Garmin Ecoroute HD Engine Analyzer

[PhotonDreams]

When I got my '08 Highlander I started to think about that little message "Engine Needs Maintenance" that could possibly come up on long trips out west. Should it ever come on I figured it might be a good idea to have some kind of engine analyzer along so as to determine if it was a minor problem or something that required immediate pull over, turn engine off and call a tow truck.

Most auto stores seem to carry a few analyzers you can plug in and get the problem code numbers but you have to go upscale to get one that actually gives the code and a text description of what the problem is. Well, last November I noticed that Garmin had a product called the Ecoroute HD. It's a small black box 4" x 3" x 1/2". It has a cord 4" long that plugs into the analyzer port and then via Bluetooth sends a whole bunch of info to certain Garmin Nuvi models that have Bluetooth capacity. Caution here, if you have a Nuvi that does Bluetooth it does not mean it is one of the models that will communicate with the Ecoroute HD.

I use the Garmin Nuvi 1490 T with the larger screen. Back in Nov. I first used the combo on a trip from Colorado Springs to Santa Fe. I've hesitated to write this up because it had a few problems, screen blinking off and then coming back on, gauges sometime displaying and sometimes not. However since then I've updated the software a few times and Garmin seems to have figured out the problems. I say this because I did a 14 hour drive and had no problem whatsoever with the units working together. It will show the problem codes and tell you what they mean and it can clear the code as well. Thing is, I have yet to have a problem and so have not a chance to test it. Of course, I sure hope I never have to use that feature of the device.

It displays more information than I'd care to list here so just ask the Google or go to Garmin's site and they'll fill you in on all the specifics. Price keeps dropping, currently $94 on Amazon. Be sure to read the reviews, they give a pretty good description of all that it does.