Foxwell HD500 Heavy Duty Truck Diagnostic Scanner

Mohammed Hassein

September 1, 2026

FOXWELL HD500 Heavy Duty Truck Scanner - Diesel

0:16

DIESEL TRUCK SCANNER FOR SMALL SHOP OR INDIVIDUAL USE

A quality versatile and useful scanner for diagnosing electronic and mechanical problems with most diesel engines. The unit supports a large selection of common engine systems and protocols including engine and operational systems such a brakes, transmissions and drive systems. The unit has the ability to isolate components to determine which areas need repair or preventative maintenance. The unit works with, "heavy and light duty trucks, pickups, busses, trailers, tractors and construction vehicles covering most of the common engines used. Not necessarily easy to use out of the box, but once familiar with the instrument work is quick and efficient. Diagnostic information is easy to read. This powerful diagnostic instrument is a good value and a very useful diagnostic tool for today's electronic controlled trucks and equipment. The unit has connections for

Diesel models supported and comes in a nice protective case.

Great scanner that works on many different semis’. With quality and performance.

The HD500 HD Truck Scanner by FOXWELL, is a great scanner that has so much capabilities combined with a compact size and the adaptability to be used for so many things. Here are some of the things I’ve learned while owning it and things to consider before buying.

I. Quality – It feels like a very solidly built machine that should hold up well, assuming the electronics survive. I’d put it in the lower side of the upper tier on the quality scale for these type of scanners.

II. Performance – This is a great machine if you want to be able to access multiple trucks with the same device. One thing that sets it apart from your standard scanner is that it has three plugs, two for HD rigs and the other for standard OBD2 so I can use it on my trucks too. It won’t go as deep or allow as much control on any single vehicle as if you get one specific for that vehicle, but it’ll access a ton of different makes and models. However, it’ll do most things you would need and provides a lot of usability for diagnosis, testing, and recalibrating you wouldn’t normally have access to. This also gives you DPF functions, multiple languages, live scans and free updates.

III. Updates – This device claims to have lifetime free updates and optimization. If true, this is a big value and selling feature that many others will charge for.

Overall, this is a great device that has worked wonderful for my needs so far. With this device and my mechanical abilities, I can take care of many things myself if I choose to and that’s an amazing time and money saver. I’ll be sure to update this review, if I ever start to have problems with it.

If you’d find it helpful to see an up-close visual inspection of this product, I recommend you watch my included video in full screen or landscape. They say a picture is worth a 1000 words, well it’s video!

You can trust that this review is simply my honest opinion that is attempting to provide you with helpful insight that I wish I had before I picked this product. Hopefully it was helpful in your decision.

1:35

Don't buy

Cat-15 motor. Says nothing wrong, no fault. Clearly a check engine light is on. Foxwell says they can't do anything about it. Also crashes all the time

Comprehensive diagnostic and settings tool for diesels.

This heavy-duty truck scanner is a must have for diesel trucks and equipment. The scanner plugs in easily and is self-guided and user friendly. It gave good prompts and great diagnostics.

The scanner gives you the option to change vehicle settings like the speed settings and can help with the brakes.

Priced at just under 600.00, this is quite an expensive investment, but if you have diesel engines, you know proper maintenance is a must and that those engines will last forever. The tool is made very well.

0:59

No reductant quality test option

Do not buy this product you cannot do reductant quality test, which is the main reason for buying a diesel scanner like this

Don't buy this one, get the 726 instead.

"4 system" means it can't scan any body modules. It can only scan engine modules, transmission modules, SRS, and ABS. Other than that it works good, quality is decent.

Very impressive!!!!

I just got this and been using it on a truck that got derate . Truck was in a shop where they could not erase the codes.. this scanner works better than expected. I was able to perform a regen check temps sensors perfom def test and sensor test as well as scr test.. ect.. lot of information I'm really happy so far. It has been able to connect to Cummins x15 no problem.

It easily erases codes . Only thing i still need to figure out if there's a trouble shoot guide.

I was going to buy OTR scanner but this is awesome.... Still working on getting to know more on this scanner.. as an O/O this is a great product.

Adapt 2 Go

January 20, 2025

Wish the ergonomics were better! Wish that exporting to other devices could be done through wifi!

The FOXWELL HD500 Heavy Duty Truck Scanner is an amazing diagnostic tool though everything on it is touchscreen other than the power button. I would like it if this device also had some physical buttons for navigation like the ANCEL HD431 does! The ergonomics can be improved as well, again comparing this to an ANCEL HD 431 which has a round protrusion in the back for a hand to mate to and a slot in the front for the thumb to rest on!

I used this on my 2014 Freightliner Cascadia and the reader was able to fully analyze the system. The system is very responsive.

The connection cables are extremely heavy duty! The device weighed a solid 1.23 lbs. The included cables are excellent! Love the bright orange and socket coloring to rapidly identify the cables and prevent losing them! Even the coating on the connection is strong and durable.

The connections hooked right into the freightliners system. The screen was very responsive, and the system ran diagnostics quickly. I like that it includes USB C connectivity to connect to an external computer and to power the device. There is also a USB A port for external storage capacity.

There is a great manual included that goes into all the details but I would have liked it to be in color!

It would have been awesome to be able to use this device on wi-fi and be able to send reports and data immediately, unfortunately this device is lacking that capability!

There is a nice compact durable nylon carrying case included that fits everything in it well!

Jimster480

February 22, 2022

Easy to use & Set up, Pointlessly Limited artificially

I picked this up to compare with other units from the same company and other companies. I use these devices frequently and people frequently ask me about them. I have tested most of the units from this company, and while they mostly all work well; devices like this I feel are pointless (but not bad).

So upon turning this on; it is the same Android tablet interface as its higher end siblings. The software can update over wifi (a nice touch) and it has support options in the settings.... I am not sure if there is a section with micro-transactions as I didn't find that. However this unit is the same as the higher end units but just without some features.... the software is exactly the same but a few options are missing. Such as the ability to repropgram the suspension or do tire sizing.... This has ABS bleed, oil light reset and a TPMS reset (not sure what the other function is). So it has basic scanning + 4 system scannning (which is also somewhat pointless in itself) and then these 4 functions.....

These devices are affordable considering that they work with "all brands" but I feel like the ability to purchase new functions should be something that these tools should all have. Instead of having the features just removed, they should be greyed out. This hardware is the same as the higher end hardware and it is capable of doing all the tasks, it just needs to be unlocked with that software..... BCM scanning would be the most useful thing to add as there are so many issues related to BCMs in cars...

At the end of the day these things all work well, they are just UN-necessarily segmented by price based on specific features. I have kept the best model of these units and put all the rest back in the boxes now that I am finished testing them. That way I have all the features possible with all the programming methods.

alberto

November 9, 2021

Really like this code scanner

At start up you need to create an account and they send you a code via email but for some reason the email they sent me kept going to spam so if you don't see it in your mailbox check your spam folder or you'll end up with 6 emails like I did. I like that this is touch screen and you can look up more information on the fault code on the scanner. I hooked this up to my 2007 Chevy avalanche and and it found one fault. You can screen shot the screen or print out the information of the code right from the tablet. Even comes with a hard case for storage.

0:40

Great start to diagnose your car

I demonstrated this product via a video testing out my car that has problems and fault codes and it displayed the problems and even lookup solutions on the web. It doesn't quite tell you how to fix it since it's not a mechanic but once you can look up the problems, you can see how much it is for that type of repair and then go out and find a reliable mechanic who would fix it for you around that price range from searching what that problem is. I love that it provides updates and that it has touch screen functions. There are other models that have controls that may be easier to utilize but I got this model with just touchscreen and it works fine, just don't go throwing it around in a shop since this is best utilized to find what problems the car tells you before you go to a mechanic. It's pretty simple and provides all that you need in terms of diagnostics go. Covers 90% of cars that are currently out and have problems and since I have an older car. This definitely helped in finding out if I need to repair it or just leave it alone since it's not a big issue.

3:00

Works well with Foreign and Domestic Automobiles in our test

The FOXWELL SCANNER NT716 (ASIN-B09BJK6K4S) DIAGNOSTIC SCAN TOOL worked for us on both foreign and Domestic automobiles. The screen is bright and all accessories needed for use are provided except the AC Power Module. The unit was received pre-charged from the factory and ready for use.

The new NT716 arrived packaged in a hard plastic carrying case. The contents included the unit, a USB to pc cable, OBDII cable, and user's guide. The well written and illustrated guide cover several models. The manual does not discern between features and model number. Charging the unit is via USB cable that connects to computer or charging block. The AC Power Module is not included with this kit.

The built-in Li-on battery lasts approximately 5 hours when fully charged. The set-up was painless in our experience, i.e. jump on the net, register the unit, Foxwell emails you an access code, and you're in business. Internet access is via wifi or plug into a computer. We opted to access home wifi and had the unit registered in just a few minutes. Once registered, you can then check for updates and download. The user interface on the NT716 is very intuitive as we experienced. In fact, in our usage it's one of the easiest units at this price point.

After setting up location and time zone, the first task was to scan a 2016 Cayenne for any DTC codes and perform a maintenance and oil reset. The unit connected to the car's computer and scanned for codes quickly. The speed of the unit's quad-core 1.3GHz processor proved quick, about a second per DTC code. Next, the maintenance tab, selected oil reset, choose vehicle, auto reset, test by vehicle, tapped in the date and all the maintenance settings were reset in seconds. You can also access the reset function via the diagnostic screen. Please note that the reset date defaults to year/month/day vs. month/day/year. No way found to change the date format in the settings.

After resetting the Cayenne, picked and chose updates our specific cars instead of updating the unit for every brand the NT716 works on. Selective updates would be an error……… more on this below.

The unit performs primarily six maintenance and reset tasks: ABS, EPB, Oil, SAS, TPS & TPMS. We liked the screen resolution as clear and easy to read in sunlight. It also has a color inversion feature which allows the user to switch to a black background.

Next, scanned a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 5.7 Hemi. DTC's were checked in seconds and a minor code popped, i.e. battery had been disconnected recently etc... cleared without any issue. Feeling empowered, decided to check the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) setting. It starts with an idle test, to make sure the throttle body is set correctly. That took a couple of minutes, i.e. fast idle, then slow idle, then it settled back to the factory setting of 700rpm. Next, to reset the connection between the TPS and ECU. That went fine, except the throttle by wire connection was lost between gas pedal and the throttle body. Red Alert!!!! It started and idled fine, but no pedal. Next…. ran the voltage test on the gas pedal (Accelerator Pedal Position Sensor - APPS) and it kept failing the test..... even tried disconnecting the battery, touching the +/- cables, (that's how you do a hard reset on the ECU of this generation's of Jeep). That didn't work.... Frustrated, left overnight to research further.

The next morning the same procedures were followed with the same results. So now thinking a towing bill and a trip to the dealer was eminent.

Not one to throw in the towel easily, went back through all the menus and carefully rechecked all parameters before running the reset function again. What we discovered was the TPS hadn't been set up yet for Jeeps as apparently Chrysler was selected in setup. Furthermore, "smart vin" was initially chosen and the unit recognized the car so we didn't think much about it. At this juncture, as a Last effort, we decided to update everything that was available. It took about 10 minutes using the wifi, but everything was now updated, including for many unknown car brands. So fingers crossed, hit the maintenance tab, then TPS, and low and behold the Jeep menu was now a choice! Long story short, one of those numerous updates got the APPS and the TPS talking again so all was well.

The NT716 comes with a couple of unique features. The one we really liked was the ability to take a screen shot which allows you to store it instead of having to write down, and even print it out if you want. There's also a help desk option back to Foxwell. It was not used, but is available. Last, there's a complaint center that sends feedback to Foxwell.

In summary, the NT716 in our opinion is more scanner/reset tool then most DIYers will ever need. It's definitely a useful tool that should serve most gear heads quite well for many many years to come. The fact that it does work on our vehicles and performs all functions with no issues is a big plus.

Recommended Five ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Star

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