Piston

Unlock the power of your vehicle's diagnostics with Piston, where all your car’s diagnostic information is easily accessible on your mobile device. Is your Check Engine Light (MIL) illuminated? With Piston, transform your smartphone into an effective car scanner to read Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) and delve into the Freeze Frame data, pinpointing and resolving issues efficiently.

To get started, you'll need an ELM327-based adapter, available in Bluetooth or WiFi versions, which you connect to your vehicle's OBD2 socket. Piston simplifies the setup process, providing clear instructions accessible from the Home page post-installation or in the Settings menu at any time.

With Piston, you can:

• Read and clear DTCs as defined by the OBD2 standard
• Explore Freeze Frame data, capturing sensor data at the moment of a detected malfunction
• Access real-time data from vehicle sensors
• Check the status of Readiness Monitors to ensure emission control devices are functioning properly
• Store DTCs in a local history for future reference
• Log in to save your DTCs in the cloud for seamless access across devices
• View charts of sensor readouts for a clearer understanding of your vehicle's performance
• Export real-time sensor data to a file for detailed analysis
• Verify your car's VIN number
• Examine ECU details, including the OBD protocol and PIDs number

Some of these advanced features are part of our Premium offering, available through a one-time in-app purchase that unlocks all premium functionalities without any recurring subscriptions.

To use Piston as a car scanner, you'll need a separate ELM327-based device, compatible with both Bluetooth and WiFi. Piston supports the OBD-II (also known as OBDII or OBD2) and EOBD standards, ensuring broad compatibility.

In the USA, all vehicles sold since 1996 are required to support the OBD2 standard. In the European Union, EOBD has been mandatory for petrol vehicles since 2001 and for diesel vehicles since 2004. For Australia and New Zealand, OBD2 is required for petrol cars manufactured from 2006 and diesel cars from 2007.

Important: Piston can only access the data your vehicle supports and provides through the OBD2 standard.

For any questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].

What's New in the Latest Version 3.8.0

Last updated on Aug 2, 2024

• Support for Android 14
• Improved Sensor Selection Screen
• Support for additional sensors (availability may vary for different vehicles)