What AI tool or app
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemin would you recommend for interpreting OBD-II scans and breaking down vehicle problems? I’m looking for something I can use when checking out used cars to understand the codes, likely problems, severity, and potential repair costs.
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemin would you recommend for interpreting OBD-II scans and breaking down vehicle problems?
None. AI is notorious for "hallucinating" wrong answers. This is frequently referred to as "AI slop". This has even gotten lawyers and judges in trouble for relying heavily on AI that would hallucinate case law that did not exist and misapply that which did exist. A police department using AI to produce police reports based on body camera footage experienced the AI stating that a police officer turned into a frog.
In my own case an automotive-focused AI, when presented with the symptoms of a car issue that I had already solved, it completely misdiagnosed the problem and recommended changing a part that does not exist on my vehicle.
@chucktobias thanks for the feedback.
You're welcome. The takeaway is that if you are going to query an AI about a car problem it may steer you right or it may steer you wrong. You might choose to use an AI to get a quick overview but it would be best verify what it's telling you from other sources before tearing into your vehicle.
Scotty was impressed with the MECH AI app in a video he shared last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TAbZGEMweg&t=768swould you recommend for interpreting OBD-II scans and breaking down vehicle problems
My experience with Scotty's beloved Mech AI is not good. I asked about some specifications about my car I already know when Scotty talked about it. It returned some wrong answers and thus I stopped using it as I found it unreliable. If it gives wrong data about simple things, how can I trust it will return correct answers about things I don't know.
@g-t I think that's the same AI that I tested and got 100% bogus answers back.
@chucktobias I asked ChatGPT the same question a few days ago due curiosity. It returned same incorrect answer. As a source it showed me a link I could not access.
What AI tool or app
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemin would you recommend
none.
Car problems and fixes tend to be very model specific. AI often gets these details wrong. Sometimes it just blatantly makes up nonsense, and the rest of time , it's just regurgitating bad advice it aggregated from social media (garbage-in garbage-out principle).
The number one useful resource is a factory service manual. Then there are auto specific tools like Alldata and Identifix etc. . Subscriptions are pricey if you don't run a shop, but often you can just buy access for a few days, and go on a downloading spree.
Having used ChatGPT myself to "help" try to diagnose my wife's old EcoBoost Mustang's misfire, I would pass on using every single one of those. Most of the substance is good for generic troubleshooting, but currently AI doesn't know the specifics of every Mustang yet.
When my wife's Mustang started misfiring, P0301 was the code and it would occasionally run rough when idling. She had over 145k miles on the Mustang and it still had the original spark plugs. It seemed to idle better after the spark plug change, but there was still something off about it.
The car's check engine light came on again a couple days later, and P0301 came up again. She hadn't had the engine carbon-cleaned since she bought it brand new, so she had the dealership carbon clean the intake valves. The dealer also said there was a whole lot more high-dollar crap wrong with the car, and that freaked her out. The dealer neglected to tell her that her water pump was failing. I noticed there was seepage coming from the pump a day later. I said to stop driving her car and to take my Mustang, while I search for a water pump and replace it.
A few days after I replaced the water pump, the head gasket officially blew. It turned out that Ford had problems with head gasket failures on those EcoBoost Mustangs because Ford didn't design the head gasket properly, and affected vehicles had their gaskets blow right around the same mileage. Ford never recalled the EcoBoost Mustangs to correct the issue.
AI doesn't "know" the specifics of every vehicle yet.
Yes mech.AI is actually a very good site
