Under the Hood

You need an OBD-II adapter that plugs into your vehicle’s diagnostic port. OBDAI officially supports Gen 1 and Gen 2 hardware, available at obdai.app/shop. These are tested for reliable connections across all platforms. OBDAI may work with other ELM327-based adapters, but we can’t guarantee compatibility or provide support for third-party hardware.

OBDAI works with all OBD2-compliant vehicles: gasoline vehicles 1996 and newer, diesel vehicles 2004 and newer (North America). This covers most passenger vehicles sold in the US, Canada, and Europe. Commercial trucks, motorcycles, and pre-1996 vehicles are not supported through the standard OBD-II port.

Free includes full OBD2 scanner features: read and clear diagnostic codes, live dashboard gauges, 150+ sensor parameters, emissions readiness checks, and VIN decoding. Free users also get access to ARIA — our AI diagnostic assistant — with a limited number of responses. You can connect, scan, monitor, and ask ARIA questions without a subscription.

Premium unlocks unlimited ARIA conversations, test history for comparing scans over time, and full automation — ARIA selects the right parameters, designs diagnostic tests, and guides you through drive procedures. Instead of manually choosing what to monitor, ARIA decides what matters based on your vehicle’s symptoms and reaches conclusions instead of just showing data.

ARIA analyzes your vehicle’s actual live data — it’s not looking up generic answers. It monitors continuously, correlates multiple systems, and compares current behavior to past sessions. When the evidence is clear, ARIA gives you an answer, not a list of possibilities. When it’s uncertain, it tells you what additional testing would help. It’s designed to diagnose, not guess.

We store diagnostic session data to enable features like test history and trend analysis — Premium users can compare today’s scan to last week’s. Personal information and VINs are encrypted. We don’t sell your data. See our Privacy Policy for details.

If you purchased from Amazon, visit obdai.app/amazon-quickstart to download the app and activate your license. If you purchased from our shop, visit obdai.app/quickstart. Both pages walk you through downloading OBDAI, redeeming your license code, and connecting to your vehicle.