I’ve been intrigued for a few weeks with a device called the “Automatic.” It plugs into your car via the OBD-II port that is on nearly every car since 1996. OBD stands for On Board Diagnostics. It is an input port that today’s mechanics plug their diagnostic computers into to find out what is wrong with your car. All cars today are just computers with an engine.
One of the newest kind of devices on the market are personal automobile diagnostics devices that plug into your own car. From it, you get readouts on your cellphone via a special app. One such device is the Automatic. The ads make it sound good as you can get gas mileage reports, diagnostics if your check engine light comes on and other such reports. It is also supposed to track your mileage for income tax purposes if you need that. There is more to it and can read about it on the Automatic Web site. I decided to buy one just for the fun of it and see if what it would do for my needs. The first problem I ran into is it fit perfectly into the OBD port, but then I could not close the access door to the port. It hung down by my feet…a real nuisance.
I decided to try it out anyway. I installed the Automatic app on my iPhone and it connected just fine to the car. I made one trip to Costco and back and got a full report. I was not overly impressed with the data, but that was OK. I made another short trip and got no report at all. Then on Saturday, I drove up to Phoenix International Raceway to see the Indy Car race there (the first time Indy cars have raced here in 11 years).
All the way up and back, I got a periodic message on the phone say this device was not compatible with my iPhone 6+. However it didn’t say what device it was. But I guessed it was the Automatic.
The next day, I checked my iPhone and there was absolutely no record of my having driven to Phoenix and back. The software was still reporting my only trip in the car was to Costco. I unplugged the device, closed the port door and took it back to Best Buy for a refund. Even if it had worked properly, I would have returned it because of the port door issue.
I tell you this in case you are thinking about getting such a device for your car. For some people, the Automatic would be a great solution. But I just wanted you to be aware of my problems with it. Before you buy one, at least check out the OBD port in your car to see if it will fit properly.
So that was my weekend. The race was great fun anyway and never worried once about the device in my car. So, now that you know my story, let’s see what else is going on in the world of technology. -JRC
Tech News and Opinions
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