Creator C310+ BMW Scanner Review: Pros and Cons

Here obdii365.com gathers Creator C310+ BMW code scanner honest reviews based on users’ working experience.

 

 

1).
I bought a Creator C310+ last week
I have the 03 540i and it communicates just fine. ABS light comes on during comms and everything.
Found that on a couple of friends cars I’ve worked on as well, as well as my car when bought it with the trifecta lights.

2).
it works fine.. it does everything.
FYi… you can just do all of it with the engine running

3).
It works fine and provides the info decently. Only thing I would like to see is overlaid graphs so you can visually see the relations of O2 to FT etc.
It is “slow” but displays the info correctly. Took some exploring, trial and error, and reading on the forum to figure it out.

 

4).
Scrolling is slow, but it provides useful info and has been a big help to me. Found the graphing of the pre-cat o2 sensor to be quite helpful in determining I needed a new one on bank 1 but the bank 2 sensor was doing ok.

5).
$55 seems cheap- or damaged.

I agree scroll can be slow, but I’ve found it works great, all the info is there- you do need to search it all out. Mine will reset all it claims.

 

6).
I have this one and it works fine for me. I figured it out pretty easy and I am not nearly as adept as some of my fellows. I really only use it to clear codes and read codes. I did clear adaptions once and boy was that a trip.

7).
I’ve had mine for about a year..there’s no “book” that i’m aware of that walks you thru it.

8).
I have a Creator C310 scanner and one tip I learned early on was that you’ll need to have an adapter and have it plugged into the 20 pin under the hood to receive live data-at least I did on mine. You may already be aware of this, but I wasn’t until I started poking around here.
though it depends on which live data stream you wish to read…the 20 pin connector interfaces with the non dme modules, abs etc, and will give you live data from them. the engine data is read via the 16 pin underdash connector from the dme.

9).
I ordered an engine bay round connector – (OBD-16 to BMW-20 Socket) and ran the diagnose using the C310 Creator Scanner. It picked up the error (Driver Seat Belt Buckle) and cleared it without any issues.

The C310 worked well ..once I had the engine bay round connector (8 bucks).

I’ll now turn my attention to fixing the drivers seat belt buckle switch.

 

10).

I reset mine with the C310 when I took the door panel off and disconnected the airbag there.
The c310 has probably paid for it self 3 times now since I’ve had it….not all faults are created equal. Some faults are what is called “Hard faults” these faults are recorded in the computer brain. a component is missing or there is damage – hard fault – only dealer equipment can clear the airbag light or fault when everything thing is finally corrected.
then there is the “soft fault” this fault is due to… let’s say a hiccup in the modules monitoring of what ever system, all components are in place and there is no impact damage…something happened (to a small degree) but the system is quickly back to normal. Like when I disconnected and removed my seats from the car and I DID NOT disconnect the battery and let the car sit for maybe 15 min beforehand…I was plagued with the airbag light for two years…come to find out…I had broken a “Squib” from the airbag unit at the passenger door…didn’t know at the time there is a precise way of removing/disconnecting the airbag!
It was that experience that I come to see why its called the “Ultimate” driving machine….

 

11).
I Bought the Creator C310,…and it does clear the airbag light

12).
I have a C310 and have been very pleased with it. Never tried the Foxwell.

Gives me all the codes I need plus I could reset an airbag light when I foolishly disconnected it.

Creator C310 Scanner Review 1

Creator C310 Scanner Review 2

Creator C310 Scanner Review 3

Creator C310 Scanner Review 5

Creator C310 Scanner Review 6

Creator C310 Scanner Review 8

13).
The C310 does do some real-time graphing. A quirky tool, but damn cheap.

14).
I have the 310, Carly, and a laptop setup.

The 310 by far is the easiest to use, but doesn’t do all sorts of things. For 90% of the stuff we do it’s probably a best bet.

Carly seems to have more depth and better brief descriptions of codes. For our X3’s (E83 at least), the coding functions are VERY limited. I also ended up buying the Bluetooth module BEFORE I found out I couldn’t code the E83 with it. Pissed off! Had to buy the additional straight USB plug in adapter. Then my stupid phone didn’t accept data over the USB port, only charging. Had to then go out and but a refurb android tablet just for Carly.

The laptop setup is insanely complicated and fussy it seems. Diagnostics are relatively OK, once you get the finicky cables to work. I burned through about 3 before I found one. Then for certain models you need to get a switchable one, or manually short some pins. Then to do other stuff like flashing you CAN’T use the nice USB cable you just got working, you pretty much have to use an ICOM.

 

15).
I just got the Creator C310 today 5/22/20 and it worked 100%

 

16).

Better than paying diagnostic fees and then labor costs just to reset the light. I spilled a smoothie in my 2007 Mini Cooper and needed to take the seat out to clean the spill thoroughly. Of course, I read online afterwards that we are technically supposed to disconnect the battery first because there are sensors that will think that disconnecting the wiring harness under the seat for the seat belt and airbag sensor will cause a fault in the system (like the wiring shorted out or got a break in it accidentally and it needs attention). In any case, just received this code scanner yesterday and hooked it up to reset my warning light. Plugged it into the OBDII port and selected my vehicle in the configuration. Then I turned the car on so the scanner could communicate with the ECU. There are quite a few things to scroll through so it took me a while to find the restraint system option, but once I found it, it was as easy as 1-2-3 to erase the fault. Once done, I unplugged my scanner and started the vehicle up and voila…no more warning indicator on. This little gem has already paid itself off because I know the dealer would have charged probably double the cost of what this scanner costs. Although it might be difficult to find the right thing to diagnose from the menus, I still give it a 5 star rating because 1) it works and does what it is supposed to do and 2) just like anything else, time and more use with the device will make you become an expert at using it. Great tool for the home mechanic, but like another review said, if you are looking for actual BMW codes, this will not give that to you…I’m no BMW expert or BMW mechanic so I don’t need the true fault code. =)

 

17).

I purchased the Creator C310 Plus Code Scanner for BMW Mini, and it read all the codes specific to my car. It was easy to designate the Make/Model because it reads various BMW/Mini models, including my 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman S.

 

18).

I was seeking to reset SRS lights due to a passenger restraint system error on a 2013 bmw X3 F25. It cleared the code easily once I programed to the right vehicle and turned off that annoying fault alarm. With OBD , ABS, SRS functions it is a very usefull tool for simple diagnosis

 

19).

20.)

For the price it is a great option to scan BMWs and Minis. On older BMWs the autoscan feature does not work (my case E53) however on my mini F56s it worked like a charm.

No screen dimming option (as far as I know) if used during night time can be a bit bright.

If you have used scan tools before you shouldn’t have a problem, if it is the first time it might take a bit of tinkering to get the hang of it.

Great product, does what it says.

 

21).

Using the optional round connector cable I am able to read and reset most codes on my early 2001 BMW X5. And that’s what I bought it for so no real complaints at the price. I will say that the operation manual is not very good (probably written for a previous version of the software and not detailed enough) and the “Automatic Search” function doesn’t do anything on my car. But figuring it out is fairly straight forward, just remember 1) key off when connecting, 2) key on to read codes, and 3) key on but engine OFF to erase codes.

 

 

22).

This BMW C310 scanner not only showed me the trouble codes (4 of them), but i was also able to reset all the modules (one at a time) so i could get the cruise control working again and the remote working again. (now i do not have to use a key in the door). It reads and resets the main computer, the ABS module, the Air Bag module, and the body control computer and it’s sub-modules (such as the comfort access setup). It came with the july 2019 version software, so it did not need to be updated online before using it…. The written instructions were not as clear as i would have wanted, but i was able to figure out how to look at each module and then reset them. The menus are deeply nested, and you may have to go 3 or 4 layers deep to find what you are looking for . To go to a different test area of your car, you have to back out 1 step at a time to the beginning menu, and then go stepping down another path, etc. I thought the buttons were not sensitive enough, i really had to push firmly on each button to get a response / it did not recognize light touching. . . Overall, a really good value compared to taking it to the dealer.

 

23).

24).

25).

26).
27).
Bought it to reset the dreaded and obnoxious airbag+seatbelt console warning light caused by a disconnect of the battery safety terminal. Read the code perfectly, and easy to clear with just a few button pushes.
28).
29).

30).

I have the same one. Good tool, shame it doesn’t read fuel trims though.

 

31).

It will not clear the abs codes on a e46 only reason we got it was to do this abs codes and nope wont clear them

 

32).

I’ve purchased many obd2 scanners, including the Actron CP9125, B800 SRS tool, VeePeak Mini, and the Creator C310. The creator is my favorite so far as it does everything in one, and is well under $100. Best of all it works with early OBDII models like the E36, E46, E38, E39, E53, E90, E92 and all of the modern models like the F30, F20, F22, G11, G30 and so on.

 

PROS:

very cheap

easy to use

compatible with older BMW (with a 16-pin to 20-pin round connector)

able to view live data in graph

 

CONS:

no user manual or manual in poorly worded and incomplete

no information on update (check C310 update guide)

won’t reset ABS codes on some BMW, i.e E46

 

 

Conclusion:
>the graphing software is very handy for looking at MAF/fuel trims/o2 sensor outputs/fuel pressure …especially for older X’s with failing/sclerotic systems

>fiftees series includes some coverage of the foxwell

>tough to beat the ista stuff

The Creator C310+ is a cheap, imperfect tool but it does much more than a cheap OBD-II scanner for most BMW. I would recommend it for a beginner.

OBDII365