United States legislation requires all cars and light trucks built in model year (MY) 1996 and newer to comply with the OBD-II standard, which is defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). OBDLink® adapters work on all 1996 and newer cars and light trucks sold in the United States.
The OBD-II standard includes Parameter IDs (PIDs) that are mostly related to vehicle emissions. Any PID not on this list is considered a manufacturer-specific PID. For example, Transmission Temperature is not included in the OBD-II standard list. If you want to view the Transmission Temperature PID for your vehicle, you need enhanced diagnostics.
The OBDLink app provides enhanced diagnostics for many vehicle types, which let you access additional modules and parameters that are not included in the OBD-II standard. Common examples are reading and clearing codes for ABS (anti-lock braking system), SRS (supplemental restraint system), and TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system). These systems and their Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) are specific to the vehicle's Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
Enhanced diagnostics are available primarily for vehicles sold in North America. If you need help determining whether an add-on is supported for your vehicle, see the articles below.
- Is my vehicle supported?
- Are enhanced diagnostics available for my vehicle?
- If there is no checkmark in the column labeled OEM DTCs in the OEM-Specific Enhanced Diagnostics Support Coverage PDF, then your vehicle cannot access the Enhanced OEM Add-Ons. Standard OBD-II diagnostics are available for your vehicle.
- If OEM DTCs and OEM Live Parameters are not supported for your vehicle, see our compatible apps page. This page lists many apps that support OBDLink adapters and offer enhanced diagnostics.
Note: The OBDLink MX+ adapter includes enhanced diagnostics for many vehicles 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.
Learn more
- See this Wikipedia article on PIDs that are supported by the SAE OBD-II standard.
- This Ford Enhanced Add-on Supported Parameters article is an example of one of the Enhanced OEM Add-Ons that you can get using the OBDLink app. These OEM PIDs are an addition to the OBD-II standard PIDs.
- For descriptions of terms used in this article, see the Glossary of Acronyms and Terms.
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