Remote Vehicle Diagnostics (RVD)

The history of RVD

There have been five distinct steps in the evolution of RVD:

• In the beginning, each vehicle manufacturer had unique proprietary diagnostic systems, in many cases even using different systems for different models. This made access by independent systems very difficult.
• Over time, these unique proprietary diagnostic systems were consolidated into a number of different recognised "standards", however, each manufacturer still tended to use their own particular flavour. Access by independent systems was still difficult, but at least there was a common standard for diagnostic connectors!
• From 2001 onwards, the situation was rationalised by the mandatory EOBD requirements, which imposed a common standard on all manufacturers for emissions related applications. Access to EOBD data by a "common" independent system became a practicable proposition. However, there are considerable differences between manufacturers concerning the scope of the information available via EOBD: Manufacturers still retained the use of their diverse proprietary systems for internal "native" vehicle applications (e.g. fault reporting).
• With increasing consolidation and globalisation in the motor industry, the diversity of proprietary diagnostic systems in use is reducing, as manufacturers are increasingly adopting a unified "corporate approach" across all model platforms. Access to all internal vehicle information by independent systems is now becoming a practicable proposition.
• We are witnessing the development of garage tools that can interpret data from the EOBD port and through layers or gateways into cluster data from the main ECU and OEM level data for reprogramming and adjustment and fine tuning. These are often diesels specific and common rail based. In parallel we are seeing drivers buying simple but specific EOBD tools to identify faults and cancel service lights etc. With GSM and Wi-Fi it is now possible to set exception alerts and full ECU integration routines whilst the car is driven.