Which one do you recommend for BMW Locksmith & Engineer?
CGDI Prog BMW
Xhorse VVDI BIMTool
Yanhua Mini ACDP
Here is the clue.
CGDI BMW:
Pros:
- BMW CGDI is much easier and has very good Functions, change VIN, change mileage, read ISN from DME etc.
- It can do coding and programming options for used modules.
- Software is simple and easy to use
- It does an excellent job making keys from dump.
- It also can do FEM and BDC but need to have the FEM BDC platform.
- It has CAS Fix function. Make sure you have battery connected to proper power when downgrading. no worries because if something happens to CAS during downgrade, you can use cgdi to fix cas, tried it by disconnecting cable during downgrade, killed CAS, and restored with cgdi.
Cons:
- At the moment is the Data manipulation from dump doesn’t seem to calculate the ISN correctly.
- It’s mostly limited to the older MSD/MSV stuff. It doesn’t support most of the newer MEVD computers
- Downgrade carries some risk (all tools do). If you go to the effort of making a backup before downgrade, you might as well just make the key from dump and skip downgrade altogether.
- FEM bricking also occurs, though generally fixable with e-sys. Recent FEM i-step is said to minimize risk.
- Technical support is average.
Yanhua Mini ACDP
Pros:
- Acdp without question great piece of kit .It does pin check first. You know which points to clean and is very fast and comfortable working.
- Stable work. It is safe to do on bench and doesn’t take much longer.
- It works with Windows App and mobile phone App.
- It is able to renew key, change VIN, mileage, ISN, add key, all keys lost without issue.
- Also an easiest and best solution for FEM. Don’t need to reconnect to the car and run there and back. Just connect tool to FEM, wait for 5-10min and preprocess+key is ready. Done about 20 fem/bdc keys With 100% success rate.
- Doing via eeprom way faster then VVDI with downgrade. CAS4 in 10 minutes.
- Useful for whose soldering skills are not the best
- It has many interface boards, extension modules for gearbox, Volvo, Porsche, Jaguar Land rover etc
Yanhua ACDP Mini works great for CAS2, CAS3, CAS4 and FEM/BDC. Recommend ICP or bench mode unless making a CAS2 key since only OBD is supported option. Although it makes keys flawlessly on CAS4 over OBD. But always do CAS4 on bench except OBD CAS 2 is safe all others ICP is safe! There are better tools for OBD. You can also use this tool to read the ISN from DMEs. This all works great with the interface boards! It works decent for a cheap price!
Cons:
Using just the CAN wires is a hit or miss. (Read ISN from N20 DME with can wires – worked. Read MSD80 with can wires – worked. Read ISN from n55/n20 DME with can wires – didn’t work. Sometimes need interface board. using interface boards works every time!)
Xhorse VVDI BIMTool Pro
Pros:
- CAS2/CAS3 can be done by xhorse vvdi bimtool since long time ago, all by obd.
- It can read ISN for DME long time ago
- It has CAS Repair/Recovery Function. Need load eeprom and flash to repair CAS.
- Works perferctly on CAS2/CAS3/CAS4/FEM/BDC
- Have diagnostic+ programming + coding online function
- It got better and made decent improvements
- will allow the tool to use bmw software like icom and get it working much better than the original unit.
- Covers only new features more as vvdi2 has (70%).
- WiFi is not stable
- Have to backup flash and eeprom with vvdi prog before test vvdi bimtool
- not cheap
In sum:
Every tool has its strengths and weaknesses. Yanhua Mini ACDP is excellent for CAS2/CAS3/CAS4 via ICP on bench, also easiest solution on FEM. But not the best tool for OBD.
CGDI BMW does CAS1-CAS4 and FEM/BDC well, it will also do coding and programming, it is easy to use, but not the best option to read ISN. VVDI BIMTool is better for OBD, but has bugs need to be fixed. You need more tools, if one fails, use another.
