[tilroh]

Can anyone recommend a OBD2 scanner?
There are so many to choose from.
I just want to know whats going on with the car and decipher error codes.
My wife's CX3 is showing the little orange wrench even tho the car is 5K from the next scheduled service.

Thanks, Mack in Brisbane Aus

 

[SlyCoopers]

If im not mistaken, the maintenance wrench is set off by either miles or time? It is different from the check engine light so an obd2 reader most likely wont pull anything from that since its a proprietary signal on the mazda's internal CMU. This happened to me quite often until I realized I had to "reset" or extend both the mileage reminder and also days(?) reminder. You are probably setting off the latter in that case. My car is actually at mazda getting some work done so I cant verify the exact terminology and setting but I am pretty sure there was a second condition to the maintenance reminder. Hope this helps

 

[st3v3cx-3]

The wrench symbol, as Slycoopers states, isn't anything to do with the Check Engine Light that an OBD2 reader would help to decipher. It is used by Mazda on the CX-3 to outline when either Maintenance, Tyre Rotation or Oil Change is due. To check the settings, go to Applications - the A button on the left hand side of the Home Infotainment screen - and the Maintenance sub-menu. I've extracted a couple of pages from the European Owners Manual 2016 which should help :-

 

[tilroh]

Thanks st3v3cx-3 and SkyCoopers. The wrench showed up for scheduled tire rotation and oil change. I guess the former owner changed the oil every 5k kms. I think I'll continue.

 

[NotAPreppie]

I really like my PLX Kiwi3 and OBD Fusion app on my iPhone.

 

[Al M]

I really like my PLX Kiwi3 and OBD Fusion app on my iPhone.

Your succinct comment opened an avenue completely new to me --- that I could diagnose my CX -3 myself (thanks to OPD2). A bit of research on the Internet (which, along the lines of a previous octogenarian chest-puffing that is on another thread in the forum, I first started using in the 1970’s, thanks to DARPA) led me to the OPDLink MX+ as well as to the Kiwi3 that you mention. Both are at about the same price. I would use it with my Android Pixel 3. Do you have an opinion on the OPDLink?
I really don’t need it, but I like to amuse myself by tinkering, and this might be an interesting tinker.

 

[NotAPreppie]

Sorry, I don't have any first-hand experience with the OBDLink MX+. Looking at the specs, it appears to be a feature-by-feature copy of the Kiwi3 so you're probably safe getting either one.

 

[Al M]

Sorry, I don't have any first-hand experience with the OBDLink MX+. Looking at the specs, it appears to be a feature-by-feature copy of the Kiwi3 so you're probably safe getting either one.

Thank you, “NotAPreppie”, for the information. The OPDLink is available here in France, so I will try it out. It should arrive at the end of this week. I will let you-all know how it works.
Amicalement, Al M

 

[Al M]

Dear NotAPreppie,
Just out of curiosity, what does your “NotAPreppie” moniker signify? It could just mean that you did not attend a private preparatory school such as Choate, Phillips Academy, Moses Brown, or Groton.

 

[NotAPreppie]

It was mostly a reference to a sitcom TV show from the 1990's. There was a character that I didn't like and another character nicknamed him "Preppie". So, "NotAPreppie". I started using it waaaay back in the early days of the Internet and never saw a reason to change (even if I don't really care about that old show or its characters anymore).

 

[Al M]

Thank you, “NotAPreppie”, for the information. The OPDLink is available here in France, so I will try it out. It should arrive at the end of this week. I will let you-all know how it works.
Amicalement, Al M

I tried out the OBDLink LX. It seems to work quite well. The app supplied runs only on Android, but other apps, such as Kiwi3, that run on Apple are supposedly also supported. Happily it found no problems with my CX-3.