An old phone,
left in the car.
Your car (Ollie)No need to tell me the mileage any more. I'll read it myself.
Optional: Ollie works without it. With it, your car reports on itself.
How it works
A small scanner reads the car, and the phone sends it to Ollie. Once it's set up, you never touch it.
Then your car knows its real mileage, warning lights (fault codes), battery health, temperatures and trips, and speaks up when something's off.
What you need
About ₩30,000 up front, then about ₩1,500 a month. Plus a used phone if you don't have a spare.
- An OBD scanner (about ₩21,600)
We tested the Isora iSCAN (ISC01), sold on Coupang. See it on Coupang
Details
Buying a different one? Pick one that says Bluetooth LE (BLE) and ELM327. Wi-Fi scanners and Bluetooth Classic-only ones won't work.
- A used Android phone
Android 10 or newer. A cheap used Galaxy is fine, and a cracked screen is OK as long as you can install the app. iPhones won't work.
- A data SIM (about ₩8,800, then ₩1,500 a month)
The cheapest data plan from a budget carrier is plenty. Ollie uses only 15–30 MB a month.
- A car charger and cable
Leave them plugged in, so the phone always has power.
Setting it up
At home, on that phone
- Set the screen lock to None, so the app starts again by itself after a restart. Don't add a Google account or anything personal.
- Install the Ollie relay app.
The app is for Ollie members. Sign in and the download shows up here. Not a member yet? Sign up first.
- Open the app and press Start. Allow everything it asks, one screen at a time.
On a Galaxy, also add Ollie relay to Never sleeping apps (Settings, Battery, Background usage limits).
- A QR code appears in the app. Scan it with your own phone's camera. Telegram opens @OllieCarBot: tap Start there, and the phones are linked.
Can't scan it? Send @OllieCarBot the code shown under the QR, like this:
/adddevice K7XM2P
In the car
- Plug the scanner into the OBD port, usually under the steering wheel by your knees. Put the phone on its charger somewhere out of the sun, like the glovebox or center console.
- Start the engine once. The app finds the scanner by itself and shows Connected.
Done! Send /devices in Telegram to see the phone.
Questions
- Won't the phone overheat or wear out?
- Above 45 °C the app pauses, and carries on once the phone cools. Just keep it out of the sun. On a Galaxy, turn on battery protection so it charges only to 80–85 %.
- Will it drain the car battery?
- No need to worry. Parked, it reads for a moment about every 30 minutes and lets go. If you wire it to the fuse box (a hardwire kit), pick one with a low-voltage cutoff: it switches off while there's still enough to start the car.
- What about privacy?
- It only reads the car and can never change its settings. It doesn't look at location. What it reads is seen only by the people who share this car in Ollie.
- What if the screen breaks?
- It keeps running, and updates install themselves.