Carista lets you customize things the dealer never wanted you to!

by "carwitter" (carwitter)
Published 05/27/2017 at 09:35

Tags: carsita ; odb2 ; car plug ; ecu ; tuning ; modding ; hacking ; Bluetooth OBDII ; bluetooth
STARS: 0

So a few weeks ago we were sent this nifty little car plug. It’s a bluetooth enabled ODB2 connector , i know what you’re thinking...there’s nothing amazing about them and there’s like a million of them on the market.

But this one’s different. It works with the Carista smartphone app for iOS and Android.

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It gets into the heart of your car, to the ECU, and finds little customizations you can switch on.
You won’t find these options in your car’s menu system, they’re hidden away and normally need a laptop coupled with specialist dealer software to enable.

Want to disable the annoying stop/start system permanently, sure thing. Increase the LED intensity for the side running lights, done. Make your mirror dip when you shift into reverse, that’s always handy. Disable the annoying beep when you’re going backwards, sorted. It can even turn off the seatbelt warning...probably illegal in your state or part of the world...but it can be done nonetheless.

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We tested Carista out on a brand new Audi Q2, whilst that car isn’t currently fully support by Carista we were still able to enable and play with a decent range of options.

Currently, Carista mainly works with Audi, BMW, Lexus, Mini, Scion, Toyota and VW models. But you can basic fault read with any vehicle.

It’s best to check if your car is supported here on Carista’s site , before purchase.

Once in the app you’re presented with three options – Diagnose, Customize and Service.

Self explanatory really.

Diagnose will read any faults that the car is currently showing. Our brand new Q2 had three…the first two seem common in VAG cars and can be ignored as false positives.

01275 could well have been an issue, either something unplugged or a relay fault.

Clicking on each fault will perform a Google search in your default browser. Sadly, pressing the back button wont return you to the app. You have to go back and reopen it.

‘Service’ will let you reset the service indicator warning that pops up on your dash. Handy for when you’ve had the car serviced but the mechanics have forgot to reset the counter.

Once the app has scanned your car, hooked up with the Carista servers and worked out what it’s plugged into you’ll get the next screen.

Here you can start to dig a bit deeper into the customization’s for your car.

You can enable or disable various things, from the compass display in the drivers MFD, make the needles sweep at startup, show you speed in the dash display, make the car beep when locking/unlocking, auto fold the mirrors, disable the seat belt warning (highly illegal), disable the start stop, and lower the passenger side mirror when you reverse.

The handiest feature we enabled, was in fact the tilting passenger mirror when reversing. It made it a lot easier to gauge the lines when parking in the higher than normal Q2.

It was switched on through Carista in seconds, once the change was live you just have to set the mirror controls to the passenger side for it to work. No switching the car off or ‘rebooting’ needed.

As with all the customization bits, none of them are to be found in the Audi menu system.

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Well the hardware is $39.99 from Amazon . A lil pricey for a bluetooth ODB device, but it will work with pretty much every phone app that is ELM327 compatible.

Torque

OBD Car Doctor

Dash

DashCommand

OBD Fusion

TrakAddict

You can fault read for free, but the fancy customization part costs.

$9.99 will get you a weekly pass, whilst $39.99 pays for a whole year. You get a one month trial with the latter.

If you try out the changes and want to reverse them within a week then all’s good. But it could get costly trying out different things one week at a time.

Either way $80 for the hardware and a year’s worth of car modding...if you compare that to what a main dealer (even if they’re willing to enable certain options) would charge you, or even an independent tuning company…it’s going to be a damn sight more expensive than $80.

Eventually they hope to support every car, in every market. But it take’s a long time to find and test all these hidden options.

No doubt Carista will get there, but it’s a big challenge.

We’ve now tested even more car OBD plugs, you can check them all out on carwitter.com

Replies (17)

"jimz" (jimz)
05/27/2017 at 10:06, STARS: 6

seems to be pretty focused on the European market. “Advanced” features only for VW Group, BMW, and Toyota cars.

and I’m sorry, if I buy a device from you the idea that I have to keep paying you in order to use it really sticks in my craw. I can see charging a fee/subscription for updates and new features, but not just so the damn thing will keep working.

"MrDakka" (mrdakka)
05/27/2017 at 11:00, STARS: 0

This is how Skynet will get you

"Vicente Esteve" (vicente-esteve)
05/27/2017 at 11:22, STARS: 0

So its like ODB Eleven?

"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
05/27/2017 at 11:27, STARS: 1

Pretty impressive for a container of floss.

"Funktheduck" (funktheduck)
05/27/2017 at 11:45, STARS: 7

Pay for a subscription for the mods? F that. I’m sure there are some idiots out there that would pay that but if I’m gonna mod my car it’ll be pay once.

"TrustMeImAnEngineer, but I'd rather be an InternationalArtThief" (trusttheengineer)
05/27/2017 at 12:34, STARS: 0

So its a cheaper alternative to a rosstech cable, at least for VAG people, but if I spend $200 on the rosstech, I can use it for life without paying a subscription. Neat idea, but I’d definitely be against continual payment just to use something I already bought.

Also, weirdly enough, the mirror turning down when I reverse feature is standard (with the power folding mirrors option) on my ‘06 A4, I wonder why it’s hidden now?

I also wonder if it’s limited in car makes it works with because they’re still trying to get access to the manufacturer’s code, or maybe some companies just don’t use advanced enough CAN bus systems and therefore this level of control just isn’t possible with any tool? Thanks for the review though!

"Klaus Schmoll" (klausschmoll)
05/27/2017 at 14:15, STARS: 0

The guys on my E61 FB group all sing the highest praise for tha carly app and connector.

"carwitter" (carwitter)
05/28/2017 at 05:18, STARS: 0

Mhmm i think there are other ways they could run the subscription model, maybe like micro payments for each change with a free reversal option to switch it off.

It seems the majority of bad reviews on Amazon are down to the payment system or not working fully with the buyers car.

"carwitter" (carwitter)
05/28/2017 at 05:19, STARS: 0



"carwitter" (carwitter)
05/28/2017 at 05:20, STARS: 0

I need your clothes, boots and your motorcycle...erm car.

"carwitter" (carwitter)
05/28/2017 at 05:22, STARS: 0

The company is more european based i’d say, but it seems like they’re working hard to rapidly expand the marques they cover.

Agreed, they payment model will put some people off.

"carwitter" (carwitter)
05/28/2017 at 05:23, STARS: 0

Yeah, i think a pay once for the mods you want to make. Maybe $2 a mod with free reversal.

"BLCKSTRM" (BLCKSTRM)
06/01/2017 at 15:09, STARS: 0

I think there’s a misunderstnading here.

I think you have to pay to access the mod menu - but that doesn’t mean the mods - the changes the app made to your car - go away when you stop paying the app subscription on your phone. You just can’t undo them if you’ve discontinued access to the app’s mod menu.

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
06/01/2017 at 15:11, STARS: 0

Carly does the same basic thing but the app is a one-time $58.99 purchase, not a subscription.

"DanZman" (DanielHarpel)
06/01/2017 at 19:52, STARS: 0

The payment model will be the death of them. But, they will have to figure that out in their own.

I really like the idea of this though. There are several things that I would love to change of both of my main cars but they are GM products and I’m not sure if they will offer what I want anyway.

"TheBimmerGuyWhoNowOwnsAChevy" (thebimmerguy)
06/01/2017 at 21:13, STARS: 0

If it weren’t for the subscription I would have already bought it. I get subscriptions, but only if they are a reasonable price, $10 a month or $40 for 13 months that seems a little absurd. Then again they are also doing a lot of work to make these features accessible, I’m conflicted but I still want to disagree with the price.

"Stay Quattro!" (pmac619)
06/01/2017 at 22:03, STARS: 1

Except for the actual acticle, this is all fairly meaningless information.

Nothing better than some with little to no experience actual experience with 0, 1, 0r both mentioned devices. If you did, you would know that trying to compare the only real competitor, Ross-tech, is like comparing Apple and DOS.

I personally used both Carista and Ross-tech for well over 2 years, on over 100 cars and yes, you might be able to do some more advanced mods with Ross-Tech (some will really mess up your ride if not careful), but for the $499. wireless Ross-tech, and the countless hours with over 100+ mods made on my SQ5, i would have much rather have had the Carista...FIRST, as it would have taken me minutes compared to hours, which is way more valuable than the $499 vs $39 price point.

Get real people, there are places that charge all sorts of fees to do each little tweak...no way, we want it all, yet don’t want to pay for it problem...

Recently I did some test mods on an Audi TT, probably 15+ (mirror dip, Windows up, sunroof, headlight mods, locking of doors, folding mirrors, key functions, etc). We basically customized some things on the fly. It was my first ride in his limited edition TT, it was raining hard here which is odd, so what do we naturally do...we took it for a SPIN, and tested out his new tires installed that day, it was awesome. We had fun, pulled back into restaurant and did some “fine tuning”...It took all of 15 min...i would have gladly paid several hundred for all those changes.

The difference with all the apps mentioned, is that this actually works, and is developed by some serious car enthusiasts, who happen to be crazy smart with writing programs as well.

I tested different versions of Carista with an Audi Club in 3 States for about 1.5 yrs, on loads of VW, Audi, Lambo, etc and hands down Carista is well worth it.

If you can’t afford this, you probably should not have a car with tons of cool options to customise to your liking. Im sorry, just being realistic and honest.

-P