Carista gen 2 or evo?

W

wallport

Member
T6 Pro
Hi, out touring in my t6.1 and the dreaded engine management light has come on. Previous experience with dealer suggests weeks of wait even if under warranty. Meant to be heading down to Cornwall from Cardiff but am concerned about breaking down or invalidating warranty.

Is it worth getting a carista next day amazon delivery to try to work out how serious the problem is? If so, the threads on here with £15.99 price seem to be dated. The gen 2 is currently £39.99 and something called EVO is £64.99. Appreciate some quick help with understanding if either is worth ordering today.
 
So quick answer is do you want to use it with non VAG vehicles - this is the difference between Gen 2 (VAG only) and EVO (wider support)

It's the cheapest of the common 3 tools if you just need something to check quickly and includes the first month subscription. My feeling is if you're not sure what you want long term the price of the Gen 2 dongle+1 month sub will likely pay for itself in getting to the bottom of whatever issue you have.
 
Thanks. Was driving past a vw dealer and went in on off chance. Wasn't certified for vans so couldn't do anything but at least advised that it's OK to drive as long as light isn't red.

Am still going to buy a Carista but trying to work out if evo would do my wife's vauxhall zafira as well as gen 2 doesn't seem to. Having trouble working this out.
 
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If you just want to get error codes, aren't there cheaper options? The one I have does that with the free version of Auto Doctor.
 
wallport said:
Hi, out touring in my t6.1 and the dreaded engine management light has come on. Previous experience with dealer suggests weeks of wait even if under warranty. Meant to be heading down to Cornwall from Cardiff but am concerned about breaking down or invalidating warranty.
Click to expand...
Carista seems to doing well developing new features and that will be reflected in the price, I’m happy with Carista Beta functionality.
While in Cornwall pop in to the local VW dealership Volkswagen Commercial | Yeomans Volkswagen Commercial in Cornwall and Exeter.
It’s now Yeomans, the last time I was there it was under a different name and living up to the standard VW Commercial level of BS.
There’s a chance that if you tell them your on holiday and worried they just might give you some advice / fix it.
 
wallport said:
Thanks. Was driving past a vw dealer and went in on off chance. Wasn't certified for vans so couldn't do anything but at least advised that it's OK to drive as long as light isn't red.

Am still going to buy a Carista but trying to work out if evo would do my wife's vauxhall zafira as well as gen 2 doesn't seem to. Having trouble working this out.
Click to expand...
My Carista (gen2) works on the wife’s Zafira B but with limited support as I assume there functions were limited in 2008 but is enough to clear the EML pre MOT ;)
And read the codes that caused it to come on in the first place
 
Komatoes said:
If you just want to get error codes, aren't there cheaper options? The one I have does that with the free version of Auto Doctor.
Click to expand...
Maybe - but Carista is a known quantity and VAG specialised so it's an easy one to recommend folks here to help them diagnose issues without asking them to spend that much (at least not in T6 terms)
 
I can recommend the gen2, I keep it in the van 24/7. If needed a buy a months subscription to use the advanced features but don’t pay constantly. Usually gets used about once a year or so
 
Found that I could order the evo with discount code SFDcarista for little more than the gen2 (£45.49) so went for that. I realised after ordering that I didn't check the subscription wasn't more - hoping not.
 
how do you get the discount code? - and where do you enter it?
 
bigger, better, faster, more. - according to there promo stuff.


"The main difference between the Carista OBD Аdapter and the Carista EVO Аdapter lies in their capabilities and compatibility.

The Carista OBD Аdapter is compatible with ELM327 v1.4. It serves as a reliable tool for diagnostics and customization of supported car models.

On the other hand, the Carista EVO Adapter is designed to unlock the full potential of the Carista App. It provides several advancements, including a lightning-fast connection, superior Bluetooth connectivity, stable communication, and a robust design. The Carista EVO Adapter significantly broadens the capabilities of the Carista App by supporting an even greater range of car brands. This expanded compatibility is achieved by overcoming hardware limitations present in the Carista OBD Adapter.

In summary, while the Carista OBD Adapter is suitable for standard diagnostics and customizations, the Carista EVO Adapter offers enhanced performance and compatibility (such as supporting the MS-CAN protocol for Ford cars, and unlocking SFD for all VAG vehicles), making it the preferred choice for users seeking a broader range of supported car brands and advanced features within the Carista App."


 
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Dellmassive said:
unlocking SFD for all VAG vehicles
Click to expand...

Well, couldn't find the pricing for the SFD unlocking. The current 9.99€/month seems to be without...

1719001257148.png

One thing which is not clearly mentioned re VAG cars - the older dongle doesn't support CANbus 29-bit addressing scheme which is already onboard on many VAG cars, including some specially equipped T6.1 (e.g. California).
 
Well it arrived. Plugged it in, all sorts of errors showed but no details so I subscribed (for the trial month and then I'll cancel). The only issue I was interested in was the engine management yellow light and the strange thing is that the only engine error was a coolant valve stuck open dating back to May (the eml came on yesterday).

For now I have reset all the faults, eml has gone out and we'll see if it comes back. Don't understand why I didn't seem to see a relevant fault though.
 
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The fault codes are historic view of error states. An intermittent fault can appear and then go away. But until you reset the codes you will still see the error lights (which are a warning to the driver to go get the vehicle inspected). Resetting the codes may result in the error not happening again if it was a random issue, or again later if something is wearing out.

You'll often get error codes if you are working on the van, for example when I took my rear bumper off and the parking sensors were disconnected.
 
SP01 said:
Heads up
The evo is on amazon lightning deal now for £45.49, with the promo code SFDcarista its £25.99
Click to expand...
As noted on the discounts thread:

www.t6forum.com

Various Discounts Go Here:

EF Delta 2 £599 https://www.costco.co.uk/
www.t6forum.com www.t6forum.com

And above in this one:

www.t6forum.com

Carista gen 2 or evo?

Hi, out touring in my t6.1 and the dreaded engine management light has come on. Previous experience with dealer suggests weeks of wait even if under warranty. Meant to be heading down to Cornwall from Cardiff but am concerned about breaking down or invalidating warranty. Is it worth getting a...
www.t6forum.com www.t6forum.com

It's worth bookmarking the discounts thread and subscribing to alerts on it by clicking "Watch"

Edited to add my apologies to @SP01 the numbers in the original discount value and the final value were so similar I thought you had reposted the same discount as earlier, whereas that's the final value.
 
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