LAUNCH Creader Elite 2.0 FGC Bidirectional Scan Tool

This is LAUNCH's Creader Elite 2.0 FGC, a bi-directional scan tool aimed squarely at the domestic three: Ford, GM and Chrysler/FCA. It runs full-system diagnosis rather than generic OBD2 only, so you can pull and clear codes out of the TCM, ABS, SRS, BCM and the rest of the modules instead of just the powertrain codes a $60 code reader shows you. It boots on Android 8.1 with a quad-core 1.3 GHz processor and a 4-inch screen, and updates are free for the life of the tool.

The part that matters on a transmission bench is the bi-directional control, also called active test. You can command solenoids, shift the transmission through gears, cycle the cooling fans and run a power balance test from the tool instead of back-probing connectors. That is how you confirm whether a harsh 2-3 shift is a stuck shift solenoid or a valve body problem before the pan ever comes off. The tool also carries FCA AutoAuth support for 2017-and-newer Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, which is required to talk to those secure gateway vehicles at all.

It includes over 100 reset and service functions, ECU coding for changing factory settings such as auto start-stop and dash brightness, code module installation, and Auto VIN so the tool identifies the vehicle instead of making you drill through menus. For a shop that mostly works domestic cars and trucks, it covers the diagnostic side of a transmission job from first scan through post-repair relearn.