Just wondering if anyone can recommend what kind of OBD2 device would I need for my 2019 Aston Martin Vantage?

It threw an engine light the other day and it's a steady amber light. According to the service manual it's okay to keep driving as long as you don't notice any changes in the sound, driving capabilities etc (which I don't).

The city I am in does not have an Aston Martin dealership and it's a 3 hour drive to the city that does. That's where I bought the vehicle from in October last year. As long as it doesn't snow by the next weekend and the roads stay clean I intend to drive down, pending I get an appointment.

My service C is overdue by 52 days as well as it timed out while it was mostly parked over the winter. I had intended to drive down next month when snow prospects were really low but because of this light I am thinking of taking it sooner rather than later and obviously get the service done at the same time.

Do you guys think the dealer can decline warranty based on the fact that the service is overdue? The car has under 4K km's still so it's not the mileage service, but just the 12 months one.

Thanks

 

I use a Foxwell 530 without issue - it has AM specific codes. I have been happy with it. There was a thread earlier regarding warranty service during Covid and that wasnt a problem if delayed. Someone had posted a letter from AM regarding this.

 

For reading regular OBDII codes, I have an OBDLink LX. Connects to your phone via Bluetooth.

Nobody can completely void a warranty for any reason. They can, however, void subsystems related to modifications or improper maintenance. e.g. If you throw a rod, and try to get it fixed under warranty, they could argue that the reason the engine failed was because you didn't change the oil. With that said, Aston Martin, in my experience, treats customers pretty well and are generous with warranty claims.

 

Thank you for your comments. I will check out that device. My service reminder came on about a month before this COVID think really hit mainstream. So not sure if that matters to them. I did call the dealer about a week or so into the reminder to just generally get a quote for the service and see what it entails etc., and I had mentioned to him that I am out of town and won't be able to bring the car until close to summer. I asked if that was an issue and if I can still keep driving the car, he said it should be fine as the mileage is really low. He didn't mention anything about the time factor before service being a reason for warranty denial. I guess let's wait and see.

Thank you for your comment. I suppose that makes sense. But in reality on a vehicle with 4K km's from new if the oil isn't changed in 12 months but in 15-16 when the car is rarely driven, is it really that big of a deal? I would sure hope not. I really wish I had that tool handy so I could quickly find out what code it's throwing and if anything I should be worried about or not. And hopefully you're right about the last part and I don't get any flak from the dealer about that.

PS: Is this the scanner you're referring to? Is there an app?

 

What city do you live in?

 

I would advise against the Foxwell tools. I know they've worked for some individuals, but in my case there seems to be an issue with mine and it's been three weeks of trying to get Foxwell to help and they won't do anything; not even look at it. The tool is 4 months old. If your experience is like mine, you're buying at risk. They simply don't honor the warranty that they claim.

 

Unfortunately nowhere near you guys. In Edmonton.

A bit tangential but I had your guys' 200 CEL catalyst and a sport exhaust on my 2008 Vantage I had before this one. Unfortunately due to the lack of appropriate places to remove that setup easily (was $1000 to install) it went in with the car when it got traded, leaving me with the stock exhaust that I don't know what to do with. Haha.

Thanks for that. I haven't ordered one yet, still doing my research. Never had this tool for any of my cars before and almost thinking the same for this as the vehicle is under warranty and whatever the issue it should be covered so thinking why bother with buying a tool that I am not even sure will work or not. Plus it'll just show me what the code is, not like I have any mechanical acumen of fixing anything myself. Haha.

 

To whoever that cares; I took the car to the dealer for the regular service anyway, which was $1200 but whatever. In regards to the engine light, before I took the car back the sign had stopped coming anyway but the codes are stored. The technician told me that the code was saying that cylinder 3, 5 and 7 were misfiring but he drove the car around aggressively, did all the possible checks he could do and did not find any issue at all. He said if the car has experienced a lot of short starts and stops over the winter can cause that but I am pretty sure I never did that to the car at all.

I don't know, kind of concerning as I understand that error to be a pretty big deal? But the sign hasn't returned since even though I only drove it back home that day and it has been parked for a week since. Will start driving it daily soon and keep an eye on it I guess.

 

I've been using this with an app called "MotorData OBD". It costs about $12, and it's been one of the most useful things I've ever purchased.
It gives details on codes the car throws up, allows you to clear codes and service lights, etc. You can also get real-time data from whichever ECU you want it to read while the car is running.
Here's a screenshot from the last time I got an emissions code:

 

If it were my car, I'd grab an OBDII scanner like you're already pursuing and I'd plug that thing in during/after each drive and record misfire data. If it starts to show something significant, I'd work from there along with any thrown trouble codes to try to narrow it down either with us or your Aston dealer. There are some really talented folks here at helping to diagnose issues.

 

Thank you for the suggestions guys, I am still exploring my options about the tool.

But since getting the car back and driving it a few hundred kms including the 300 km drive back to my city, I haven't seen the engine light stay on. So I am guessing there haven't been any misfires or else there would have been an error thrown by way of that engine light. I'd still like to get the tool here at some point just to have a better idea and learn more about the vehicle in general.

 

There service tech did not say if there were any other codes at all. Just the misfire codes that were stored and not actually active at the time of service. He said he tried out the car and did all the tests he could and could not get the issue to replicate or discover any issues.

 

Not exactly true. You can get misfires without tripping an engine light. If you do eventually trip the check engine light, the codes you'll get are because your vehicle has reached a certain threshold that AM has deemed could be damaging to other components. I wouldn't rely on the engine light alone if you're chasing misfires. I'd rely on cached data in your scanner after each drive.

 

I don't want to say too much, but there are a few of the new cars that throw (ghost) misfire codes. Chris figured out why, and knows how to fix it with software.

 

I guess all I need to know is if I should be worried or just carry on living my life. I mean it is under warranty so that's a peace of mind but still.....