reports it);
- there are permanent codes or codes in other modules.
Add a few short checks: fuel trims, battery, and the thermostat if the engine is still cold. The PDF report is made right on your device. On the computer you can also save a ZIP for your mechanic and keep the car in the Garage as a candidate.
Big numbers for the drive. Even on the windshield
Set up your gauges once. Then use them as a dashboard, go full screen while you drive, or reflect them in the windshield.
Gauges and thresholds
- Dials and tiles fill the screen. Add, move and resize them in the editor.
- Set a threshold, say coolant above 105 °C. Cross it and the tile turns amber or red. On the computer you can add a beep too.
- Works on the computer, on Android phones and head units (1024×600 and up), and on iPhone and iPad.
On the road
One tap and the same gauges go full screen, with bigger numbers on a calm dark background and no extra buttons. If a value crosses its threshold, a big warning pops up at the top.
Mirror (HUD)
- Lay the phone under the windshield. The numbers are mirrored on the screen, so they read the right way round in the glass.
- A black background and one bright colour: teal, green, white or amber. Warnings show up in amber or red.
- The HUD has its own layout of one to three big values: speed, engine speed and coolant by default. You can rotate it 180°.
- Works best at night and at dusk. Laminated glass can show a double image; a HUD film helps.
Every car keeps its own history
The Garage remembers each car (make, model, year, VIN, the adapter that worked) and everything you’ve done with it: connections, checks, code readings, recordings.
- Card — the car, its modules and its connection history. If a connection failed, you can see where it stopped: adapter, protocol, module or data.
- Timeline — by day: trips, checks, code readings, “codes disappeared”.
- Results — saved checks and pre-purchase reports, with better or worse than last time at a glance.
- Health — what’s normal for your car: idle speed, fuel trims, voltage, warm-up time. After a drive CarScope tells you if something is off. It doesn’t diagnose anything, it just says “not as usual”.
- Maintenance — mileage, reminders by distance or date (“due soon”, “overdue”) and notes with photos of receipts.
Health and Maintenance are on the computer for now. The phone apps keep their own recordings and reports and can hand them to the computer.
The timeline and service reminders live on the same car card.
Record a drive, go back to the moment
Press record and CarScope keeps every reading with its time, plus your markers. On a phone you can add sound, vibration and GPS.
- Shuttle playback on the computer: drag right to go 2–32× faster, left to go back. Let go and it snaps back to normal speed. J/K/L and the arrow keys work too, and you can jump between markers.
- Clips — 25 seconds before a marker and 8 after, saved on their own whenever you want.
- All recordings in one list: search, sort, rename, delete. Each device looks after its own copies.
- On iPhone a recording keeps going when you switch apps or lock the screen (with a Bluetooth LE adapter, or while recording sound or GPS).
- Android and iPhone play recordings back at the speed you choose. Android also has ±10 s steps.
Ask about a recording and see what the AI looked at
Describe a symptom, or ask about what the car is showing right now or about a recording. The AI works from the measured numbers. When it claims something, it can show a small chart of the readings behind it.
- Evidence under the answer: the time span, up to four parameters, their ranges and when the maximum happened. “Show on chart” opens that spot in the recording.
- You decide what is sent: numbers, sound and images; numbers and sound features; numbers only; or nothing.
- Each answer shows how long it took and how many tokens it used, plus the cost if you enter your prices.
- Uses your own OpenAI account: an API key or sign-in with ChatGPT. Nothing is sent until you set it up and ask.
- You can just ask out loud; the language is detected automatically. Or use the system’s offline recognition.
Computer, phone, iPad and head unit, working together
Every version of CarScope works on its own: plug in the adapter and go. Got more than one device? They help each other out.
Any of these connects on its own:
- ComputerA laptop right in the car, or at home: charts, Garage, AI
- Phone or iPadAlways with you: gauges, checks, recording
- Android head unitThe screen in your dash: gauges and HUD
Even better together: the phone adds sound and GPS to the computer, the head unit shows the gauges, and recordings move over Wi‑Fi or Dropbox.
The phone as extra sensors
Engine sound and vibration from the phone go into the computer’s recording. An iPhone adds GPS speed.
A screen in the car
Gauges and On the road on the head unit or phone. Other CarScope devices nearby get the readings over Wi-Fi.
Phone ↔ computer over Wi-Fi
Pair once with a one-time code. Then layouts and recordings go over your local network.
Dropbox
Connect your own Dropbox and recordings show up everywhere. Files download when you open them.
Open a recording anywhere
Record in the car, open it on the computer: playback, charts, X/Y, AI.
Three steps and you’re ready
On first start CarScope asks for the language, the adapter and the car. Pick the make and model from the catalogue or type them in. You can skip any step, and Demo is always there.
While connecting, CarScope shows the chain Adapter → Protocol → Module → Data. If it gets stuck, you see exactly where, and what to try next.
What you need
A car with an OBD-II port
Almost every petrol car has one: US cars from 1996, European cars from 2001 (EOBD). It’s usually under the steering wheel. What the car reports depends on its engine unit.
An ELM327 adapter
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE, Bluetooth or USB. iPhone and iPad work with Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi; Android with classic Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
Protocols
The adapter finds the protocol on its own, CAN or one of the older ones it knows. You can also pick it by hand.
More data for some cars
Some cars have a vehicle profile in CarScope. Then the app reads more than standard OBD-II: manufacturer parameters and more modules.
What works where
| Feature | Computer macOS · Windows · Linux | Android phone · head unit | iPhone · iPad |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELM327 adapter | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE |
| Live data, gauges, On the road, HUD | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Codes, readiness, guided checks | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pre-purchase report with PDF | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Recordings and markers | Yes, with shuttle playback | Yes | Yes, also in the background |
| Garage: history, health, maintenance | Yes | Later | Later |
| AI with evidence | Yes, beta | — | — |
| Dropbox, phone ↔ computer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Languages | English, Russian | English, Russian | English, Russian |
| System | macOS on Apple silicon; Windows; Ubuntu x64 | Android 8.0 or later | iOS / iPadOS 17 or later |
Your car’s data stays yours
Kept on your device
Recordings, the Garage, reports and settings are just files on your device. No sign-up.
No ads, no tracking
No ads and no third-party analytics. Crash reports stay on the device; connection statistics are off until you turn them on.
Sent only when you say so
A report to the developer, Dropbox sync or a question to the AI goes out only when you say so, and only where you chose.
Questions and answers
Which adapter should I buy?
Will it work with my car?
Can CarScope damage my car?
Can I try it without a car?
Does it need the internet?
Is the AI free?
Does it work with CarPlay or Android Auto?
How much will it cost?
Coming soon to the stores
We’re getting CarScope ready for release. Store links will show up here as soon as the apps are out.
Got a question, or want to help test? Head to Support.