For professional mechanics, having the right scan tool is non-negotiable. In today’s automotive landscape, where computer modules govern virtually every aspect of a vehicle, a fully-featured scan tool is essential for diagnostics and repair. Accessing codes and data streams is simply impossible without one, making it akin to working blind. While investing in a professional-grade scan tool is a given, the quality of after-sale support can be just as crucial, as I recently discovered with a Matco Maximus.
About three years ago, our shop acquired a Matco MAXIMUS scan tool from the tool truck. Marketed as a top-tier solution, it was essentially a rebranded LAUNCH unit, featuring a user-friendly touchscreen tablet encased in robust rubber. The standout feature that swayed our purchase was its wireless capability. Beyond standard shop Wi-Fi connectivity for printing reports and data graphs—a great feature for customer transparency and record-keeping—the Maximus boasted a wireless connection to the car itself. This was achieved via a compact Bluetooth OBD2 adapter.
This small adapter plugs into the vehicle’s OBDII data port and, when not in use, neatly tucks away in a designated slot on the scan tool. The freedom this wireless adapter provides is invaluable. Imagine diagnosing a vehicle while moving around it, checking components underneath, all while monitoring live data on the screen. You could even step into the customer waiting area and demonstrate real-time vehicle data without being tethered by a cable. The convenience was undeniable.
Recognizing the adapter’s small size and the potential for misplacement, the Matco dealer wisely suggested purchasing a spare. We heeded this advice and bought a second adapter. Inevitably, a day came when the primary adapter was nowhere to be found. Thinking it was a simple matter of grabbing the spare, we were quickly proven wrong. It turns out, these adapters are “married” to a specific scanner, with only one adapter capable of being paired at any given time. Initially, this seemed like a minor inconvenience. A quick call to the 800 number, some serial number exchanges, and a software re-download keyed to the spare adapter’s serial number had us back in business within fifteen minutes.
Weeks later, a customer returned the missing adapter, having found it under their dashboard while cleaning their car. Excellent, we had a spare once again! It went into the drawer, thankfully unused for a while. That is, until about three weeks ago when another adapter went missing. Reaching for the “spare,” I confidently called the 800 number, expecting another quick 15-minute reactivation. This time, however, customer support delivered a shock: once an adapter is “divorced” from a scanner, it becomes permanently unusable. Matco confirmed this, leaving us with a stark reality – our $4,000 scan tool was effectively bricked without a new adapter. The only solution was to order a replacement at an unexpected cost of nearly $300, including expedited overnight shipping. “Overnight” proved to be a generous term, as five days crawled by without the adapter’s arrival.
A call to Matco customer service revealed further complications. The replacement adapters stocked at the MATCO warehouse weren’t ready to use. They first had to be shipped to LAUNCH in China for factory programming to be compatible with our specific scanner. The logic of stocking items that require international shipping and factory programming after purchase is baffling. Apparently, this entire process was as new to Matco as it was to us. The explanation from Launch was even more frustrating: they implemented this cumbersome system because used adapters were appearing on eBay, and they wanted to avoid the “bother” of re-pairing them with different scanners. This customer-unfriendly attitude was disheartening.
Two weeks after placing the order, the Matco dealer finally arrived, adapter in hand. The “overnight shipping” we paid extra for had essentially been to the dealer, adding days to the delivery time until his scheduled route brought him to our shop. Two weeks of inconvenience, requiring us to send vehicles to another shop for scanning, finally came to an end, and our Matco Maximus was operational again. However, the saga wasn’t quite over.
Our Maximus is running Windows 7, and the software update associated with the new adapter had pushed the hard drive to its limits, leaving less than 100 megabytes of free space. Unsurprisingly, performance has suffered significantly. This is with only the original scan tool software and factory updates installed – no additional programs or files. We are now awaiting another support call to address this new issue.
The fact that a $300 adapter becomes a paperweight after a single “divorce” is outrageous, especially considering that functionally identical Bluetooth OBD2 adapters are readily available on platforms like eBay and Amazon for a mere $10-30 for smartphone-based systems. Beyond the financial sting, the two-week downtime while waiting for a replacement adapter was incredibly disruptive and costly to our business.
This entire experience has soured us on both MATCO and LAUNCH products for future scan tool purchases. For mechanics in the market for a new scan tool, consider this a cautionary tale. While the wireless Bluetooth OBD2 functionality of tools like the Matco Maximus offers undeniable convenience, be acutely aware of the potential pitfalls related to adapter replacements and the realities of after-sale support. The seemingly small advantage of a Matco Bluetooth Obd2 scanner can quickly turn into a major headache and expense.
