Need New One

I now own my very own brand new SCT X4 tuner. I've never owned one or used one. I had exhaust work done on my car then a custom dyno tune with this new tuner.

My girlfriend's Chevy Malibu has a check engine light. Can I use my tuner to get the error code for her car without messing up my tuner in any way shape or form?

I know very little about these other than they can be unlocked a certain number of times and used for tuning for other vehicles but I don't think that has anything to do with just plugging it in to another vehicle to get the error code associated with a check engine light.

Any info would be appreciated.

Need New One

62 views and no one knows this stuff or cares enough to help me out. Hmmmmmm.

JimC

You SHOULD be able to read the codes. Last time I tried though it wouldn't read it when I plugged in to my son's car.

So go to an AutoZone or O'Reilly's and have them read the codes if your SCT won't read her car.

Need New One

Thanks JimC. I will go to the SCT website and chat with one of their techs before I try it, just to see what they say first.

There must be people that troll this forum and criticize people if they get something wrong. 60 plus views and nobody has any input until you chimed in.

What do you make of that?

(Just looking for some early morning debate / discussion. LOL. )

Derf00

It's called a forum where people know their limitations and won't answer unless they have something useful to provide or can answer the question. We have hundreds (if not thousands) of members on this forum from around the world. It would be utter Chaos if everyone just chimed in with some offhand unrelated or unhelpful, or just plain wrong remark. I'm a member on several other less busy forums and good god I want to internet smack people that just talk out their butts with incorrect information or something completely irrelevant. If that's the type of forum you're looking for, you can try OFF TOPIC sub forum

Need New One

I was thinking if 60+ people had viewed it, some of them most likely knew the answer, but I could be wrong. I went to a forum once for something like electricity or plumbing, I can't recall which. Well there was this know-it-all that criticized everything anyone posted and it became apparent that nobody wanted to say anything. So, seeing nobody replied to what I assumed was a basic question kind of threw me for a loop. Anyways, thanks for your help.

Buck Sergeant

Need New One, I hope I can answer your question. As I understand, your tuner becomes dedicated to your, and only your, vehicle once you use it. The tuner reads your vehicle code and treats it like a "bar code". That is why BAMA needs your vehicle information before they can send you a program. When I make any changes to my vehicle I contact Bama and have them send me the upgrades for my SCT through the internet. Sounds crazy but technology strikes again.
Hope I helped answer your question.

yiannisthegreek

@need new one

As the poster above mentioned... I believe your tuner becomes locked to your own car once it's been used for tuning.

Also... SCT tuners are built specifically for "brands" as well and as such... If your car is a Mustang then your tuner is the one SCT sells for Ford vehicles and because your GF's car is a Malibu, you would need the GM tuner that SCT sells for her car which would be a waste of money unless you plan on custom tuning her car.

That being said... Best bet is to have a SHOP or parts store scan her car or buy a universal scan tool to keep on hand for times like this.

Need New One

Thanks for the input. I sent an email to SCT Support. Here is the reply:

The Ford X4 will only read DTCs on a Ford vehicle. Other than that you can read those codes on any ford without impacting the device or your unlocks