SeekOne SK860 OBD-II scanner review

Our Verdict

Bones simply effective at ferreting out common automotive problems, the SeekOne SK860 OBD-II diagnostic scanner shows live data and electric current faults and tin can tell y'all if your car will pass inspection.

For

• Rugged pattern
• Lifetime warranty
• Inexpensive

Against

• Big and heavy
• Lacks diagnostic services that more expensive scanners provide

Tom's Guide Verdict

Basic simply effective at ferreting out mutual automotive problems, the SeekOne SK860 OBD-2 diagnostic scanner shows alive data and current faults and can tell you if your car will pass inspection.

Pros

• +

  Rugged blueprint

• +

  Lifetime warranty

• +

  Inexpensive

Cons

• -

  Big and heavy

• -

  Lacks diagnostic services that more expensive scanners provide

SeekOne K860: Specs

Size: 7.8 x iii.8 10 i.2 inches
Weight: 11.2 ounces
Live data: Yep
Display type and size: Color, 2.8 inches
Number of keys: eight
Bluetooth: No
Handheld: Yes
Warranty: Lifetime

Designed and congenital to have a chirapsia, the inexpensive SeekOne SK860 OBD-Ii automotive diagnostic scanner deserves a place in your toolbox or glovebox considering it has an first-class mix of basic functions.

Information technology may lack some of the detailed routines of more expensive scanners and be on the large and heavy side, but the SK860's $61 price tag more than makes up for information technology and puts information technology on our list of the all-time OBD-II scanners.

Read on for the rest of our SeekOne K860 review.

SeekOne SK860: Pricing and availability

Priced at about $60, the SeekOne SK860 straddles the realms of economy OBD-II scanners and scanners aimed at professional mechanics. It is the company's only OBD-2 scanner available in the U.S., simply SeekOne also sells heat guns, soldering kits and Qi chargers for phones and watches.

SeekOne SK860: Design

One of the largest and heaviest vertical OBD-II scanners bachelor, the SeekOne SK860 measures vii.8 x 3.eight x 1.two inches and weighs in at a hefty 11.two ounces. This makes it much bigger and heavier than Innova's pricier (and more capable) CarScan Inspector 5310.

(Image credit: SeekOne)

Ruggedly designed, the SeekOne SK860 has ribbed grips but can feel heavy and bad-mannered, especially when you lot're also trying to residuum a wrench or a manual. The scanner comes with a padded case.

With a 2.eight-inch color screen, the vertically oriented SK860 relies on icons rather than text to work yous through its software. In add-on to the expected Diagnostic, DTC Lookup and Setup categories, the SeekOne SK860 interface has choices for Review, Print Information, Aid and BAT Check for monitoring the motorcar'south charging and battery.

Its eight-push button interface includes a key to initiate the scanner's I/M (inspection/maintenance) readiness cheque, which is a helpful routine to go through before you have your vehicle in for a country inspection. The results are shown every bit LEDs for no-fault codes (greenish), intermittent problems (yellow) and permanent fault (ruddy).

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

The scanner can show live data such as engine speed and coolant temperature, and can also run a check on the status of the car'southward oxygen sensor. In that location are no phone or tablet apps for the SeekOne SK860, just you can print annihilation you run into onscreen when y'all connect the scanner to a PC via a USB cable and utilize SeekOne's software.

SeekOne SK860: Performance

The SeekOne SK860 reliably connected to and showed information from my 2 cars, a 2014 Audi A4 Allroad and a 2016 Infiniti Q50. I started with the primary menu's eight icons but couldn't immediately place the vehicle'southward details. Later a little nosing around, I retrieved the cars' vehicle identification numbers (VINs).

The SK860's battery check is a big bonus and not something y'all often find in the sub-$100 class of OBD-2 scanners. The scanner examined the bombardment and showed the electric current charging voltage, making it a lot easier to see if the battery or alternator needed replacing.

After that, the scanner immediately found the fault that I introduced into the car's operations (a disconnected oil-temperature sensor). It was able to erase the error code from the car'southward reckoner and turn off the Check Engine light.

(Image credit: Tom'south Guide)

The SeekOne SK860 works with generic error codes and its software is bachelor in 8 languages, only this OBD-Two scanner doesn't go across the nuts. There are no repair instructions, no oil-level monitoring and no ability to plough off the oil-maintenance low-cal, all features that more expensive scanners often provide.

SeekOne SK860: Setup

Less than xx seconds after I plugged the SK860 scanner into my car'southward OBD-Ii port, it linked to the vehicle'southward computer. The 58-inch cable reaches into the car's engine bay if yous're diagnosing a circuitous problem. Information technology as well worked well with a tertiary-party OBD-II extension cablevision. At that place'due south a mini-USB port for connecting to a calculator for press results and updating the scanner's firmware.

(Paradigm credit: SeekOne)

The included instruction booklet is halfway between a basic guide and a full manual. In addition to a quickie description of how OBD-Ii diagnostic scanning works, the booklet includes a section to aid OBD-II newcomers with getting started using the scanner. On the downside, at that place's isn't much beyond this.

The SeekOne SK860 stands out from the oversupply with a lifetime warranty that includes updates to its firmware, meaning that this could be the final OBD-II scanner you'll ever demand to buy.

SeekOne SK860 review: Bottom line

Basic, but with a lifetime warranty that includes firmware updates forever, the SeekOne SK860 OBD-2 automotive diagnostic scanner does a lot for a little at $60.

Big and at times cumbersome, the scanner has been ruggedly designed and can take a beating within a toolbox or automobile body. It goes a long way to ascertain what's wrong with your car, only it stops curt of recommending how to set up problems or suggesting the parts you'll need.

Brian Nadel is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in technology reporting and reviewing. He works out of the suburban New York City expanse and has covered topics from nuclear ability plants and Wi-Fi routers to cars and tablets. The one-time editor-in-chief of Mobile Computing and Communications, Nadel is the recipient of the TransPacific Writing Award.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/seekone-sk860

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