Toyota Techstream vs Honda HDS MVCI: which one’s m

[subhobroto]

I am in the market for a used Toyota Camry, Corolla or Honda Civic (2012+) and am trying to figure out which one is more DIY friendly.

NOTE: If I make any wrong assumptions or misstatements here, please correct me right away.

A quick search showed me that for diagnostics, Toyota uses Techstream while Honda latest HDS is MVCI based?

Techstream seems to be very much available to DIY. The adapter seems to be less than $50 and sometimes the adapters come with software too!

I also found some very useful Techstream videos like:

What a nice demo! The adapter will pay for itself even if all I were to do is copy a key:

It seems like it’s very easy to get the OEM Techstream software running on your laptop?

On the other hand, I’m having a hard time tracking down adapters and software for the Honda HDS MVCI.

The only source I find is OEM that costs $2k+: https://honda.snapon.com/HondaAcura/ItemDetail.aspx?ItemId=53561297

I am also unable to locate any demo videos etc for the HDS and all I am seeing are aftermarket software that seems to have figured out how to talk to the MVCI (compare this with the OEM Techstream software running on your laptop).

Is the Techstream more DIY friendly compared to the Honda HDS MVCI?

Are there some great DIY friendly Honda HDS MVCI resources out there that I did not happen to come across that you know of?

Planned use of this software: do my own brakes (Disable ABS), throttle body clean (throttle calibration relearn), idle relearn, copy keys (forget keys often and like to have duplicates)

The cars nowadays are becoming more integrated with electronics and I would like to go with a car that I can fix myself or at an independent shop without taking it to a dealer unless I really need to (ECU Update/recall/warranty repair)

PS: If anyone in Southern California is thinking of (or knows someone) selling a used Toyota Camry, Corolla or Honda Civic (2012+), don’t hesitate to email me at my handle at gmail.

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[zero]

The MVCI is NOT a scan tool, but merely the interface. The scan tool hardware in an Etech and the software used is HDS. So that $2000 is only an interface device between the car and scan tool.

Your best bet might be to find products that require individual software packs for different manufacturers and see if they include the functions you need/want. Or start looking at entry level tech level scan tools, but again some of the functions are limited by the software.

[subhobroto]

Thank you DaFirnz for clarifying. I should have written my OP better, but it was already getting long. I will edit it to make it more clear.

More specifically, my question can be broken down into 3:

1. are there inexpensive interfaces (MVCI compatible) out there for HDS (just like the $35- interface for the Toyota I showed in the video)
2. Is the HDS just as available as the Techstream for the average DIY?
3. Can anyone with a credit card connect to the manufacturer (to download updates etc) using Techstream or HDS or is a dealership license required first?

Essentially I’m trying to figure out, if I ever needed to go beyond OBD2, which car gives me an option to still do something myself instead of needing to run to a dealer.

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