Overview

When you install your OBDLink® adapter and connect to the OBDLink app, several dashboard screens with important gauges are displayed, including engine RPM, vehicle speed, oxygen sensors, and others. The default gauges display Parameter IDs (PIDs) that are common to all OBD-II compliant vehicles and are included in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standard.


This article contains several detailed examples of how to display a vehicle’s transmission temperature. This PID is defined by the vehicle’s original equipment manufacturer (OEM). OEMs are not required to use the same PID name, therefore it may be confusing to find a certain OEM’s PID for transmission temperature. This article shows examples for the following PIDs.


OEMPID Name
FordTransmission Fluid Temperature (°C, °F)
GMTransmission Fluid Temp
ToyotaA/T Oil Temperature 1 (°C, °F)



We can’t include the complete details for every OEM-defined PID, but the following examples should help illustrate the general process:



Note: This article is focused on the OBDLink® MX+ adapter, because enhanced diagnostics for many vehicles are included free of charge in the OBDLink app with your purchase. Add-ons that are exclusive to OBDLink MX+ include: GM; Honda, Acura; and Hyundai, Kia. If you have another OBDLink adapter model, then you can purchase add-on diagnostics, but they are not guaranteed to access all OEM-specific PIDs/DTCs. For example, if you have an OBDLink LX adapter and a Ford vehicle, you can purchase the Ford add-on, however, you will not be able to read certain Ford PIDs that come from the MS-CAN network. 


If you have questions that aren’t answered by this article, contact Support using the OBDLink app by tapping Settings > Contact Support.


Example 1: 2012 Ford Escape using iOS device


Before you begin, be sure to:

  • Start your vehicle and connect your phone/tablet to your OBDLink adapter.
  • Make sure your phone/tablet is not streaming to any other Bluetooth/BLE devices.


  1. Confirm that your phone/tablet is Connected to the OBDLink adapter.

    iOS screen with Connected highlighted.


  2. In the OBDLink app, navigate to Settings > Get Enhanced OEM Add-Ons.
    Note: Enhanced OEM Add-Ons are only for vehicles sold in North America.

    iOS screen with Get Enhanced OEM Add-Ons highlighted.

    1. Select your vehicle OEM, select the trouble codes for your model year, and tap Get.
      For our example, we selected Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Ford 2012 Enhanced Diagnostics to install enhanced trouble codes for a 2012 Ford Escape vehicle.

      iOS screen with Ford, Lincoln, Mercury highlighted.iOS screen with Ford 2012 Enhanced Diagnostics highlighted.


    2. After the enhanced OEM add-ons are installed, your OBDLink adapter will be disconnected.

      In the Home screen, tap Connect to connect to your OBDLink adapter.

  3. From the app's Home screen, tap the Dashboards icon.

    1. Tap Menu in the upper right corner (iOS) or the Menu icon (3 vertical dots) in the lower left corner (Android).

    2. Tap Add Display to add a new gauge to the current dashboard page.

    3. Select the type of gauge and the color fill on the next 2 menus.

    4. On the Display Configuration menu, tap PID to open the PID menu and tap Ford, Lincoln, Mercury.

      iOS screen with Ford, Lincoln, Mercury highlighted.


    5. Tap Powertrain Control Module, select Transmission Fluid Temperature (°C, °F), and tap Done.

      iOS screen with Powertrain Control Module highlighted.iOS screen with Transmission Fluid Temperature highlighted.


    6. You can edit the gauge title if you’d like, then tap Done.

  4. You will see the new gauge displayed on the dashboard. Tap and hold the gauge to open the Edit Display menu and tap Drag and Move to move the gauge on the dashboard screen.


    iOS screen with Transmission Temperature gauge highlighted.




If the gauge shows no data or 0.0, see the Troubleshooting section.


Example 2: 2012 Chevrolet Malibu using Android device


Before you begin, be sure to:

  • Start your vehicle and connect your phone/tablet to your OBDLink adapter.
  • Make sure your phone/tablet is not streaming to any other Bluetooth/BLE devices.

Note: Step 2 below is optional because you don’t need OEM enhanced add-ons to read Built-in PIDs. However, we recommend that you complete this step now because you’ll need them to read Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) for your vehicle.

  1. Confirm that your phone/tablet is Connected to the OBDLink adapter.

    Android screen with Connected highlighted.


  2. (Optional but recommended)
    In the OBDLink app, navigate to Settings > Get Enhanced OEM Add-Ons.
    Note: Enhanced OEM Add-Ons are only for vehicles sold in North America.

    Android screen with Get Enhanced OEM Add-Ons highlighted.





    1. Select your vehicle OEM, select the trouble codes for your model year, and tap Get.
      For our example, we selected GM and GM 2012 Enhanced Trouble Codes to install enhanced trouble codes for a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicle.


      Android screen with GM highlighted.Android screen with GM 2012 Enhanced Trouble Codes highlighted.


    2. After the enhanced OEM add-ons are installed, your OBDLink adapter will be disconnected.

      In the Home screen, tap Connect to connect to your OBDLink adapter.

  3. From the Settings menu, tap User-Defined PIDs.
    Tap the Menu icon (3 vertical dots Android) or Menu (iOS) in the upper right corner, then tap Import built-in PIDs.


    Android screen with User-Defined PIDs highlighted.Android screen with Import Built-in PIDs highlighted.



    Scroll down to Transmission Fluid Temp, tap the check box to select it, then tap OK. You will see the PID you just added in the list.


    Android screen with Transmission Fluid Temp highlighted.Android screen with Transmission Fluid Temp PID highlighted.


    Tap Back (<) two times to return to the Home screen.

  4. From the app's Home screen, tap the Dashboards icon.

    1. Tap the Menu icon (3 vertical dots) in the lower left corner (Android) or Menu in the upper right corner (iOS).


      Android screen showing Dashboards screen and Menu icon highlighted.


    2. Tap Add Display to add a new gauge to the current dashboard page.

    3. Select the type of gauge and the color fill on the next 2 menus.

    4. On the Display Configuration menu, tap Item to open the Select PID menu.

      Android screen with Item highlighted for the Select PID menu.



    5. Tap User-Defined PIDs, select Trans Fluid Temp (GM), and tap DONE.


      Android screen showing the Select PIDs menu and User-Defined PIDs highlighted.Android screen with Trans Fluid Temp for GM highlighted.


    6. You can edit the title if you’d like, then tap OK.

  5. You will see the new gauge displayed on the dashboard.
    The example below shows the same PID displayed as both a radial gauge and a digital gauge.
    Tap and hold the gauge to open the Edit Display menu and tap Drag and Move to move the gauge on the dashboard screen.

    Android screen showing gauges with Transmission Fluid Temp highlighted. 



If the gauge shows no data or 0.0, see the Troubleshooting section.


Example 3: 2010 Toyota Camry using iOS device


Before you begin, be sure to:

  • Start your vehicle and connect your phone/tablet to your OBDLink adapter.
  • Make sure your phone/tablet is not streaming to any other Bluetooth/BLE devices.


  1. Confirm that your phone/tablet is Connected to the OBDLink adapter.

    iOS screen with Connected highlighted.
  2. In the OBDLink app, navigate to Settings > Get Enhanced OEM Add-Ons. When you connect to a new vehicle, the app automatically provides a link to this setting, as shown in the screenshot.
    Note: Enhanced OEM Add-Ons are only for vehicles sold in North America.

    iOS screen with Get Enhanced OEM Add-Ons highlighted.

    1. Select your vehicle OEM, select the trouble codes for your model year, and tap Get. 

      For our example, we selected Toyota, Lexus, Scion and Toyota 2010 Enhanced Diagnostics to install enhanced trouble codes for a 2010 Toyota Camry vehicle.


      iOS screen with Toyota, Lexus, Scion highlighted.iOS screen with Toyota 2010 Enhanced Diagnostics highlighted.
      iOS screen with Get button highlighted.iOS screen with Installed button highlighted.


    2. After the enhanced OEM add-ons are installed, your OBDLink adapter will be disconnected.

      In the Home screen, tap Connect to connect to your OBDLink adapter.

  3. From the app's Home screen, tap the Dashboards icon.

    1. Tap Menu in the upper right corner (iOS) or the Menu icon (3 vertical dots) in the lower left corner (Android).

    2. Tap Add Display to add a new gauge to the current dashboard page.

    3. Select the type of gauge and the color fill on the next 2 menus.

    4. On the Display Configuration menu, tap PID to open the PID menu and tap Toyota, Lexus, Scion.


      iOS screen with Toyota, Lexus, Scion highlighted.


    5. Tap Electronic Controlled Transmission, tap A/T Oil Temperature 1, and tap Done.

      iOS screen with A/T Oil Temperature 1 highlighted.


    6. You can edit the title if you’d like, then tap Done.

  4. You will see the new gauge displayed on the dashboard. Tap and hold the gauge to open the Edit Display menu and tap Drag and Move to move the gauge on the dashboard screen.

    iOS screen showing an A/T Oil Temperature gauge.



If the gauge shows no data or 0.0, see the Troubleshooting section.


Troubleshooting 

If a gauge shows no data

If you have added a Built-in GM PID from the User-Defined PID menu and the gauge shows no data or 0.0, edit the PID Number.

  1. From the Settings menu, tap User-Defined PIDs. 
  2. Tap the Transmission Fluid Temp PID and select the Edit option.

    Android screen showing the User-Defined PIDs menu. Transmission Fluid Temp is highlighted.Android screen showing Select an Option menu. The Edit button is highlighted.


    You will see the User-Defined PID Editor screen.

    Android screen showing the User-Defined PID Editor screen.

  3. Scroll down to the OBD INFORMATION section and edit the PID Number value to remove 01 at the end (GM vehicles only).
    Android screen showing the User-Defined PID Editor screen. The OBD Information section is highlighted.

    For example, we changed 194001 to 1940 for a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu.
    Android screen showing the User-Defined PID Editor screen. The PID Number value is highlighted.



If the gauge data seems wrong


If you have added a PID from the User-Defined PID menu and the gauge shows data that seems wrong, edit the Module/Header.

  1. From the Settings menu, tap User-Defined PIDs. 
  2. Tap the Transmission Fluid Temp PID and select the Edit option.

    Android screen showing the User-Defined PIDs menu. Transmission Fluid Temp is highlighted.Android screen showing Select an Option menu. The Edit button is highlighted.



  3. Scroll down to the OBD Information section and edit the Module/Header value.
    1. For GM vehicles, change ECM to 7E2. We made this change for a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu.
      Android screen showing the User-Defined PID Editor screen. The Module/Header value is highlighted.

    2. For Ford vehicles, change TCM to ECM.

If you can’t find a specific OEM PID

  • If you can’t find the OEM PID you want, try searching a forum for your vehicle and see if other users have posted tips or recommendations. 
  • Learn more about user-defined PIDs. 


Next steps

  • Customize the default gauges and dashboards using the steps in the Add and Edit Dashboard Gauges article. 
  • In the OBDLink app, tap Settings > Help > Dashboard Management to learn how to set up custom dashboards for different vehicles and reorder dashboards to suit your needs.
  • Learn more about which PIDs are supported by the SAE OBD-II standard.


Need more help?


OBDLink® Support Forum 

Submit a Support Ticket



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