Ancel AD 410 Code Reader Review After 6+ Solid Years

It’s no-nonsense, details every little bit of information, is shared with all honesty and aims to help you make a smart decision about whether to buy.

In the whole of my motoring experience, I haven’t come across anything in or on the body of an automobile like the dreaded ‘check engine light‘; aka MIL, CEL – and just about any other (not so) fancy name manufacturers or mechanics decide to call it.

Looking at it dispassionately, however, it is a great thing: it alerts you to impending danger and importantly, points you where to look.

With hundreds of different parts, tens of sensors, actuators, and relays, the modern automobile, while being a marvel of engineering, is also something just waiting to fail…

This is where the OBD scanner comes in: an excellent, cute little handheld computer that slots into the OBDII port, right under the dash and like a medium, communicates with your ECU – where all the codes are set, errors stored, and misbehavior of the vehicle in question is laid in black and white, on modern cars, post-1996, at least for those made for the US market.

The challenge is that professional scan tools cost money, usually need hefty subscriptions, and generally, have functions that the average vehicle owner, DIY person, or Shade Tree Mechanic will never have use/need for.

Why churn out thousands of dollars when you can, for less than 10% of that cost, get an option that will serve in the most brilliant of manners?

This is the promise of the Ancel AD410 OBD II Scanner…

…the issue is, beyond the claims and visual appeal, how useful is this OBD II code reader? Is it what you should buy? Is it good value for your money? Are there better alternatives?

This is what I’ll be guiding you through with this review.

First things first: let’s meet the AD410 from Ancel.

Ancel Ad 410 Code Reader Review: First Looks at the Glove Box Worthy OBD II Reader

When I first laid my hands on the Ancel AD410 MIL Code Reader, more than five (5) years ago, the first thing that came to mind was: this is a well-made, sturdy tool.

The scanner felt solid to the hand as I unboxed it and it certainly looked like what was worth my money and would certainly last long in my care, even if I decided to put same to daily use.

It also curiously felt like something that would survive several falls without as much as experiencing a scratch. This, of course, was simply my first impression – nothing solid or tangible yet (at least, not at that time).

When plugged in for the first time, I was thrilled and impressed (at the same time): the 2.4″ display came up alive in full color! This was a stark contrast to the plethora of black and white displays basic scanners in its category sported back at that time and still very much do, today.

As I waited for the little computer to come up, I was also very impressed with the fact that the unit was very ergonomic and fitted perfectly well in my hands. To this day, I still feel that way each time I use it.

Functions & Abilities

To be frank, when I was buying the AD 410 MIL scanner, I had no idea what it could do or not: what I simply wanted was a unit that would read the Check Engine Light (CEL) on the dash, tell me what it meant and of course, clear it after the fix.

I wasn’t looking for anything more. However, I discovered, pleasantly, that the Ancel AD410 OBD II scanner is much more capable than that. For the DIY person, casual car owner or home mechanic, the scanner has features that are likely to excite and wow, especially at the price point it is offered.

Basic Code Reading and Erasure

If you’re the type of car owner that instantly develops high blood pressure when the MIL pops up on your cluster and cannot have peace until it is diagnosed, fixed, and erased, this cardinal function of the scanner will excite you and is probably all you’ve ever need from it.

All you need to do when you have a CEL pop (or flash) up is to plug the scanner in, figure out what the matter is, get it fixed and clear the code, all in a few minutes.

Sometimes, the issue is usually a fix as simple as properly tightening the gas cap after a refill. But, without a code reader such as this, you’ll have no way of knowing for certain that the CEL flashing on your dash is something serious or minor.

The Ancel AD410 caters to that, brilliantly.

DTCs Look Up

The codes you’ll pull up after plugging the scanner in are usually generic jargons, resembling something written in Morse. If you haven’t spent a lifetime around cars and OBD II machines, it is near impossible to figure out what the trouble code, P0457 means.

However, with the inbuilt function of DTC look-up, what you simply need to do is enter this trouble code into the scanner and the easy-to-understand translation comes up: ‘Evaporative Emission System Leak Detected‘.

With this sort of code, 95 or more percent of the time, you forgot to properly shut your gas cap after refueling, forgot to even attempt to tighten it on or the cap has become bad and needs to be replaced.

With this revelation now, you can rest easy, knowing well that it is likely the gas cap, and an action as simple as properly screwing it in will suffice to retify things.

Live Data Stream

One of the first things you’ll understand as a DIY mechanic (either the hard/soft way) is that, not every issue wrong with a vehicle pops up on as a CEL.

You’ll also come to understand, sooner or later that, sometimes, a CEL is simply generic information as to the possible causes of an issue. The real issue, to figure out, requires more work and this is where the advanced DIY folks and professional mechanics make used of live data.

For instance, a vehicle with long (and sometimes, short) fuel trims in the negative indicates a lean mixture. This could be as a result of unmetered air getting into the system.

For this, a leak in the exhaust systems, pre-cat (or any of the vacuum lines) will be the culprit. To figure this out, you’ll need to smoke the system and then, identify the leak – all the while, being inspired by the lean condition the live data afforded even when there’s no direct code to work with.

Mastered, this function is the mechanic’s best companion and is singularly the most important, without which only the very basics can be performed with a scan tool.

It was pleasing that this small, cheap, basic MIL scanner had this function.

Other Exciting Functions

Beyond these three (3) major and exciting functions, there are other functions that make this little OBD II scanner something worth considering:

The first is the fact that it sports a VIN retrieval function, perfectly capable of pulling out the Vehicle Information Number directly from the ECU. This helps in confirming from the body parts whether or not the VIN is authentic or has been superimposed.

Second, there’s an O2 sensor testing capability. Fired, the scanner essentially checks the state of the sensors and reports back. This helps make things easy for you, especially if you have a messed up O2 playing ping-pong with your pocket.

Third, there’s also the freeze frame function that stores vital information such as vehicle speed, engine speed, load, etc at the time a MIL was set. This allows you to figure out, what conditions propped up the condition in the first place. For mechanics and advanced DIYers, this information/function is invaluable.

Fourth, while not something ground-breaking, this MIL offers itself to various languages that can be programmed to display what’s happening on with the machine. This includes Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, French, Finnish and German. Of course, English is standard.

Finally, an EVAP monitor test is standard. Before you fail your emissions test, this scanner actually gives you a chance to get things right so that your chances of passing in flying colors is enhanced.

Vehicle Compatibility

The Ancel AD410 has a wide array of vehicle brands it is compatible with; this includes almost all vehicles manufactured in the US post-1996 and most major imports.

Personally, I have used the scanner on a Lexus and a Toyota. I can also confirm that it works brilliantly with BMW, Acura, Honda, Nissan, Infiniti, Kia, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and most of the regular everyday brands you’ll find on the road today.

I have NOT tested these with luxury sports cars and other exotic vehicles. If you’re interested in buying and using the same for either a sport or an exotic vehicle, especially an import model, it would be a smart move to check in with the manufacturer directly.

Limitations

Before you get overly excited about this Ancel, there are a few things to consider, which after years of using the device, I’ve determined are its cons or limitations.

This Is a Basic Code Reader and Just a Little More

The AD410 is geared, clearly, at the beginner DIY folks or users who wish to be a little more proactive with vehicle maintenance but nothing more, in the real sense.

If your transmission is shifting roughly or making some sad sounds, for instance, there’s simply no way to figure out what’s going on with your tranny and the unit does not support transmission scanning.

Not only that: if you need to run an ABS system check, you’re officially out of luck: this model will absolutely be useless for you as it does not have that function.

What if you’re interested in some di-directional experiments? You’re equally out of luck; this unit will be of little help to you.

The Display Screen Is Rather Small…

If you’re younger, do not use glasses, or have excellent eyesight, you may disagree with me on this one and you’d be 100% correct. Unfortunately, the 2.4″ display this unit has doesn’t inspire much confidence, especially for those who need glasses to read or generally have poor eyesight.

That said, the true-color display comes truly alive on the display, and the unit itself, minus its limited display, has one of the best color displays I’ve seen on a budget scanner recently.

It is better seen in action (and experienced) than talked about: it comes out bright and alive, with so much vivid color.

Alternatives to Consider

The Ancel AD410 is an awesome little code reader – that also doubles as a super sturdy and reliable piece of engineering.

That said, it reads ONLY engine codes – and virtually, nothing else.

If you’re a serious auto DIY mechanic or love to play with vehicles beyond the basics, the 410 won’t serve you. Instead, take a look at the TopDon TopScan bi-directional scanner.

The TopScan from TopDon is priced a little more than the Ancel AD410 at the time of writing this review but it sure offers way more features for the bucks.

For instance, it scans the engine, transmission, ABS, airbags, etc, and does a ton of other routine tasks such as ABS bleeding, airbag reset, oil resets, etc.

For the bucks (and what the unit does), it’s hard to find a more capable unit.

If you’re interested in reading my detailed thoughts about TopDon’s TopScan, here’s a review I did on the scanner sometime back.

Alternatively, if you’re not looking to deal with all the advanced stuff but simply want a basic code reader and somehow, the AD410 from Ancel doesn’t simply tick the box, you should look, alternatively, to the Foxwell NT301 – a similarly built code reader with more DIY ‘flow’ than the AD410.

Built to similarly high standards as the AD410, the Foxwell NT301 takes things to the next level: the code reader doesn’t only read codes: it tells you what the codes mean and proceeds to give you a logical step-by-step guide on what to check out for, to sort the issue.

It’s a code reader no one regrets buying – and I’m sure if you happen to have use for its vast ability, you’ll feel the same way too.

If you’d love to read my thoughts on it, here’s a detailed, published review.

Should You Buy the Ancel AD410?

Fast forward to today, more than 5 (five) good years after, this portable OBD II scanner, bought circa 2016-2017 (can’t remember which year again) is still kicking strong, looking brand new and without as much as a scratch on its body!

If not for anything, I give it 100% in terms of exceptional build quality, especially given that I simply practically threw it in the glove box without any sort of protective hard case, all these years.

If basic OBD II operations (with a touch of rugged nature) is what you’re looking out for, then, I cannot recommend any better basic code reader than the Ancel AD410.

However, if you want more features, the TopDon TopScan bi-directional scanner. is a bargain you can’t go wrong with; especially given its bi-directional ability and the plethora of options it has. There’s no better alternative to it especially at the price point it retails.

If on the other hand, you’re thinking of basic functions ONLY – but want a code reader that is more engaging, the Foxwell NT301 is where you should be looking, especially since it’s more beginner-friendly, lights up LEDs according to MIL status, and importantly, gives you auto DIY steps to fix just about any issue it encounters when scanning your engine.

I’ve also compared the Ancel AD410 with the Foxwell NT201 – if you’re looking to see how it compares with a close competitor.

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