peterp

I've been using the Carista iPhone app with a plug-in reader for year on many different car brands (including Mercededs, BMW, Audi, etc.), but I just realized yesterday it does not work for the Macan.

Is there another app that works for the Macan? I just want to read codes, don't want to do anything fancy.

Boomer80

Autel makes one. I use it with my IPhone mostly to reset the oil after changes, but it also reads codes. Pretty cheap for around $60 last time I looked.

wwahl

Will this be able to reset the battery when it is changed?

quallzone

Yes, the Autel MaxAP AP200 odb2 bluetooth tool will allow you to register a new battery in a Macan up to model year 2018 (as of March 2024). I bought the AP200 based on several favorable Macan owner posts regarding basic maintenance.

• Amazon
  Amazon
• https://blog.obdii.shop/battery-regi...-maxiap-ap200/
• https://www.macanforum.com/threads/r...ost_id=2627448
• https://www.macanforum.com/threads/r...ost_id=2729272

The new Autel AP2500E was released a few months ago, and it is advertised as being compatible with vehicles up to 2024. But I have not seen any Porsche-specific reviews.

jmoney99

Has anyone actually used it on a 2018 Macan? Autel's literature states it only works up to year 2017.

quallzone

I understand your confusion, based on the the Autel "coverage" website info: https://www.autel.com/vehicle-coverage/coverage2

• If you check Porsche Macan coverage for the "MaxiAP200", it says that "ALL" model years are supported.
• If you check coverage for the "MaxiAP AP200C", "MaxiAP AP200H, or "MaxiAP AP200M", it says "2017 and before".
• And if you look at the Amazon purchase link, it says: "The AP200 code reader car diagnostic tool works with most American, European and Asian OBDII-compliant models manufactured from 1996 to 2018." ( For the past few months, I have been using the AP200 on a 2017 Macan, purchased here on Amazon:
  Amazon
  Amazon
  )

Out of curiosity, I just called Autel North America [ 1-855-AUTEL-US (288-3587) ] >> #3 Technical Support >> #3 Code Readers, to talk to a representative. . . Their extremely patient and professional customer service rep (Jodie) stated verbally: "The AP200 general purpose code reader has been discontinued, as well as the AP200C, the AP200H, and the AP200M. These are different tools based off the AP200, with fewer features. So instead of getting the older AP200 for your Macan, we recommend buying the newer AP2500 tool, which should support Porsche Macan models up to 2024."

They were not able to quickly confirm the AP200 software specs, but thought it cuts off at either 2017 or 2018. After briefly talked about their coverage website discrepancy, Jodie decided to contact their Autel Engineering staff to get 100% confirmation of the AP2500 model year coverage. (For example, does "ALL" mean everything from 2014 thru 2024? or just 2017 thru 2024?). Jodie asked me about specific areas of interest, and is also going to get confirmation from Autel Engineering that the AP2500 will perform Battery Maintenance System resets, Oil service resets, and Electronic Parking Brake release. I was told to look for an email response in anywhere from 12 hours to 2 days, depending on their email backlog . . . I will post the Autel email response as soon as it arrives.

quallzone

The Autel representative (Jodie) contacted their Engineering team on June 26th with the following question:.

And here is their email reply on June 27th:.

Autel did not clearly confirm the supported Macan model years for the AP2500. But even it it does support up to year 2024 as advertised, the AP500 has fewer features than the discontinued AP200 according to their engineering team. The AP200 is advertised as offering 19 special service functions (including Electronic Parking Brake service mode), while the AP2500 offers only 5 service functions (and EPB service mode is Not one of them).

Over the past week, several Autel tools have been removed from their "Vehicle Coverage" website. Strangely, the AP200 is still visible in the drop-down list, but the AP200C, AP200H, AP200M, and the new AP2500 are gone (as of 3 July 2024).

Maybe the lesson is, You get what you pay for? . . . For me, the discontinued AP200 has worked fine so far on my 2017 Macan. But when I am ready to do bigger jobs, I will definitely look into a higher-end tablet. As others have stated in different threads, the money saved from just One Porsche DIY maintenance task practically offsets the investment in a decent diagnostic tablet.

I hope this information helps those of you looking for an ODB2 code scanner for 2018 or newer models.

wwahl

When I called support about the AP2500 I was told it wouldn't work. I asked what would and was told the MS906PRO. I looked it up, and they want more for this than what my car is worth.

peterp

My guess is that Porsche is restricting access ti OBD2 because they have chosen to just monetize the hell out of dealer service. Never had any issues with dealer service charges from Porsche (or Audi or BMW or Jaguar ...) until I got the Macan. Now it's just off the charts for every single service item, and restricting OBD2 access forces more people to go back to the dealer. Not sure why people aren't more outraged about Porsche dealer service costs (unless what I am seeing repeatedly is more of a regional issue).