Lexia? Diagbox?

[rmunns]

Please, would someone briefly describe (single syllable words only) what a Lexia is and what is diagbox?

[GiveMeABreak]

The hardware is called a VCI, it is the vehicle communications interface that plugs into your laptop and into the diagnostic port of your vehicle. It contains electronics that talk to the various ECUs on your car and is the proprietary tool used by PSA.

The software is called Lexia for Citroen and Peugeot Planet 2000 for Peugeot vehicle’s.
These have stopped being developed for some years, as the newer software is called Diagbox. Diagbox is used for newer vehicles from about 2008 onwards. To maintain compatibility with older vehicles, they bundled both Lexia and PP2000 into Diagbox and the software will launch the most appropriate version depending on the vehicle.

I hope that gives you some idea.

The hardware VCI that we use tend to be clones of the originals, so that we mere mortals can diagnose our vehicles using near dealer level tools.

[rmunns]

Thanks, Marc. As always. So which one is recommended.....price is an issue for us poor pensioners suffering from poor exchange rates..............

[GiveMeABreak]

There is no choice Roger, most ‘packages’ consist of the hardware interface, the cables and the Diagbox software, which as I explained includes the Lexia and PP2000 encapsulated software within Diagbox.

You will still need a suitable laptop and oodles of patience as it is not a supported product, has no manuals, but relies on the support of other users. Installation can be hit and miss and make taken several attempts at installing and uninstalling to get up and running.

It can be temperamental to use, as by its nature, the software has been ‘modified’ to allow wider use and is therefore not officially supported in any way. It is important that you understand this. Some users have reported that they can simply not get it to work on their particular systems, so you do need to have some IT skills. I would also caution that they are clones of the dealer level tool, so caution is advised as if you inadvertently change some settings, you can leave your vehicle inoperative.

There is some cautionary advice on the Diagnostics section I put up as a sticky, you may want to read before hand.

[Hell Razor5543]

I do recommend you look at the equipment supplied by Easy Diagnostics. Although it is certainly not the cheapest on the market, it has the latest chipset, should work on all PSA vehicles, and has a decent aftercare support. There is also a way to get (for forum members only) a bit of a discount;

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=60113

[rmunns]

Thanks for the replies.

I guess I'll just have to rely on my old engineering skills then. IT knowledge is rudimentary, not much patience..........................

[wfdTamar]

Can you run Lexia on newer cars (post 2008, even as late as 2015) rather than Diagbox, as from what I’ve seen I like how the menus are structured better.

[GiveMeABreak]

No - Lexia is only for circa 2007 and earlier (model dependent). Lexia is no longer updated as Diagbox is now used for all vehicles 2008 on. As Lexia is no longer updated and patched, it will not have all the latest ECU data used on later vehicles.