Foxwell Scanners?

[Best4x4xFAR]

So I've seen them mentioned numerous times, all seemed to be thumbs up references. I was trying to research which one would be best for what I want, and sent their sales team an email with various/numerous questions. The response was very vague, recommending their 'latest product the NT530' and including a link to a spreadsheet with hundreds of lines of vague information of what it can do.

Started looking at some reviews on Amazon, and they are not very promising, many poor comments regarding support, and not being able to register use the product out of the box. One specifically mentioned it allowed him to register a new battery, but not update the capacity. And one even claims the update site tried to install a virus on his computer?

Foxwell NT510 elite

Foxwell NT530

Foxwell NT630

Anyone with hands on experience care to comment? Really looking to be able to do diagnostics, maintenance like cycling the ABS pump for brake bleeds, battery registration, etc. Even some coding of functions like window up/down, hatch close on remote, lighting functions etc would be great as well (Amazon description 'seems' to imply it can do some coding ("Advanced functions such as Actuation, Adaption and Programming"), but I can't find any details on this anywhere..

Company's website seems poor from the standpoint of clarity on what the units can and can't do, or the differences between them. The NT510 elite seems to have the best customer reviews, but its more expensive than then newer NT530, and is not even shown on the company website anymore..

Personal experience welcomed..

[MillerMav]

I had the Schwaben (Foxwell) scanner with my previous 35d and it worked really well. I gave it to the new owner when I sold that vehicle. When I purchased my 2013 35d I purchased another scanner but I found that you can get a Foxwell branded scanner on eBay for about half the cost. It had a lot of positive reviews so took the risk and bought it. I've used it 4-5 times now for various things and it also works great!

I will say this, if you are good with computers and "tech" then I can see the value in buying the ISTA+ and then you have every option under the sun. For those of us like me who are not very tech savvy the Foxwell works great and does everything I've ever needed it to do.

[CVX20]

I bought a Foxwell NT510 a couple of years ago when I picked up my 02 X5 because of how much it claimed it could do.It's supposed to do almost everything you need to do with a scanner.I've only hooked it up a couple of times for minor things(loose fuel cap)so I can't swear it will do everything it claims.I had no issue registering it and at the time it came with free updates that I haven't done either.
I purchased it hoping I really wouldn't need it and so far I've been lucky.I will say that having wrenched for a living for 35+ years this thing amazes me that it does as much as it does.I had gone through pretty thoroughly when I first hooked it up.I've used factory Scanners over the years that didn't do as much.

[haigha]

I have the NT520 Pro.

I've used it for a few things:

- Monitoring ATF temp when doing a fluid drain.

- Reading BMW specific trouble codes.

- Diagnosing problem with alternator / charging system.

I got mine on eBay and saved a few dollars by making an offer at the "if you buy 4 price". I think that was around $126.

It works well, but the documentation is skimpy. It doesn't show clearly which modules you have when drilling down through the menus. I think there are three different transmission modules I can select and then get the same information. Each seems to work the same way. (I know I have the 6-speed in my N62).

There's a procedure for bleeding the brakes with the ABS, but I don't know how it works. I'll look that up when I do that next year. In the past, I've only done the manual two-man method.

I can reset the transmissions adaptions, but have held off since the transmission is behaving well after doing three drains/refills and I don't want to mess it up.

I did one online update, but the latest changelog only showed a minor update for Z4's. It wasn't clear if there were any intermediate updates from the version I was starting with.

[ard]

nt520pro. I paid 140 shipped.

[Thecastle]

I have the 510, and find it works with older BMWs fine. However, never could get it to work on my F10 550i. Even after updating the firmware. So Carly was my solution for that car.

[Zulu95]

When I was researching for my Foxwell I asked about changing the battery in the E70. I was informed it could handle every aspect including programming a different type of battery and the registration process. They even sent me a YT link showing the scanner changing a LA to a higher rated AGM.
Then I bought the scanner and tried to find this in the menu. Was not there so I contacted the same CS guy. "Oh, ah, mmm, well um, we took that out." was the reply. You can do the registration of a new, same type battery but not changing between types, capacity etc.
So be warned, if they are a little vague it is for a reason. Also, as happened to me, they can "take it out" of the software. Having said all that I have used it for other things including troubleshooting a trifecta and it was great. That alone paid for it.

[Best4x4xFAR]

Zulu95 - Well that is quite disconcerting, thanks for the feedback..

[Sschwab]

I bought the NT530 in advance of a brake job, and also used it to clear some codes related to a battery replacement by the prior owner.

I don't see a battery registration history, but the X5 runs and drives with no service warnings, so I'm reluctant to do anything at this point.

I felt good enough about the code scan and reset features to purchase it, but I will consider looking into coding options in the future based on my wife's needs after driving the X5 for awhile. For now, she's happy.

[ard]

"wifes coding needs.."


now THAT'S funny!