1999 V70

[pfmet]

Does anyone care to offer opinions on iCarsft VOL V3.0 for $145 on Amazon or Vida /Mongoose cable for $385. The iCarsoft seems super capable and perhaps easier to use than VIDA. And you can receive updates.is there something I’m missing that really makes Vida a better choice. Thanks for your thoughts.

[FireFox31]

Is rank iCarSoft third behind Foxwell second and VIDA way out in first.

For my 2016 Mercedes, I had a choice between iCarSoft and a Foxwell. With very few in-depth reviews to go by, I chose the Foxwell NT530. It seemed to have a better user interface and better data graphing abilities than the iCarSoft. I've used it to scan my detailed codes and monitor transmission temp during a fluid change and I was impressed with the ease of getting around the system to find the info that I needed.

By comparison, VIDA is orders of magnitude superior to the mid-level performance readers of iCarSoft and Foxwell. VIDA can read info from all car modules like these other two but it can also activate them. For instance, make the VVT solenoid open and close to ensure it works. It allows graphing up to five love data points at once on a plot whose scale you can change (zoom in/out). Where it far outpaces others is that it contains a full parts catalog (while even the best online source might not show discontinued parts) . It also has all of the workshop repair procedures. I love my Haynes manual and this forum, but VIDA is the definitive source for repair info.

It is fairly intuitive to get around once you explore and learn where things are hidden. Some stuff is quirky but you can learn by trying or asking in our VIDA forum.

You'll need a DiCE cable and a laptop with VIDA installed. Our VIDA forum has a guy who will sell you a laptop (worked great for me). I don't know where to get DiCE on the cheap because I bought a legit one from Volvo Special Tools for like $600. eBay may have legit ones for sale or even cheap cables can work. Our VIDA forum has info about what you need.

VIDA really leveled up my knowledge and diagnostic ability. Why was I getting ABS problems? I graphed all four speed sensors on a drive and saw one having problems. Can I swap the seat back foam from a manual to power seat? Yes, because the parts catalog shows they're the same part though they're long since gone from online sources. I haven't used repair procedures yet but I plan to for upcoming timing belt and turbo service work. Try it out. Good luck.

[pfmet]

Thanx FireFox. I’m planning on going the VIDA route from Dave at DiagLaptops. He recommended the Mongoose cable ($110) as I don’t plan on doing tuning or programming, but I would like the functionality for say ABS bleeding/flushing and SRS servicing and any other diagnostics. He does offer a good quality Chinese clone DICE cable he trusts for $240. Just finished the rear brakes on the car and NAPA honored their warranty on the 9 yr old calipers with a frozen piston each, saved me some $ there. Now I need a new radiator and depending on if I find a suitable alternative to the genuine Volvo @ $374 from FCP I may have saved enough to order the VIDA laptop. Just a matter of time really. Thanks again for the feedback. Sound advice I do believe. I intend to be in this car for the long haul.

[scot850]

There is another test system out there that I was going to look into to see if it covers Volvo called Carly. Just took a look. Does newer Volvos but not P80's. Bah........!

Neil.

[FireFox31]

Yup, Dave is who to buy from. Note, lift the laptop carefully and with two hands. I have a habit of lifting with one hand in the corner. Suddenly, my trackpad stopped and keyboard only responds half the time. I think I torqued it and loosened their connections. I'll open it and reseat them.

And if you're not with this car for the long haul, how likely are you to own a Volvo from 1999 - 2014 which VIDA can scan? For me, very likely. And if I don't need it, I trust I can sell it to recover a decent percentage of what I paid.

There's a scanner from YouCanic which can apparently read all information from all major brands. This is in contrast to the iCarSoft and Foxwell scanners which require you to buy a license for one or two car manufacturers and bind them to the hardware. An artificial limit to be sure. They may offer more broadly compatible scanners and I don't know how the prices compare to the YouCanic. I'd like to recommend the YouCanic to my Makerspace so that members with any car can read their data. Still, VIDA is best for just Volvo.

Just finished the rear brakes on the car and NAPA honored their warranty on the 9 yr old calipers with a frozen piston each, saved me some $ there. Now I need a new radiator and depending on if I find a suitable alternative to the genuine Volvo @ $374 from FCP I may have saved enough to order the VIDA laptop.

To dodge off topic, which calipers were these that you replaced? Were they the black powdercoated Eclipse / AdaptiveOne made by Cardone? Did you need the receipt for the warranty? I just bought two to replace crappy Centric from FCP which were so terrible I didn't want to warranty them.
For the radiator, find who was the original equipment manufacturer. Nissiens? Surely you can get high quality for less, not settling for aftermarket junk. There will be recommendations on the forums, perhaps in the "Aftermarket Brands" thread pinned in the thread list.

[scot850]

Nissens was not the OE supplier. It may have been Behr as they were OE on other stuff like heater core and I think AC Evaporator.

Neil.

[abscate]

Behr was OE , and I think now they share marks with Valeo

Soon, all car parts will be Taco Bell

[pfmet]

Thanx again FireFox. The calipers were whatever brand name they used in 2014, probably Total Eclipse. I think the Adaptive One Brand may be more recent. However I’m not sure about that. Yes I had the receipt, thanks to my wife, and when I Googled the parts numbers they came up NAPA Adaptive Ones. When I walked out the door with the “new” calipers one was in a a Total Eclipse box and the other was in an Adaptive One box. The finishes were different, one gloss the other semi. The bleeder screws were junk which I replaced with NAPA branded made in USA Dormans. For caps I use an appropriate sized vacuum cap which seats to the caliper body and protects the whole bleeder. I just lost two perfectly good front calipers on my 2014 Sierra to disintegrated bleeder screws which literally had nothing to turn. The rear bleeders on that truck look like they came off the self yesterday. Go figure. AND…, the day before I was about to start that front brake job the elbow at the banjo fitting on the left side rubber blew out at the end of my driveway! I figured, oh great, now I got to do two flex lines too and I HATE flare nuts. However, the elbow and banjo fitting on the right side looked, you guessed it, like new. Thankfully I only had to deal with th one line. So anyway, I had just put the Adaptive Ones on the truck so it made me feel good the NAPA was so accommodating. They turned the rotors for both vehicles and I got Akebono ceramics for both. Both jobs came out well and I’m pleased. Fluid flushes next which is why I’d like VIDA for cycling the ABS module for a thorough flush. I’ll need guidance in that regard when the time comes.

And thanks to Neil and abscate for chiming in on the radiator. I won’t swear to this but I thought I saw abscate suggest the Nissans in a post somewhere, am I wrong? He offered a caveat about replacing it in some number of years, sooner than I’d care to probably. So I should look for a Behr or possibly a Valero? Do i understand that correctl? I’ll search. Thanx for your tolerance of my long windedness

[scot850]

Nissens is no worse than Behr and I have not seen Valeo ones offered up here so can't comment. Behr has it's faults too, but the bigger issues with radiators is not the radiators, but the top radiator hose torquing the top and RHS of the radiator due to failed crank pulley engine mounts and worn/broken upper and lower torque mounts. The Behr OE radiator has a brass or steel liner in the upper hose connection that I have found can come loose. It is there to strengthen the upper hose connection. For me it came almost fully out and the hose connection snapped off at the radiator. Abscate mentioned the Nissens radiator is good for 5 years, not sure where that comes from.

Either way you go, you should have a decent radiator.

Neil.

[pfmet]

The topic here has morphed a bit but I’ll go with it. Just found the Behr radiator at iPd for $138 on sale. With two mount bushings which abscate suggested that’s $160, which gets me free shipping! I guess I’ll pull the trigger on that. Gotta get those green plastic retainers for the tranny lines too I suppose. Not sure what they’re called. I need VIDA.