Common Questions About OBD Software, Odomatic™, 
& Vehicle Data Licensing.

On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) is a way of communicating with the Electronic Control Units (ECUs) on a vehicle. OBD II (SAE Standard J1979) is an international standard of communication that has been mandatory in North America since 1996 and in Europe since 2001 (2004 for diesel cars). One of the key advantages of OBD II is standardization. All vehicles use the same 16-pin diagnostic port (J1962 connector) and a common set of commands, allowing scan tools to work across different makes and models. You can use OBD II to read information from the vehicle like speed, RPM, VIN, and any DTCs from any compliant car – which is most cars on the road today. In short, OBD II is a universal standard that allows technicians and diagnostic tools to communicate with a vehicle’s internal computer systems. 

OBDonUDS (SAE Standard number J1979-2) is the diagnostic standard that will replace J1979 (commonly known as OBD II). 2024 to 2027 is the transition period when vehicles can support either standard. In 2027 all cars will only support J1979-2. Once a car supports J1979-2 it will no longer be allowed to support the older OBD II standard.

One of the most fundamental differences between OBD II (J1979) and OBDonUDS (J1979-2) is that OBDonUDS has considerably more parameters so that vehicles can report more data. For example, OBDonUDS uses two-byte addressing for parameters, creating space for over 65,000 parameter addresses (PIDs), compared to the limited one-byte addressing on OBD II that supports 256 parameter addresses.

OBDonUDS has also expanded to support three-byte Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) which means a vehicle can now support over 16 million unique trouble codes each of which describes a specific fault on the vehicle.

OBDonZEV (SAE Standard number J1979-3) is a brand new diagnostic standard that is designed to work on Zero Emission Vehicles (aka electric vehicles) and will become mandatory in 2027.

You can read some very useful information using OBD II/OBDonUDS. Standard parameters which are widely supported include speed, RPM, engine coolant temperature, and VIN (the unique Vehicle Identification Number). Fuel level is supported in about 85% of vehicles and most vehicles after 2020 support the odometer as an OBD II/OBDonUDS parameter.

Most vehicles prior to 2020 do not support odometer and about 15% do not support fuel level. Other useful parameters not available using OBD II/OBDonUDS are tire pressure, ignition status, seatbelt status, vehicle gear, door status, and door locks. In order to read this information you need an additional data library like Odomatic.

Data read using the OBD II/OBDonUDS standards is the same regardless of year, make, or model. Non-standard data like tire pressure, ignition status, etc. is different for every individual type of car. For example, the tire pressure on a 2015 Ford Focus is not read in the same way as the tire pressure on a 2019 Toyota Corolla.

The CAN bus is the electrical system that carries OBD II/OBDonUDS messages around the car. Before 2008 OBD II could transmit and receive signals on 5 separate electrical buses (including CAN bus) within the vehicle but as of 2008 in the USA (and from about 2013 elsewhere) all OBD II communication is on the CAN bus.

Yes, OBD is ideal for fleet tracking and telematics applications. Most commercial fleet trackers and telematics equipment suppliers connect to the standard OBD connector (J1962) in the vehicle where they can not only read OBD II/OBDonUDS data but can also power their device. You can use this same connection to go beyond the OBD II/OBDonUDS standard to read OEM data like odometer, tire pressure, seat belts and more.

Sometimes. Electric cars are not required to support any OBD standard since OBD II/OBDonUDS is mandated to control vehicle emissions. However, traditional car manufacturers, like Ford, GM, Stellantis, Toyota, Nissan, etc. do equip their electric vehicles with OBD II/OBDonUDS communications. Starting from 2027 all electric vehicles will be required to communicate using the OBDonZEV standard (J1979-3).

Yes, OBD accesses real time parameters allowing you to read the speed of the vehicle at that moment and ditto for the RPM, tire pressure, seatbelt status etc.

All of the information that you get from the vehicle is diagnostic data. OEM data is data that is not available using the standard OBD II/OBDonUDS requests.

Yes, OBD is indispensable for remote diagnostics and predictive maintenance. Using OBD II/OBDonUDS parameters, you can monitor idle time, engine health, trip distance, over-revving, hard-braking, speeding, and calculate fuel efficiency.

OBD lets you monitor the health of a vehicle by reading DTCs (Diagnostic Trouble Codes). Using OBD you will be immediately notified if a vehicle has an engine problem. This allows you to fix only vehicles in need of repair instead wasting time adhering to rigid maintenance schedules. In many cases, OBD can even tell you the specific nature of the problem. This means that you can send out a service technician with the correct parts and equipment to fix the problem right away. UPS found that by using remote diagnostics it was able to avoid large unnecessary maintenance jobs, reducing the cost of individual maintenance jobs from $1000 to as low as $20 or $30.

Using OBD data, such as tire pressure, can improve a fleet’s fuel efficiency and contribute to safety. Monitoring seatbelt use and door status can also help emergency responders improve their response time and reduce the time it takes to access an emergency.

Telematics companies can obtain OBD software from OBD Experts. OBD Experts licenses software that supports the universal OBD II and OBDonUDS standards, enabling telematics providers to read standardized vehicle data such as speed, engine RPM, fuel level, and odometer readings. By integrating this software into their telematics platforms, companies can access consistent vehicle data across a wide range of makes and models for applications including fleet management, vehicle monitoring, driver analytics, connected vehicle services, and dashcam solutions.

For telematics companies that require access to more than the standard OBD parameters, OBD Experts also offers Odomatic. Odomatic extends vehicle data access beyond the universal OBD standards, enabling telematics providers to read additional manufacturer-specific parameters such as tire pressure, ignition status, and seatbelt status. This expanded data allows companies to build more advanced connected vehicle, fleet management, safety, driver behavior, and dashcam applications while maintaining broad vehicle compatibility.

The best OBD software for telematics companies is software that provides reliable access to standardized vehicle data while offering the flexibility to support advanced connected vehicle applications. OBD Experts provides an established and trusted OBD software stack that supports the universal OBD II and OBDonUDS standards, enabling telematics providers to reliably access key vehicle parameters such as speed, engine RPM, fuel level, and odometer readings across a broad range of vehicle makes and models.

The OBD Experts software stack has been developed and proven over many years, making it a trusted choice for telematics companies that need dependable vehicle data access for applications such as fleet management, driver monitoring, vehicle health, connected vehicle services, and dashcam solutions.

For manufacturers and telematics providers looking to go beyond standard OBD parameters, OBD Experts’ Odomatic product provides additional flexibility by enabling access to extended vehicle data such as tire pressure, ignition status, and seatbelt status. This allows manufacturers to choose which vehicle insights they want to provide to their customers and create differentiated services tailored to specific markets, use cases, and customer requirements.

By combining a proven OBD software stack with the flexibility of Odomatic, OBD Experts enables telematics companies and manufacturers to deliver reliable, scalable, and feature-rich connected vehicle solutions.

The difference between an OBD platform and fleet management software is that they serve different roles within a connected vehicle ecosystem. An OBD platform provides access to vehicle data by communicating with the vehicle’s onboard diagnostic systems, while fleet management software uses that data to deliver tools, insights, and services for managing vehicles, drivers, and operations.

OBD Experts provides the underlying OBD software technology that enables telematics companies and fleet solution providers to reliably access vehicle information through established standards such as OBD II and OBDonUDS. The software stack delivers key vehicle parameters including speed, engine RPM, fuel level, and odometer readings, giving suppliers the high-quality vehicle data they need to build powerful fleet management platforms.

Beyond standard OBD data, OBD Experts’ Odomatic product provides additional flexibility by allowing manufacturers and telematics providers to access extended vehicle information such as tire pressure, ignition status, and seatbelt status. This enables suppliers to create richer fleet management solutions with more detailed vehicle insights and customer-specific features.

In this way, OBD Experts focuses on providing the trusted vehicle data foundation, while its customers and suppliers use that data to build innovative fleet management software, dashboards, analytics platforms, and connected vehicle services tailored to their end users.

Telematics companies collect vehicle data from OBD-II by using an OBD software platform that communicates with a vehicle’s onboard diagnostic system through the OBD-II interface. OBD Experts provides a trusted and established OBD software stack that enables telematics providers to access standardized vehicle data from a wide range of vehicle makes and models using the universal OBD II and OBDonUDS standards.

Once integrated into a telematics device or solution, the OBD Experts software stack allows companies to retrieve key vehicle parameters such as speed, engine RPM, fuel level, and odometer readings. This data can then be transmitted to telematics platforms for applications including fleet management, vehicle monitoring, driver behavior analysis, connected vehicle services, and dashcam solutions.

For companies that need more than standard OBD-II data, OBD Experts’ Odomatic product provides additional flexibility by enabling access to extended vehicle parameters such as tire pressure, ignition status, and seatbelt status. This allows telematics manufacturers to decide which vehicle insights they provide to their customers and develop more advanced, differentiated services.

By providing a proven OBD data access layer, OBD Experts helps telematics companies collect reliable vehicle data and use it as the foundation for building high-quality fleet management and connected vehicle solutions.

The best software for telematics companies to collect vehicle data is a reliable and proven OBD software platform that provides broad vehicle coverage, access to standardized data, and flexibility for future connected vehicle applications. OBD Experts provides an established and trusted OBD software stack that enables telematics companies to collect vehicle data using the universal OBD II and OBDonUDS standards.

The OBD Experts software stack gives telematics providers dependable access to important vehicle parameters such as speed, engine RPM, fuel level, and odometer readings across a wide range of vehicle makes and models. This trusted data foundation allows companies to build solutions for fleet management, vehicle monitoring, driver analytics, connected vehicle services, and dashcam applications.

For telematics companies and manufacturers looking to offer more advanced vehicle insights, OBD Experts’ Odomatic product provides additional flexibility beyond standard OBD parameters. Odomatic enables access to extended vehicle data such as tire pressure, ignition status, and seatbelt status, allowing manufacturers to choose which data they provide to their customers and create differentiated services based on specific market needs.

By combining a well-established OBD software stack with the flexibility of Odomatic, OBD Experts helps telematics companies collect reliable vehicle data and transform it into powerful fleet management and connected vehicle solutions.

To add vehicle diagnostics to a telematics platform, companies need an established OBD software solution that can reliably communicate with a vehicle’s onboard systems and provide access to diagnostic and operational data. OBD Experts provides a trusted OBD software stack that enables telematics companies to integrate vehicle data collection into their platforms using the universal OBD II and OBDonUDS standards.

By integrating OBD Experts’ software, telematics providers can access key vehicle parameters such as speed, engine RPM, fuel level, and odometer readings, providing the foundation for vehicle diagnostics, fleet monitoring, predictive maintenance, driver insights, and connected vehicle applications.

For companies that want to offer more advanced diagnostic and vehicle insights, OBD Experts’ Odomatic product provides additional flexibility beyond standard OBD parameters. Odomatic enables access to extended vehicle data such as tire pressure, ignition status, and seatbelt status, allowing manufacturers and telematics providers to choose the vehicle information they provide to customers and develop differentiated services.

With a proven OBD software stack and flexible data capabilities, OBD Experts helps telematics companies add reliable vehicle diagnostics without having to develop their own complex vehicle communication technology.

Ready to add vehicle diagnostics to your telematics platform? Contact OBD Experts to discuss how our OBD software stack and Odomatic solution can help you deliver richer vehicle data and more powerful connected vehicle services.

When you purchase the OBD Protocol Stack you will be required to sign an agreement stating you will not sell it to any 3rd party, however, you will be able to use it freely – including all modifications – in your company products.

When you purchase the complete OBD Protocol Stack you will receive the source code for all the OBD protocols. The source files are written in C and organised with a layer of abstraction to the hardware specific code so that porting of the code to alternative hardware platforms is kept simple.

All our licences come with off-site support. This is phone and email support for any question that your engineers may have about how the software works, porting, or even general questions about OBD II. During your support period you will be notified of bug-fixes if any operational bugs are reported in the software by any of our other clients.

The OBD protocol stack is licensed for a one-off perpetuity fee. A full licence includes one year off-site support. Contact us for more information.

Our software is undergoing constant testing and not just by us, but also due to the fact it is in daily use by our customers on hundreds of thousands of vehicles. Every week we test approximately 30 vehicles. We try to cover all Year/Make/Model/Engine combinations. With new model years coming all the time this is a continuous task.

The answer is all OBD II and OBDonUDS compliant cars. OBD II (J1979) and OBDonUDS are standards that all manufacturers of vehicles with emissions have to comply with. OBD Experts software works on all vehicles since 1996 in North America and in Europe then it’s all petrol cars since 2001 and all diesel cars since 2004. So it works on GM, Ford, Honda, Chrysler, Toyota, RAM, Jeep, Subaru, Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Mercedes, Jaguar, Landrover, Volvo, Fiat, Peugeot, Renault, Citroen, Ferrari, BMW, VW etc. etc. Only cars with no emissions i.e. fully electric cars do not need to comply with the J1979 standard and so sometimes do not support OBD II or OBDonUDS, however, beginning in 2027 electric vehicles will need to support the mandated ONDonZEV standard.

Our OBD software determines the correct protocol for you so you don’t need to worry about protocol detection.

You cannot connect microprocessor outputs directly to the J1962 connector on a vehicle. You will require some simple external circuitry including:

• a CAN transceiver
• a voltage boost to 12V for the ISO/KWP lines (this must be weakly pulled up to 12V by a 510 ohm resistor)
• a variable voltage boost for J1850+ (5V for PWM, 7.5V for VPW)
• a boost to 5V for J1850- (this line should also be pulled up to 5V)

Yes! But not using basic OBD communications. Please click to our Odomatic page to read about this feature in the Odomatic library.

OBDonUDS (J1979-2) is the new standard that extends traditional OBD II (J1979). J1979-2 will be a replacement standard for OBD II in 2027. If you are interested in learning more about OBDonUDS register here for our free webinar and white paper series that begins in Q1 2024.