[OT?] Law against knowing/sharing ODBC codes?

I'm having a... discussion... with my stepfather. His KIA dealer has told him that he is "not authorized" to know the ODBC codes, or some such thing. That it is "illegal" for different vehicle manufacturers to share codes. There's more, but that's the gist of it

Never heard of such a thing. I sort of thought the codes were standard...

Can someone provide a bit of detail on this? Preferably someone who actually works in a dealership (KIA preferred)?

Incidentally, will the on-off-on... sequence to view codes work on a Kia Sportage?

Thanks for the help!

jmc

Reply to
jmc
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Suddenly, without warning, jmc exclaimed (5/22/2006 10:30 AM):

Also, he's also insisting that there are more than just the codes we can look up ourselves, that there are codes that are "private" to each manufacturer, making it hard for independent shops, 'cause they "can't get those codes".

Please clarify.

jmc

Reply to
jmc

He is full of it.

Reply to
GeekBoy

The SAE OBD2 codes are public domain and REQUIRED BY LAW to be standardized. The extended OBD2 codes are proprietary and MAY be made public by the manufacturers. There is NO LAW against it. To the best of my knowledge there is no way to read OBD2 codes by an on-off sequence, but I've been wrong before. The SAE codes cover all the bases for engine and powertrain basic operation and emissions. The extended codes cover things like automatic transmission diagnostics, cruise control, traction control, antilock brakes, and canbus control of accessories etc.

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Reply to
clare at snyder.on.ca

I believe the extended codes are available on all-data etc, and are available on a Genesis or other high end code reader.

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Reply to
clare at snyder.on.ca

jmc wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net:

There are, by some reports, 15,000 different codes.

The first 1000 "P" (as in P0234) codes are generic across all manufacturers.

After that, it's very manuafacturer specific, the same codes on two different manufacturers cars can mean different things.

As well there are also "U", "C", and "B" codes.

If you want to see a list off all (well maybe not ALL) codes, go here;

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My personnal experiance indicates that all required codes for a give vehicle are in the manufacturers Service Manual.

The last time I had my car serviced (failed O2 sensor) the invoice actually listed the code number, and description. I don't think it's a big secret.

Scan Tools can be had for as little as $39.95 (Harbour frieght) or for many

1000's of dollars. Not all tools will display all codes, you get what you pay for.

Oh and by the way, there are also several thousand commands that can be sent to your OBDII computer, that will force the computer to do all sorts of things, those are very rare to find anywhere, including the service manual.

Do a google search on OBDII scan codes, for more information.

Reply to
Nirodac

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