We live in a do it yourself world but there are some things that are better left to the experts,so is being able to diagnose what is wrong with your car one of these? Or, could you use a product like Micro Mechanic to help you with this?
Overview
Micro Mechanic is a device that you can easily plug into your vehicle that will help to diagnose any issues that may be there. Once you know what the problem is then you can at least determine if it something that you can fix yourself, or is it time to head off to the mechanic. At least if this is the case you won’t be in for any big surprises as to what may be wrong with the vehicle.
The Claim
The promoters of Micro Mechanic are claiming that this device easily plugs into the diagnostic port of your car. It is basically a universal device that will work on any vehicles made in 1996 or after this. It has some pretty nifty features to it like Bluetooth capabilities that will transmit the findings to your smartphone.
The Hype
What is pretty neat about the Micro Mechanic is that it can be used by anyone. You don’t have to be an expert to use it nor do you need to be one to understand the information it is capable of providing you with.
The Cost
The cost of the Micro Mechanic is $29.95 plus $9.95 shipping. Plus if you are impressed with it enough then you can add a second one to your order for the cost of shipping which is $9.95.
The Commitment
The commitment for the Micro Mechanic is first finding the diagnostic port on your call then hooking this unit up to it. Then once you have run your diagnostics it means paying attention to the fndings if it indicates something is wrong with the vehicle. Most likely this will mean heading off to your mechanic to get it fixed unless you are mechanically inclined and can do it yourself.
Evaluation
There is no doubt that could be a very valuable device. When the engine light comes on this can be distressing. All of a sudden you see dollar signs flashing before your eyes in anticipation of being hit with a hefty mechanics bill. No matter what the Micro Mechanic is going to relieve the stress of not knowing almost immediately what is wrong with the vehicle.
Final Micro Mechanic Review
We are prepared to give the Micro Mechanic a thumbs up because there is a definite need for a product like this. We like that it is reasonably price and basically anyone can use it because it is so simple. It is lightweight so you can keep it in the car ready for use whenever there is a need.
Our Recommendation
Having as many items needed to help you keep your vehicle running smoothly is definitely a good thing. Another one that you may want to have on hand is this battery charger as the cold weather is about to set in.
I had bought this unit first and I had a ZUS parking monitor already. Because I had bought the parking monitor/charger from ZUS they offered me a free mini code reader scanner for free. I’m glad I took them up on their offer. First my jeep started with a check engine light. I put in the Micro Mechanic and it told me that the Mass Airflow Sensor was bad. I ordered the part and when it came in I replaced it, cleared the code and immediately after driving the car for about 20 minutes I plugged in the MM again and sure enough the code was back for the MAF sensor. Luckily, I received the ZUS reader the same day. I plugged it in and it gave me a totally different code which led me to the oil cooler. Sure enough the local autozone store confirmed the oil cooler code all the while MM was still reporting MAF issues. I fixed the oil cooler issue and sure enough the code cleared on its own. MM is junk. Don’t waste your time. If you want a pocket reader buy a ZUS.
I plugged this into my vehicle and WITH the check engine light on this “tool” after each of at least six scans said there were no issues AND it won’t clear the fault. I used a scan tool from Walmart and right away it identified the problem and allows me to clear the fault. So this thing costs about $20 roughly before shipping and so does the scan tool I got at Wal-mart. If I could get a do-over, guess which one I would not have bought? Slick advertising does it again. It should be called the Micro Mechanic scam tool. If you bought one my advice is to let it go and get a real scan tool. You can get one for less than $40 on lots of sites or do what I did.
Does not provide codes when used even when know problems exist. Customer service will not respond.
I just bought the Micro Mechanic device from Target for less than $9 including tax. However, the recommended Micro Mechanic app didn’t tell me anything and there was no way to reset the check engine light. I then tried the Torque lite app and it couldn’t connect to the device. I then tried the Carista app and voila! It found the engine problem (minor) and it has the check engine light reset button on the same screen. Hit the button and the check engine light went out!
The device is okay but I recommend using it with the Carista app.
Works perfectly fine on my iPhone
It works jus fine for me guess ur a bunch of idiots download micro Mechanic app an works jus fine pulled two codes on mine an that’s what it was an I reset my check engine light with it
DO NOT BUY
IF I WOULD PAID ALOT FOR THIS JUNK,ID BEEN PISSED,DOES NOT WORK,JUNK,RIPOFF, SCREWED,SHIT DEVICE
We should have a law that any advertisement should be required to show the 5 star rating in big lettering on the front of add so we don’t have to waste presious time reading all the comments about the product!
Lucky, mine doesn’t even connect to my Bluetooth. How can they legally sell these In stores?
It caused electric issues in my car to
DO NOT BUY- DANGER- I followed instructions. It was easy to set up. It told me my car was safe to drive even though my engine light was on. Drove about 2 miles my temp. Was almost in red. I pulled over scan again “safe to drive”. Unplugged device car is fine. DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME. I in hot weather in AZ for 1 hour with my little dog. If anything is wrong with my elec. system they will hear from me. Eng. Light was due to a transmission issue.
Is this about the BIOS micro mechanic. Could you please specify BIOS or at least reference what model of micro mechanic your absolutely opinionated on?
Any commenters actually know what’s been referenced here? I’m looking for info on micro mechanic mm-mc12/4!
I agree . Complete waste of money. Doesn’t work.
I found one of these at a local store the very day my light came on. I thought that it was cheap enough at $15 to give me an idea of what is going on with my car. After installing the app in my phone, I ran a test and it said “nothing is wrong, it is safe to drive your car”. After talking to a rep, I exchange the unit in case I simply got a defective one. Again I ran a test with the same result.
I took my car to my mechanic for a REAL scan and it showed that I have a failing catalytic converter. Don’t waste your time or $15 on one of these. IT JUST DOESN’T WORK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m taking this worthless POS back to the store for a FULL refund.
Buyer beware!
Also this site won’t let me rate it below a 3 1/2 stars! What’s up with that??
It’s a piece of junk! It wNts you to download numerous apps, & none of them work with this product. It’s hard to pair with your phone s well. Doesn’t work! Save your money!🤬😡
This micro mechanic is a piece of junk, it doesn’t read or erase codes,the dash board is in accurate, I got screwed out of $35.00, Please do not purchase this junk
I purchase the Micro Mechanic at Walmart installed the app and could not get my iPhone to connect with it.
Yes, you did something wrong, You bought it! In addition, the Internet states you can buy two for $19.95, but why do that when it appears 90+% don’t do what is advertised.
Let Google search for micro mechanic & note the first couple of results. Website doesn’t accept “Very Poor” rating below!
They are not allowed to clear any codes because it poses Liability problems if they clear a code for safety equipment that should not have been cleared and anything happens. Most cars clear all codes by disconnecting the battery for about 10 or 15 minutes, However , if the original problem still exists, the Code just pops back on.
Waste of money it doesn’t work with any App, it connects to your phone Bluetooth but none of the apps recognize it! it’s a POS
Don’t bother wasting your time or money this thing does not work. Have a check engine light on and it tells me everything is perfectly fine and safe. It’s a piece of crap.
Don’t waste your money. POS No response from them
This should be banded! I bought two of these after watching a commercial on TV. Went to the web site and my first clue to not buy these was there were several options on them for various prices. I have tried one on three different cars and my suv all are 2001 – 2007. It does not work on any of these. I tried to contact the company so they could be returned and got hung up on twice and spent over 2 hours on hold. Yes these are very much POS’s. I tried to rate these at a one star and it will not allow me to. It keeps coming back to 3 1/2 stars. Personally a 1 is to good for these. Go to an auto supply or Harbor freight and buy one that works.
Bought this item, had had a code but was a old mode which my mechanic removed since it was repaired and I had tested. Should of been no codes but thought best test Micro mechanic to see if It worked. Followed directions precisely. Got no codes. Thought good. After disconnecting all my dash lights came on. Would not shut off, now can not get all dash lights off, radio stopped working, emergency flashers no longer working, high beams not working, turn signals not working as well as other things. Everything was fine before I used this item. I took it to my mechanic and will have to have a scan done he belives it caused my pcm or email to go out. DO NOT BUY!!
Things like this ARE SUCH A JOKE. They read the reason why the check engine light is on that is all.
But every idiot out there that has one thinks that’s automatically what’s wrong having NO FLIPPING CLUE what they are talking about. An 02 sensor code could literally be 1 of 50 different causes. A bad fuel injector, a bad ground connection and so on. But they get pissed off and talk badly of you when you point out it’s a $20 peice of plastic that pulls the universal generic codes and rarely is it as simple as swapping the sensor in question.
As a tech I own 2 cheap Chinese versions of these (all these are is chinese things with a brand name on them and a fancy box with total bullshit claims) for my personal vehicles just so if the check engine light comes on I can check it at home as well as I have the software to get data from these. 20yrs experience I then can see where I need to start looking for the REAL REASON.
Bought at Walmart, it said would read codes on all cars 1996 and later. I didn’t have any codes at the time I connected it, I only bought it because my current code reader would could not connect to the computer on my 1996 Geo Tracker. When I connected it to my Geo it wouldn’t connect, I kept trying to connect, but then I noticed a code came up as I was trying to connect, it was an EGR code. The EGR valve is fairly new and I’ve had no problems with it since I replaced it a few years ago. I believe this this messed up my ECM, the code keeps coming back every time I rest it. I give it a minus 5 Star rating. PS, I bought one that will work, like my mechanic buddy has, a Auto Link AL319 on Amazon, got in two days $33.
Fyi, i was looking at buying one of these. I looked on the website, read reviews and saw mostly negative ones. Still interested i scrolled to the bottom of the webpage and clicked on the “disclaimer” for the product which turned out to be pretty hilarious. It basically says that you should not rely on any information from device and that you are solely responsibly for any diagnosis and the safety of your vehicle!!
I have a question about this item………..is this item able to “CLEAR” found codes!?!? I’ve taken my truck to Autozone before,and had THEM scan it,but the Autozone employee never bothered to “clear” the code it found,so even though I corrected the problem,the engine-light still comes on because the code wasn’t cleared by the scanner! So if I’m going to purchase this item,I want to know that I can CLEAR the codes from my system without any problems! Thanks.
I purchased mine at Walmart using the app and picked it up in store. It was only $19.95 thru them and I had it the next morning. My Jeep has been throwing the check engine light on and off every few days and when I plugged it in, started the app and turned on my Jeep, it pulled the code P0657 right away! Now I can take it to the mechanic and not get told it cost an arm and a leg to diagnose the issue.
Arrived today downloaded app and parred to iphone. Scanned and said no problems found good to drive.
Ck Engine Light has been on for months and have pulled codes with hand scanner.
Am I doing something wrong?
Do not buy…all it says is “Safe to Drive”….it continues to spew that message even after the car is off….i have leaks from various areas in my vehicle and Micro Mechanic told me nothing
Ordered it over a month ago and still haven’t received my order yet. Waiting!
What’s the difference between this and any of the dozens of alternative OBD-II scanners?
I have heard garages with $20,000 computerize code readers having the same problem. I read recently that some auto makers don’t include all codes. What else don’t they do? Kind of hard to evaluate the code reading equipment if the auto doesn’t comply with the standard.
Doesn’t work! My engine light is on and a professional code reader says 2 codes and the micro says everything is fine safe to drive….. But my engine light is on.
Henry Brabble —— did you ever receive the item? Feedback? Thanks.
PDC – thank you for the heads up ! I appreciate your post!
Don’t buy this POS, it doesn’t work with any apps they tell you to use & when you try to call for help, you end up talking to someone you can barely understand & even then they say some tech will call you & never do.
I wish you could order thru Amazon then you’ll receive it within one week. Amazon had everything.
Can’t really tell you because…I ordered it 5 weeks ago and have not received it yet……#416584272…very sad service even if I ever receive it…