XTool A30M is amazing | Owner’s review

Xtool A30M is one of the most impressive tools I’ve tested so far. I spent days testing it on my Alfa Romeo test rig, Touareg 3.0 TDI, Golf Mk5, and Nissan Micra, and for the price it beats many scanners that cost 3× more. Has solid scan time, bi-directional and even 26 service resets which is a lot coming from smartphone OBD2 scanner.

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Blog review: @iamcarhacker tests Xtool A30M

This isn’t a spec-sheet review.
Everything here comes from actually using xtool a30M on:

• Alfa Romeo 147 test bench
• VW Touareg 3.0 TDI
• VW Golf Mk5
• Nissan Micra K12
• And a 2RAC instrument cluster for a mileage experiment

Mileage Change Test – A “Fun” Experiment That Actually Worked

I started with something a lot of scanners claim to support: mileage correction.

• Original mileage: 494,650 km (approx.)
• Target: 200,000 km, then later 500 km (just for fun)
• Process: A30M downloaded EEPROM, communicated with the cluster, wrote the new value
• Result: “Change mileage success.”
  Mileage on the cluster updated correctly.

The funny part?

Even my more expensive Xtool D8S (my favourite tablet-style scanner) couldn’t do this correctly on this exact unit at first – even though it says it’s supported.

This little xtool a30M did it without complaining.

To be fair: my D8S probably just needs a firmware/update refresh. But from a user perspective, the A30M simply worked, straight out of the box.

This mileage function is one of the 26 service resets built into xtool a30M – and yes, it’s actually usable on supported cars and clusters.

How It Performed on Each Car

Instead of walls of text, here’s an overview first:

Car / Setup	Scan Speed & Coverage	Bidirectional	Service Functions	Notes
Alfa Romeo 147 test rig	Very fast, found all modules (engine, ABS, body, airbag)	No bidirectional (same as D8S and another Xtool)	Limited / Alfa-related limits	Car has immobilizer history, replaced ECU, cut wires – not scanner’s fault
VW Touareg 3.0 TDI	Full 41-module scan, strong coverage	Yes – lights, interior, fans, etc. via sequences	Many relevant resets (ABS, gearbox, etc.)	Hard car for scanners – A30M handled it better than many cheaper tools
VW Golf Mk5	Ultra-fast VAG “fast scan” (few seconds) + standard full scan	Yes – climate flaps, self test, etc.	Mileage change worked perfectly	Scan time and functionality very close to pro VAG tools
Nissan Micra K12	Found all 6 modules, full scan	Yes – fan, fuel pump, power balance	A few useful services (airbag reset, SAS)	Older car, doesn’t need many resets, but diagnostics are solid

Alfa Romeo 147 – Great Scanner, Weird Car

My Alfa 147 test setup is basically a torture test for scanners. Many tools simply cannot do an auto scan on it.

With xtool a30M:

• Auto scan worked and connected to all present modules
• It pulled a long list of DTCs (expected, half the car is missing)
• It scanned faster than several “professional” tools I’ve tried

Where it struggled:

No bidirectional tests available on this Alfa in A30M.
But the same limitation exists on Xtool D8S and one more Xtool tool I tested.

I even managed to reach the instrument cluster menu where you usually can change mileage, but the values were wrong and ECU refused the change.
That’s exactly what I’ve seen on other scanners before.

So in this case:

Problem = car, not scanner.
Old Alfa, immobilizer drama, replaced ECU, cut wires, broken OBD system… classic Italian experience.

For Alfa 147:

• Verdict: Good for scanning and reading codes, but don’t expect miracles with bidirectional tests or fancy functions. Same as with most tools.

If someone with an Alfa wants more advanced features, I’d still mention and interlink tools like Xtool D8S or even different brands – but xtool a30M did as well as most of them here.

VW Touareg 3.0 TDI – “Hard Car” That A30M Handled Like a Pro

The Touareg 3.0 TDI is the kind of car that exposes weak scanners quickly. Many cheaper tools:

• miss modules
• throw random fault codes
• or fail halfway through a scan

With xtool a30M:

• It detected the car as Volkswagen Touareg after 2003
• Ran a full auto scan over 41 possible modules
• Found all the modules that are actually present in my car
• Completed the scan in a very reasonable time

From there, the workflow is very similar to professional tools:

• DTC list: all fault codes from all modules in one place
• DTC report: perfect for customer printouts or saving before clearing
• Clear all faults: most cleared, some came back instantly (as expected – real issues)

Inside each module (for example, central electrics/body module) you get:

• System info
• Fault codes (with “active/static” status)
• Clear codes
• Live data
• Freeze frame (if the code stores it)
• Actuator tests / bidirectional

A nice example was the body module:

• I could run a sequence of tests for:
  • exterior lights
  • interior lights
  • different outputs
• The tool controlled them reliably.

The only “downside” is that older VAG cars use sequence mode, so you can’t just directly select only one output – you run through a test sequence. But:

That’s not a limitation of xtool a30M.
It’s how older VAG diagnostics work in general.

Transmission module also worked:

• ~66 parameters available
• Transmission temperature in °C showed correctly and followed outside temperature
• Live data updated with minor delay, but absolutely usable
• You can filter down to just a few PIDs to make it feel snappier

For a car like Touareg, I’ve had scanners that simply gave up or showed garbage.
xtool a30M worked flawlessly.

Golf Mk5 – Super Fast VAG Scan + Working Service Functions

On the Golf Mk5, the xtool a30M really starts to shine.

You basically get two scan modes:

1. Fast Scan (VAG after 2005) – scanned the whole car in a few seconds
2. Standard Auto Scan – took around 2 minutes, which is normal

It found faults in:

• Engine
• Climate
• Gateway
• Radio

From there:

• Climate faults could be viewed, cleared, and checked again
• Live data in climate updated quickly (for example: blower fan speeds, flap positions)
• Bidirectional tests in climate worked (flap motors, self test, etc.)

Mileage Change on the Golf

Here, the instrument cluster service function worked perfectly:

• Current mileage: 270,151 km
• Changed it to 500 km as a test
• The dash instantly showed the new value
• App confirmed: “Change mileage success.”

Again: not every car/cluster will support mileage change, but when it is supported, xtool a30M handles it well.

This is where you can easily interlink to something like Xtool A30D or Xtool D8S as “big brothers” if someone wants a tablet screen and more OE-level features.

Nissan Micra K12 – Solid Coverage on an Older Small Car

On the Nissan Micra:

• Automatic VIN detect struggled (which is common on older cars)
• After manual selection (country + Micra K12), auto scan found all 6 modules
• One electric power steering module had fault codes – correctly detected

In the engine system:

• You can read live data (around 40+ PIDs)
• Data logging is available
• Bidirectional tests work very nicely:
  • Fan test
  • Fuel pump relay test
  • Power balance test (cylinder cut-out)

For service functions:

• Not many are needed on a car like this
• But things like airbag reset or steering angle sensor calibration can still be accessed

Diagnostically, everything worked without any weirdness – which is already a big win for older Nissans.

Global OBD – Backup Mode When Full-Brand Scan Fails

If full-brand diagnostics gives you trouble or the car isn’t supported, xtool a30M still has Global OBD built in.

Via Global OBD you can:

• Check readiness monitors (catalyst, O2 sensors, etc.)
• Read stored & pending fault codes
• View basic live data (RPM, load, coolant temp, throttle, etc.)
• Record and replay data logs
• Plot graphs and even combine multiple values into one graph

Typical use-case:

You can log RPM, oxygen sensor voltage and load value together during a test drive, and then replay the log at home to see how sensors respond to engine load and RPM.

Some advanced OBD modes (Mode 8, some onboard monitoring) simply aren’t supported by many European cars – that’s a car + regulations limitation, not the xtool a30M itself.

Service Functions – 26 Resets in Your Pocket

The service reset menu in xtool a30M is one of the strongest I’ve seen for a Bluetooth scanner.
Functions include (not an exhaustive list):

• EPB reset
• SAS adaptation
• ABS bleeding (on supported cars)
• Injector coding
• TPMS reset
• BMS reset
• Gearbox adaptation
• DPF / GPF regeneration and adaptations
• A/C relearn
• Seat calibration
• Window initialization
• Instrument cluster (mileage)
• Suspension adaptation
• Airbag reset
• Tire size reset
• Various engine and sensor adaptations

Important point:

Just because the scanner has a function doesn’t mean your car supports it.
The car must support that function in its ECU, and then xtool a30M must support that car.

For example:

• The power balance test works well on Nissan
• But you won’t see Volkswagen listed there, because VW cars don’t use that test in this way

Still, overall this is the most complete set of service functions I’ve seen on a Bluetooth bidirectional scanner so far.

Final Verdict – Is Xtool A30M Worth It?

After testing xtool a30M on:

• An abused Alfa test rig
• A complicated Touareg
• A very common Golf Mk5
• A simple Nissan Micra
• And a 2RAC cluster for mileage experiments

…I’m honestly very impressed.

For around $130 (xtool website), you get a scanner that behaves like a professional tablet scanner, but in the form of a small adapter in your pocket.

Highlights:

• Fast scanning
• Strong bidirectional testing
• 26 service functions
• Mileage change worked on supported clusters
• Very nice live data + graphing + logging
• Free lifetime updates
• Great app experience

Compared to other tools:

• More service functions than Xtool A30D
• More advanced than most ELM327-based apps
• Better bidirectional and support than many “Amazon bestsellers”
• Cheaper and far more portable than a tablet like Xtool D8S, while sharing a similar logic in software

From everything I’ve seen, I can safely say:

xtool a30M is one of the best overall Bluetooth OBD2 scanners you can buy for the money.